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Hildur Guðnadóttir was born on 4 September 1982 in Iceland. She is a composer, known for Joker (2019), Women Talking (2022) and Tár (2022). She is married to Sam Slater. They have one child.- Composer
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It's anything but typical for the realms of film or music... Tyler Bates regularly transitions from scoring some of the world's biggest film and television franchises, such as Guardians of the Galaxy and John Wick, to rocking massive audiences with Marilyn Manson and back to the studio again writing and producing. The musical voice of this highly sought-after composer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer can be heard in every corner of pop culture-from video games to the Disney California Adventure attraction, Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission Breakout! In 2004, he made waves by creating the menacing audio backdrop for the popular Zack Snyder Dawn of the Dead reboot followed by his soundtrack for the filmmaker's 300, which remains one of the 21st century's biggest-selling score albums. His oeuvre expanded to include Watchmen and Sucker Punch both helmed by Snyder, several collaborations with Rob Zombie-including The Devil's Rejects, Halloween, and Halloween II-and Killer Joe directed by Academy Award® winner William Friedkin. Beyond composing for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 & Vol2., he produced a fan favorite "disco version" of his "Guardians of the Galaxy" main theme, titled "Guardians Inferno," co-written with director and long-time collaborator, James Gunn [feat. David Hasselhoff] and performed the second installment's score at the 2017 MOSMA Festival in Spain. John Wick: Chapter 2 represents the nexus of his work as a composer, performer, and songwriter. He penned the closing credits tune "A Job To Do" alongside legendary Alice In Chains guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and performed on-screen during the climactic "Rock Opera" sequence. Elsewhere, his sonic presence reverberates throughout Showtime's Californication, Audience Network's Kingdom, WGN America's Salem, and more as well as video games such as Killzone: Shadow Fall, God of War: Ascension, Army of Two 40th Day, and China's massive Crossfire. He also wrote the theme for his favorite NFL team the Tennessee Titans, and performed the "Star-Spangled Banner" solo in the rain during a 2015 game. Bates co-wrote and produced Manson's 2015 epic, The Pale Emperor. A runaway success, it crashed the Top 10 of the Billboard Top 200 at #6 and earned widespread critical acclaim with Rolling Stone hailing it as the "#1 Metal Album of 2015." As the band's lead guitarist, he dedicated over a year to touring in support of the album on the headline Hell Not Hallelujah Tour, an arena run with Slipknot, and various festivals worldwide. In 2017, he once again joined forces in the studio with Manson on the follow-up Heaven Upside Down and returns to the road for a string of high-profile touring. In 2017, he scored the blockbuster Atomic Blonde, starring Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron in addition to producing Health's cover of "Blue Monday" and re-invigorating Ministry's "Stigmata" with Manson, for two of the film's key sequences. Bates' voice also permeates NETFLIX's upcoming The Punisher. With several exciting projects slated for 2018 including Deadpool 2, The Spy Who Dumped Me & the return of The Punisher for season 2. Tyler Bates will undoubtedly continue to redefine what a composer is.- Music Department
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Thomas Newman is an American film score composer. He was born in Los Angeles. His father was notable film score composer Alfred Newman (1900-1970). The Newman family is of Russian-Jewish descent, and includes several other well-known musicians. Thomas' mother Martha Louis Montgomery (1920-2005) wanted her sons to have a musical education. Thomas attended regular lessons in violin as a child. An older Thomas received his musical education while attending the University of Southern California and Yale University. Thomas Newman graduated as Bachelor of Arts in 1977, and a Master of Music in 1978.
Thomas originally composed music for theatrical productions in Broadway, working with his mentor Stephen Sondheim. His uncle Lionel Newman asked him to compose music for the television series "The Paper Chase" (1978-1979, 1986), which was Thomas' first credit in a television production.
In the 1980s, Thomas first worked in film. Composer John Williams, a close family friend, hired Thomas to work in the music department for space opera film "Return of the Jedi" (1983). Thomas' main work in the film was orchestrating the music in a scene where character Darth Vader dies. Afterwards, Thomas was approached by film producer Scott Rudin and hired to work as a film score composer in his own right. His first work in the field was the film score of romantic drama "Reckless" (1984).
While he worked regularly as a film score composer during the 1980s, Thomas reportedly felt he had to retrain himself for a hard and demanding job. It reportedly took him 8 years to not feel fraudulent in his efforts. In 1994, Thomas received his first Academy Award nominations, for the film scores of "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994) and "Little Women" (1994). He lost the Award to rival composer Hans Zimmer, who had been nominated for the film score of the animated film "The Lion King" (1994).
Newman was an established and increasingly famous composer in the 1990s. He received further Academy Award nominations, although he never actually won. Among his more notable works was the film score of the drama film "American Beauty" (1999), which earned Thomas both a Grammy and a BAFTA award. Newman had a good working relationship with the film's director Sam Mendes. Mendes has kept hiring Thomas as the composer for most of his films. The main exception being the comedy-drama film "Away We Go" (2009), which did not have a film score.
In the 2000s, Thomas continued working in high-profile films, such as "Road to Perdition" (2002), "Finding Nemo" (2003), and "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events". By 2006, he had been nominated eight times for an Academy Award, while never winning it. He started joking about his lack of victories in public.
In 2008, Thomas was nominated for two Academy Awards, for both the film score and an original song for the animated film "WALL-E" (2008). He won neither, though the hit song "Down to Earth" earned him a Grammy Award. He continues to work regularly in the 2010s. Among his more acclaimed works were the film scores for spy film "Skyfall" (2012) and period drama "Saving Mr. Banks" (2013). He has continued being nominated for Academy Awards. As of 2020, he has been nominated 15 times for the Academy Award. He is the most nominated living composer to have never actually won an Academy Award, tied with Alex North. He has won a total of 5 Grammy awards.- Actor
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Kevin Shields was born on 21 May 1963 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Lost in Translation (2003), Marie Antoinette (2006) and The Magdalene Sisters (2002).- Composer
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Jeff Eden Fair is known for Bert Stern: Original Madman (2011), G.I. Joe: Renegades (2010) and Conversations with Other Women (2005).- Composer
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Grammy® award-winning artist, composer & producer, Starr Parodi first entered the public eye playing keyboards as part of the house band on the hit late-night Arsenio Hall Show. Since then she has become a vibrant part of the Los Angeles composing community, scoring hundreds of episodes of TV & film as well as being a passionate and innovative solo artist, pianist and producer whose work has been featured on NPR, The BBC, KCRW and iHEART Radio.
Her scoring credits include The Storied Life Of A.J. Fikry, Michael B. Jordan's gen:LOCK, Transformers: Rescue Bots, G.I. Joe Renegades, The Starter Wife, Conversations With Other Women, The Division, and hundreds of Hollywood's most iconic and visible film trailers/promo (Rogue One, Last Samurai, James Bond, Mission: Impossible II, The Peanuts Movie, Harry Potter, Dreamgirls, Night at the Museum, X-Men 3, etc.). Her darkly innovative production/arrangement of the James Bond Theme (RIAA Gold Record) was credited by Forbes magazine as "reinventing the modern action movie trailer."
Also a celebrated concert composer, Starr is the first woman to have her orchestral works performed in the history of the Festival of Arts - Pageant of the Masters in Laguna, CA, where she is a featured composer.
Starr has released three critically acclaimed solo albums and collaborated on the writing and production of numerous recordings. Her album "Common Places" won "Record of the Year" from Solo Piano Radio and was lauded by KCRW's host and taste-maker Chris Douridas "This deeply passionate and beautiful recording is one of the best albums of the year." Her neoclassical release, "The Heart Of Frida", which celebrates the life, art and courageous spirit of beloved artist Frida Kahlo, won awards for Solo Piano Album of the Year from both International Radio Broadcasters, and solopiano.com.
In 2017, for "The Women in the World Summit" hosted by Scarlett Johansson, the New York Times invited Starr to Lincoln Center to conduct "To All The Little Girls," a music video and performance she produced and arranged with Oscar winning filmmaker Terry Sanders, which celebrates the potential of young women. In 2019 Starr was again featured at Lincoln Center with a world premiere of her concert work "The Joy of the Waters" as part of the acclaimed "Women Warriors:Voices of Change" performance.
As a producer and featured artist, Starr won the 2023 Grammy® award in the Classical Compendium category for her work on Kitt Wakeley's "An Adoption Story". She was honored with both the 2021 SHE ROCKS - VISION Award, the 2022 BMI IMPACT Award, and is a featured composer and artist on the iconic recording "Women Warriors: The Voices of Change" which won a Grammy® in 2022 and for which she received a 2021 Hollywood Music in Media Award (HMMA) for Best Contemporary Classical, for her composition "The Joy Of The Waters".
A trailblazer onstage and in the studio, Starr served as President of the Alliance for Women Film Composers (March 2019- March 2021), currently sits on the AWFC Advisory board, and is widely recognized as a leader in expanding the reach of women in the arts as a composer, producer, performer and cultural visionary.
"If you listen closely you can hear the ghosts in her music." - R.J. Lannan- Composer
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Ramin Djawadi is an Iranian-German film score composer known for composing the hit HBO series Game of Thrones and the Marvel films Blade: Trinity, Iron Man and Eternals. He also composed Clash of the Titans, A Wrinkle in Time, Pacific Rim, Westworld, Gears of War 4 and 5, Medal of Honor, Open Season 1 and 2, Jack Ryan and Warcraft. He won two Emmy Awards for Game of Thrones.- Composer
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Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989), better known by his stage name Labrinth, is a British musician, singer, songwriter, rapper and record producer. Initially he began professionally as a producer, but Simon Cowell signed him to his record label Syco Music as a solo act. In the process, Labrinth became Cowell's first non talent-show signing in six years. In 2018, supergroup LSD was formed with Labrinth a member alongside Sia and Diplo.
Labrinth made his debut appearance on the UK Singles Chart in March 2010, when his collaboration with English rapper Tinie Tempah, "Pass Out", reached number one. McKenzie has collaborated with Tinie Tempah on numerous occasions since. Labrinth's first solo single, "Let the Sun Shine" was released in September 2010, reaching number three in the same chart. His debut album Electronic Earth, was released on 31 March 2012, having been preceded by the singles "Earthquake", featuring Tinie Tempah and "Last Time", which peaked at number two and number four, respectively. He achieved his first number-one single in November 2012 with "Beneath Your Beautiful", featuring Emeli Sandé.
In 2018, Labrinth created the supergroup LSD along with Australian singer-songwriter Sia, and American DJ and producer Diplo. They released their first single, "Genius", on 3 May 2018, with their second, "Audio", being released a week later on 10 May 2018. Their third single called "Thunderclouds" was released on 8 August 2018.
McKenzie was born and raised in Hackney, London and is of Jamaican and Canadian descent. He comes from a family of musicians consisting of nine siblings, and grew up at home surrounded almost exclusively by the sound of American gospel music. When they were younger, he and his eight siblings formed a band called Mac 9. He attended Stoke Newington School and began to pursue a musical career during his school years. His brother, Mac (who also goes by the name mac1), is a producer, and introduced McKenzie to the art of creating music in his studio at the age of 15.
Labrinth started his career by producing the track "Dead End" for recording artist Master Shortie from the album A.D.H.D. (2009). The track generated interest in McKenzie as a producer and songwriter, entailing Guy Moot of EMI Music Publishing to offer the artist a publishing deal. From 2010 to 2011, Labrinth mentored the Urban Development Vocal Collective (UDVC) alongside his sister, ShezAr. He also produced multiple tracks for the collective, contributing towards a nine-track project titled Urban Development. The vocalists also provided backing vocals for Labrinth's original tracks. Other artists to collaborate with the collective include Wretch 32, Chip, Maverick Sabre and Devlin.
On 28 February 2010, McKenzie appeared as an uncredited guest artist on British rapper Tinie Tempah's debut single, "Pass Out" - having also produced and co-written the track. The single debuted at number-one on the UK Singles Chart, number seventy in Australia and number six on the Irish Singles Chart. Having spent two weeks at the summit in the United Kingdom, "Pass Out" was awarded Best British Single at the 2011 BRIT Awards and Best Contemporary Song at the 2011 Ivor Novello Awards, also achieving platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry for surpassing sales of 600,000 copies. Several months later saw the two artists collaborate for a second time with the release of Tempah's second single, "Frisky" - again co-written and produced by McKenzie. The single debuted at number two in the United Kingdom, beaten only by the charity single "Shout" featuring Dizzee Rascal and James Corden. The track saw chart success in Scotland, where it became the duo's second consecutive number one single, also peaking at number three in Ireland.
On 23 May 2012, Labrinth performed at the Cheltenham racecourse to celebrate the occasion of the Olympic torch coming through Cheltenham. Labrinth performed at the University of Leeds' Summer Ball on 2 June 2012, supported by R&B act Angel, and Nottingham Trent University Graduation Ball on 9 June, at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham. On 15 June, Labrinth performed at the University of Surrey End of Year Show. The event was held at Rubix, the University of Surrey's very own club. Yasmin was his support act on the evening. On 29 June, Labrinth performed at VG-lista top 20 in Norway in front of a crowd consisting of 90,000 people. Labrinth also performed at GFest in Preston on 8 September 2012 to celebrate Preston Guild 2012. The song "Beneath Your Beautiful", which features Emeli Sandé was released as the album's sixth single and peaked at number one in November 2012. On 25 December 2012, Labrinth released the Atomic EP for free download via SoundCloud. It features Plan B, Devlin, Wretch 32, Ed Sheeran, Maxsta, Lady Leshurr and Etta Bond among others.
Labrinth has been working on his second studio album Take Me to the Truth since 2013. He has written with Ed Sheeran for the album. He has also been in the studio throughout November 2013 recording album content, and will soon be revealing some new material. He also appeared on two tracks for Tinie Tempah's second studio album Demonstration: the third single "Lover Not a Fighter" and the album track "It's OK". The first single from the album, "Let It Be", premiered in August 2014 and was released on 28 September 2014. The second single from the album, "Jealous", was released on 23 November 2014.
In July 2013, Labrinth was picked as Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month and was featured on NBC's Today show hosted by Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, where he performed live his song "Beneath Your Beautiful".
Labrinth features on the track "Losers" on The Weeknd's album Beauty Behind the Madness (2015). Labrinth also did a duet on the track "Fragile", the lead promotional single from Kygo's debut studio album Cloud Nine.
In 2016, Labrinth worked alongside Mike Posner on Posner's widely successful album At Night, Alone. Labrinth is featured and co-wrote on the sixth single, "Silence". The album was officially released on 6 May 2016. "Silence" was written by both Posner and Labrinth. The song was produced by Posner and Terefe. He also produced and was featured in "Make Me (Cry)", Noah Cyrus' debut single, released on 14 November 2016. After his duet with Sia in Wonder Woman soundtrack "To Be Human" 2017, Labrinth became one of the members in the collaboration with Diplo and Sia. This is the first time the three artists have worked together on a single project. According to Diplo, LSD started when he was invited into the studio to write with Labrinth and Sia. "Genius" is the first piece of music from the group. LSD released "Genius," "Audio," "Thunderclouds", and "Mountains" from their upcoming debut album to be released on 2 November 2018.- Composer
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Michael Brook was born in 1952 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is a composer and actor, known for Into the Wild (2007), The Fighter (2010) and Brooklyn (2015).- Music Artist
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Masaru Yokoyama is known for Astra Lost in Space (2019), Mashle: Magic and Muscles (2023) and Occultic;Nine (2016).- Composer
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Hasan is a Turkish/American composer and producer. He was born in September 21, 1984 and raised in Ankara, Turkey. Starting from high school he studied in the UK for 8 years until completing the University education. He then moved to Los Angeles to study Film Scoring and has been living there ever since. Having spent long time in different countries, gave him a wide range in his musical palette embracing both classical and electronic musical composition approaches.
He was classically trained in piano from early years and enjoys working with this instrument. He also spent several years as a DJ in the UK, that gave him unique experiences with adapting to different audiences and setting the pace of a musical performance.
His entryway to scoring for media has been through commercials, working on many projects writing & producing in various styles for well known brands. His film scoring work took off from his homeland and experienced beautiful projects with talented creators. He has scored multiple feature length films that range in style. After the box office success, "Miracle in Cell no 7" has become a global hit soon after being released on Netflix, reaching top 10 lists in many countries including the US.
Hasan resides in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.
The review below is from John Mansell, a film music critic from the UK. He is a movie & soundtrack enthusiast and reviews composer works. Therefore this context is his honest review and not a part of a PR campaign.
" Next is music from a Turkish produced movie, 7.Kogustaki Mucize, a highly emotional watch which has a score that just lends so much to the films story-line, a delicate and fragile sounding work for a film that was said to be the best film to come out of Turkey in 2019. It is beautiful motion picture, that is deeply affecting and has a score that will invade your heart and maybe break it a little. The music is by composer Hasan Ozsut, it is an incredibly power work, that is laden with melancholy thematic material, rich and plaintive interludes adorn the soundtrack with the music rising and falling eloquently throughout supporting, enhancing and ingratiating each and every scene it is employed within. To compare it with any other score or composers work would be impossible as this music takes us beyond emotion and delivers raw emotion each time. You might do well to also check out the composers music for the movie DUST. Recommended. "- Composer
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Trent Reznor is an American songwriter/musician/producer and sole member of multi-platinum act Nine Inch Nails, and now an Academy Award, Emmy and Grammy Award winning film composer. He began creating music as a child in Western Pennsylvania, first on piano and then taking up other instruments. He eventually moved to Cleveland, OH where he took a job at a local recording studio as an assistant engineer/janitor, recording his own material during unused studio time.
Those recordings became the first Nine Inch Nails album, 1989's Pretty Hate Machine. NIN soon developed a reputation as one of the best live acts in rock and joined the inaugural Lollapalooza tour in 1991. The Broken EP followed in 1992, garnering NIN's first Grammy Award (NIN has received twelve Grammy nominations and won two awards). In 1994, the breakthrough album The Downward Spiral was released and featured the radio hits "Closer" and "Hurt." The controversial music video for "Closer" was directed by Mark Romanek and is considered among the best music videos of all time having won various awards (it is one of the few music videos included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City). NIN's mud-covered appearance that Summer at Woodstock 1994 is now legendary. Also released that year was the Reznor produced soundtrack to Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers (1994). He returned to film 3 years later, producing the soundtrack for David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997). In 1997, Reznor appeared on Time magazine's most influential people list, and Spin magazine named him "the most vital artist in music."
Five years later NIN's next album, The Fragile, was released - the double album debuted at number one. In 2002, "Hurt" was covered by Johnny Cash to critical acclaim; it was one of Cash's final hit releases before his death. NIN's next album, With Teeth, also reached number one in 2005 as did the single "The Hand That Feeds." Reznor broke new ground by posting the single's source tracks as a free download for fans to edit/remix/sample as they pleased and creating an online community for fans to share their creations. David Fincher directed the video for "Only," With Teeth's second single.
The concept album Year Zero was released in 2007 alongside an accompanying ARG (alternate reality game). Conceived by Trent Reznor and assisted in execution by 42 Entertainment, the ARG progressed through the album release and beyond, featuring no less than 29 websites, hidden messages within NIN merchandise, recordings and bar codes, hot lines, flier and poster campaigns, and even resistance cell "meetings" organized via calls made to pre-paid cell phones distributed to participants. Within two months, the ARG amassed 2.5 million cumulative site visits, 7.5 million cumulative page views and 2 million phone calls. Reznor has developed Year Zero into an HBO/BBC mini-series.
In 2008, free of contractual obligations, NIN released Ghosts I-IV, a 36-track instrumental album, NIN's first independent release. Soon after, a new studio album, The Slip, was released as a free digital download alongside a simple message: "Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years - this one's on me" - TR (In less than a year, it exceeded 1.8M downloads). Ghosts I-IV and The Slip were both released under Creative Commons licenses allowing extensive use of the material within independent film projects. Following these two releases, NIN embarked on the acclaimed Lights In The Sky Tour featuring groundbreaking production effects, layering and programming that allowed the performers to interact and control aspects of the show's visuals. The tour was recognized by the industry as one of the top-ten most creative tours of all time.
Over the course of his career, Reznor has also collected countless production and remix credits including collaborations with David Bowie, producing Saul Williams and the discovery and production of Marilyn Manson.
In 2010, Reznor composed his first film score; for David Fincher's masterwork The Social Network (2010). The score won the Academy Award for best score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. Additionally, he received a Critics' Choice Movie Award and a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for best score. He also scored Fincher's next film, the highly anticipated The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).
In addition to his continued work in Nine Inch Nails, Reznor is recording new music as a member of the group How to Destroy Angels.- Composer
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Atticus Ross was born on 16 January 1968 in England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for The Social Network (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) and Mank (2020). He has been married to Claudia Sarne since 2001. They have three children.- Music Artist
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Jonathan Batiste is an iconic, unique artist of this generation. With his unique voice on piano and dapper style, Jonathan has ignited the New York City music scene. He comes from a celebrated lineage of New Orleans musicians. He has performed in over 40 countries; headlined in premier venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, and Concertgebouw; released CDs ("Times In New Orleans" and "Live In New York: At The Rubin Museum Of Art"), 2 EP's ("The Amazing Jon Batiste EP" and "In The Night EP"); performed on national TV (NBA All-Star Game Half-Time Show 2008, HBO series "Treme", BET etc.); and collaborated with Wynton Marsalis, Prince, Jimmy Buffett, Roy Hargrove, and Cassandra Wilson, among others. He is a "Movado Future Legend" award recipient and a "Steinway Performing Artist."
Starting out on the drums at age 8, by 12 he had moved on to--and was quickly advancing in--the piano. He is also a vocalist, arranger, composer, and "harmonabord" player.
As a role model in his community, Batiste empowers the next generation of musicians. With his role as co-director and music curator at The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, he has programmed year-long educational workshops for hundreds of students. As an educator and a humanitarian, he has conducted clinics and master classes worldwide. Jonathan is also a traveling ambassador for the NY-based non-profit organization "Music Unites," founded by Michelle Edgar. Batiste collaborates with Edgar on various projects throughout the year dedicated to bringing music education to underprivileged children in underfunded inner-city school systems.
Jonathan is the founder and leader of The Stay Human Band, which is comprised of some of New York City's most creative young musicians. The Stay Human Band is a marching band that moves through the city, sharing their world-class music and uplifting high energy with the people of New York. They recently released an album, "MY N.Y.," which was recorded entirely in the city's subway cars and on its street corners, giving the listener a candid look into New York City.- Composer
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Jack Arnold was born in June 1975 in London, England, UK. Jack is a composer, known for Wild Rose (2018), Albatross (2011) and The Scouting Book for Boys (2009).- Composer
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Shirô Sagisu was born on 29 August 1957 in Tokyo, Japan. He is a composer, known for Shin Godzilla (2016), Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku (2020) and Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009).- Music Artist
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Hikaru Utada was born on 19 January 1983 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a music artist and actress, known for Hikaru Utada: Goodbye Happiness (2010), Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (2007) and Hikaru Utada: Prisoner of Love (2008). She was previously married to Francesco Calianno and Kazuaki Kiriya.- Music Department
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Jonathan Larson was born to Allan and Nanette Larson in Mount Vernon, New York, on February 4, 1960. A talented actor and musician, he was offered a full scholarship to Adelphi University on Long Island, where he met his idol (and later mentor) Stephen Sondheim. After graduating, he moved to the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan and, over a period of 12 years, wrote many plays and musicals, including the off-Broadway hit "Tick...tick...BOOM!" It wasn't until 1994, however, that he began work on what would be known as Rent. Finished in 1995, the musical was set to go into previews off-Broadway in early 1996. However, the night of the final dress rehearsal, Jonathan died of an aortic dissection as a result of later-to-be-known Marfan's syndrome.- Composer
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Cho Young-wuk was born on 1 January 1962 in South Korea. He is a composer and producer, known for Decision to Leave (2022), Oldboy (2003) and The Handmaiden (2016).- Actor
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Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the first incarnation of "In the Heights" his sophomore year at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Off-Broadway, "In The Heights" received nine Drama Desk nominations, including best music, best lyrics, and it won the award for outstanding ensemble performance; received the Lucille Lortel Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for best musical; received the Obie Award for outstanding music and lyrics; received a Theater World Award for outstanding debut Performance and the Clarence Derwent Award both for Mr. Miranda's performance. He is the recipient of the 2007 ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award. He has appeared on The Sopranos (1999) and Sex and the City (1998), House (2004), and The Electric Company (2006). He is also a co-founding member of Freestyle Love Supreme, a hip-hop comedy group that tours comedy festivals all over the world.- Composer
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Germaine Franco is a Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated composer, percussionist, conductor, and music producer whose extensive resume and inventiveness, has made her a trailblazer in the fields of film, television, and immersive media music. Franco is the first Latina to win a Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media with her score for Encanto, and the first woman to score a Disney animated feature film. She received the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Music in an Animated Feature for Coco and Encanto. She recently completed work on the Netflix hit, The Mother. Additional highlight projects include her breakout scores for Margarita and the Sundance Festival darling Dope.
Her work has been performed by The Chicago Philharmonic, The National Symphony Orchestra, The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and The Los Angeles Master Chorale, among others.
Beyond the screen Franco is active in various philanthropic and music education endeavors. She is a board member with the Neighborhood Music School in Boyle Heights and has been a featured speaker or guest artist at many prestigious organizations including: UCLA, USC, The Juilliard School, Brown, Northwestern University, Emerson College, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Sundance Film Festival, Databricks, and Shipt.
Franco holds both a bachelor's and master's degree in music from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. Her master teachers include John Ashton Thomas, John Powell, Emil Richards, Phil Kraus, Buster Bailey, and Luis Conte.- Music Artist
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A two-time winner and five-time nominee of the Academy Award, A. R. Rahman is popularly known as the man who has redefined contemporary Indian music. Rahman, according to a BBC estimate, has sold more than 150 million copies of his work comprising of music from more than 100 film soundtracks and albums across over half a dozen languages, including landmark scores such as "Roja", "Bombay", "Dil Se", "Taal", "Lagaan", "Vandemataram", "Jodhaa Akbar", "Slumdog Millionaire" and "127 Hours".
Rahman pursued music as a career at a very young age. After assisting leading musicians in India, he went on to compose jingles and scores for popular Indian television features. He also obtained a degree in western classical music from the Trinity College of Music, London and set up his own in-house studio called Panchathan Record-Inn in Chennai. In 1991, noted filmmaker Mani Ratnam offered Rahman a movie called "Roja" which was a run-away success and brought nationwide fame and acclaim to the composer. The movie also won Rahman the Indian National Award for Best Music Composer, the first time ever by a debut. Since then, Rahman has gone on to win the National Award three more times - the most ever by any music composer.
In 1997, to commemorate 50 years of Indian Independence, Sony Music signed Rahman as its first artist in South Asia. The result was "Vande Mataram", an album that instantly and successfully rekindled the spirit of patriotism among Indians around the world. In 2001, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, renowned music composer of musicals including "Phantom of the Opera" and "Jesus Christ Superstar", invited Rahman to compose for his musical, "Bombay Dreams", which was the first production that Sir Webber did not compose for. "Bombay Dreams" opened to packed houses at London's West End and had an unprecedented run for two years. The show later premiered in New York. In 2005, Rahman composed the score for the stage production of "The Lord of the Rings", one of the most expensive productions mounted on stage.
In 2008, Rahman's work gained global prominence with the extraordinary success of his score for "Slumdog Millionaire" that won eight Academy Awards including two for Rahman - Best Score and Best Song. Rahman won over 15 awards for this score including two Grammys, the Golden Globe and the BAFTA. Rahman's music led him to be noticed internationally with several of his tracks featured in movies such as "The Lord of War", "Inside Man" and "The Accidental Husband". His composition, "Bombay Theme" holds the distinction for being featured in over 50 international compilations. Aside from "Slumdog Millionaire", he also scored the music for Hollywood productions, "Elizabeth - The Golden Age", "Couples Retreat", "127 Hours", "People Like Us", "Warriors of Heaven & Earth", "The 100 Foot Journey", "Million Dollar Arm" and "Pele".
Rahman has been conferred with honorary doctorates from the Trinity College of Music, Aligarh Muslim University, Anna University, Middlesex University and Berklee College of Music. In 2009, he was featured in Time Magazine's "Time100: The Most Influential People."
In 2011, Rahman joined a super band, SuperHeavy, comprised of Mick Jagger, Joss Stone, Damian Marley and Dave Stewart. Rahman has collaborated with several other international artists including Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Michael Jackson, Michael Bolton, MIA, Vanessa Mae, the Pussycat Dolls, Sarah Brightman, Dido, Hossam Ramzy, Hans Zimmer and Akon.
Rahman remains one of the few mainstream artists whose works have been performed live by the likes of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Babelsberg Film Orchestra and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Rahman has expanded his focus to newer horizons including the establishment of the A. R. Rahman Foundation to help poor and underprivileged children. Rahman has also announced initiatives to establish a tradition in western classical music in India and has embarked on an ambitious venture to set up the KM Music Conservatory and the KM Music Symphony Orchestra based out of Chennai, India.