A few of our favorite film score composers:
John Williams -- iconic, almost Wagnerian connection between characters and music. Just pick a character and hum their theme!
The Newman Family (Alfred, Randy, David, Maria, Thomas, Lionel, Joey, and Emil) -- the largest and most Oscar-winning family of composers.
Hans Zimmer - an unnerving bridge between acoustic and electronic music (think The Dark Knight action scenes).
Bernard Herrmann - His scores are amazingly tense and punctuated by edge-of-your-seat ostinati. Alfred Hitchcock owes much of his films' excitement to Herrmann!
Max Steiner - perhaps the father of modern film scores (think KING KONG)
Carl Stalling - father of cartoon comedy music. The very pinnacle of "mousing" almost every movement to music. (Looney Tunes)
Carl Davis - devotion to the restoration and scoring of silent films -- bringing them many of the scores they richly deserve.
Danny Elfman - playful energy that can only come from a former punk rock star. (Think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
Evan Losoya - fresh experimentation mixed with nostalgic respect for film music's rich history! (Think of his modern scores to Sunrise and Steamboat Bill Junior.)
Listen to Evan Losoya's orchestrations in the upcoming Little Shop of Horrors/Superman-Arctic Giant GFFP performance on May 15th at Journey Downtown Theater.