Judith Dvorkin (22 April 1928 – 24 July 1995)[1] was an American composer and librettist. She also used the pseudonym Judy Spencer.[2][3]
Dvorkin was born in New York. She received a bachelor's degree in music at Barnard College, where her teachers included Otto Luening. She received a master's degree from Columbia University, where her teachers included Luening, Douglas Moore, and Elliott Carter. She continued her studies in seminars with Roger Sessions at the University of California at Berkeley,[4] and with jazz pianist Teddy Wilson.[5]
She wrote lyrics for 23 songs for the Captain Kangaroo television program, which Earl Rose set to music. Other collaborators included Norris Turney, Jimmy Rowles, Paul Rosner, and Dick Chodosh. Most of her manuscripts and papers are archived at the New York Public Library's American Music Center.[5]