Composer Profile Quiz No. 4
Alan Menken
"The Little Mermaid" (first film) GRAMMY (Under the Sea) "Beauty and the Beast" GRAMMY (Beauty and the Beast) "Pocahontas" "Aladdin"
James Newton Howard
Attended University of Southern California as piano major. Keyboard for Elton John. Worked with synth. Worked on albums with Carly Simon and Ringo Starr.
James Horner
Began scoring in 1970 Over 100 film and TV. First major film: Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan.
Henry Mancini
Cleveland, Ohio. Died in Los Angeles. Studied flute and piano at a young age. Juilliard School NYC graduate.
Alan Menken
Degree at NYU in music. Supported himself by accompanying ballet classes and writing commercials. Started on Broadway with music got "Little Shop of Horrors" (2003)
Jerry Goldsmith
Famous film scores: The Mummy Rudy Star Trek films Patton Planet of the Apes The Wind and the Lion Breakheart Pass Rambo: First Blood
Thomas Newman
Film score student of David Raksin (scored Laura). Style: Blends orchestra with synthesized instruments. Blends elements of classical music, jazz, popular music into his film scores. Likes to use tuned percussion, likes to use piano in somber moments of the film. Likes to use experimental sounds; modified instruments.
Thomas Newman
Grammy for Wall-E. Grammy for American Beauty. Academy Award nominations for WALL-E, Finding Nemo, Little Women, Shawshank Redemption, Lemony Snicket's SOUE.
Randy Newman
Grammy's: Our Town If I Didn't Have You When She Loved Me Best Musical Comp. A Bug's Life.
James Newton Howard
Has 100+ film and TV shows to credit with 4 other productions. Collab. with M. Night Shyamalan. The Sixth Sense Signs The Village Other films: The Dark Knight I Am Legend Hidalgo My Best Friend's Wedding
James Newton Howard
Henry Mancini Lifetime Achievement Award 2000 Grammy: Best Soundtrack Score "The Dark Knight".
James Newton Howard
Los Angeles. Grandmother was classical violinist, inspired him. Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, The Doors. Piano at age 2, lessons at 4.
Randy Newman
Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter, arranger, film scorer. Pianist, vocalist.
Thomas Newman
Los Angeles. Son of Alfred Newman. Brother and 2 cousins are film composers. Attended University of Southern California. Music degree at Yale University.
Jerry Goldsmith
Los Angeles. Died in Beverly Hills. Wrote themes for TV: Dr. Kildare, Man from UNCLE. Wrote for several episodes of The Twilight Zone.
James Horner
Los Angeles. Died in a plane crash in 2015. Father was a production set designer and film director. Played piano at age 5.
Henry Mancini
Member of the Glenn Miller Band after WWII. 20 Grammy's. 4 Academy Awards. 1 Golden Globe.
Alan Menken
New York City. Father was a dentist, mother was a playwright. Started playing the piano at an early age.
Henry Mancini
Over 200 film scores: Pink Panther films, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Charade. Style: takes after Korngold but adds jazz and light-classics sounds.
Jerry Goldsmith
Played piano at age 6. Attended University of Southern California. Won an Emmy for Star Trek: Voyager.
James Horner
Royal College of Music student (London). Attended University of Southern California. Bachelors and Masters in Music.
Randy Newman
Songs recorded by Pat Boone, Ray Charles, Peggy Lee. He often plays the piano himself in the scores. Inducted as a Disney Legend.
James Horner
Style: Wordless female choir. Several themes have been reused for various movie trailers. Influenced by Irish melodies and Celtic music. Ethnic instruments. Frequently represents bad guys with a distinctive 4-note motif.
Henry Mancini
TV Scores: Mr. Lucky, Peter Gunn. Star on Walk of Fame. Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 1984.
James Horner
Troy (2004) ASCAP Film and Television Music Award. Replaced another scorer. Completed the score in 4 weeks. We're Back! A Dinosaur Story (1993) With Spielberg. Titanic (1997) Best selling primarily orchestral soundtrack of all time. Academy Award: Best Orginal Song "My Heart Will Go On"
Randy Newman
Uncle was Alfred Newman. Father was a doctor. Began piano at age 7, began composing at age 17. Dropped out of UCLA to accept recording contract with Reprise Records.
Randy Newman
Won Max Steiner Achievement Award in 2014. Scored first 4 Disney Pixar films (Toy Story, Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc.) Also scored Cars in 2006. Seabiscuit, Leatherheads. Academy Award for "If I Didn't Have You" in 2002.
Jerry Goldsmith
Written over 200 film scores. 1 Academy Award for The Omen (1976). Known for action, suspense, and sci-fi/horror films.