W.G. Snuffy Walden
Born: Louisiana.
Background: Born in Louisiana but raised in Texas, William Garrett "Snuffy" Walden is one of the most successful television composers of recent years. Studied piano as a child, and originally set his sights on a career in medicine before changing tack and embracing music. Spent much of the 1970s and early 1980s as a guitarist, enjoying a successful stint as a member of the popular Texas rock Stray Dog, and touring with artists such as Chaka Khan, Eric Burdon, Stevie Wonder and Donna Summer, before he was discovered by the film music industry while playing a gig in a club in Santa Monica in 1987. His first assignment was the massively successful comedy/drama series "Thirtysomething", and since then Snuffy has gone from strength to strength, composing music for hit series after hit series, and peppering his filmography with occasional features and TV movies of the week. Released an album of original music on the Windham Hill label in 2001. Has been nominated for 10 Emmy awards, but only won once - in 1999 - for the theme for "The West Wing".
Highlight Scores: Thirtysomething (TV), Roseanne (TV), The Wonder Years (TV), I'll Fly Away, Stephen King's The Stand, My So-Called Life (TV), Ellen (TV), Early Edition (TV), The Drew Carey Show (TV), Felicity (TV), Providence (TV), The West Wing (TV).
Links: Official Site.

Don Walker
Born: INSERT. Died: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: INSERT.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Oliver Wallace
Born: 6 August 1887, London, England. Died: 15 September 1963.
Background: Popular and respected British-born composer, the majority of whose work was written for the Disney studio. After moving to the United States from England at the end of the 1920s, Wallace began his film music career as a staff writer at Universal, contributing large amounts of uncredited stock music to many productions, before moving over to Disney at the beginning of the 1940s. During the next 20 years Wallace wrote music for dozens of Disney's classic animated shorts starring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto and the rest, as well as their groundbreaking animated features, thereby cementing his place in the subconscious of millions of children the world over. Wrote music for the "Magical World of Disney" TV specials in the 1950s, and was still regularly composing at the beginning of the 1960s, when he died in 1963 aged 76. Often collaborated with fellow Disney resident composers Frank Churchill, Paul Smith and Edward Plumb. Was nominated for five Oscars, winning for "Dumbo" in 1941.
Highlight Scores: Dumbo, Victory Through Air Power, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Old Yeller, White Wildreness, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Darby O'Gill and the Little People, The Incredible Journey.
Awards: Oscar for "Dumbo" (1941). Nominations for "Victory Through Air Power" (1943), "Cinderella" (1950), "Alice in Wonderland" (1951) and "White Wonderland" (1958).

William Walton
Born: 29 March 1902, Oldham, England. Died: 8 March 1983.
Background: Considered the most important English composers of the 20th century, with a unique style built on Romantic traditions, brilliantly orchestrated and infused with jazz. Studied at Oxford University, His most important classical works include his 1st Symphony, his viola concerto, his violin concerto, the "Orb and Sceptre" coronation march, the cantata "Belshazzar's Feast" and the opera "Troilus and Cressida". He was Sir Lawrence Olivier's composer of choice, and is often regarded as "The Shakespeare Composer", having written music for eleven filmed versions of the bard's plays. During these later years of his life, Walton lived on the island of Ischia, near Naples. He remained an active composer until his death there in 1983.
Highlight Scores: Escape Me Never, As You Like It, A Stolen Life, Henry V, Hamlet, Richard III, Battle of Britain.
Awards: Oscar nominations for "Henry V" (1944) and "Hamlet" (1948).
Links: Official Tribute Site by Gary Cannon.

Michael Wandmacher
Born: 29 October 1967, Stillwater, Minnesota.
Background: Began his career writing music for a Minneapolis advertising company, before moving to Los Angeles in 1998 to pursue feature film work. Since his move, Wandmacher has been making slow in-roads into the Hollywood composing system, having contributed music to a number of successful films, re-scoring Jackie Chan movies for the North American market, and providing the underscore for "From Justin to Kelly", the popular spin-off movie from the American Idol pop music reality TV show. In addition to scoring for film and television, Wandmacher also records, produces and remixes under the name "Khursoer", as whom he has enjoyed five top 10 charting singles in the US electronica chart. As a member of the advertising publishing house Primal Scream Music, Wandmacher also continues to specialise in music for advertising, having recently written for campaigns for Sony, Archipelago, Apple Computer, Diet Coke, Sony, Samuel Adams, Black & Decker, Miller Lite, NBA, Major League Baseball, and BMW. Interestingly, Wandmacher is also an expert in "ufology", and has conducted his own private research into UFOs, crop circle phenomena and government conspiracy theories.
Highlight Scores: Twin Dragons, Supercop, Modern Vampires, The Accidental Spy, The Legend of Drunken Master, Max Keeble's Big Move, From Justin to Kelly, Cry Wolf.
Links: Official Site

Ken Wannberg
Born: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: The Late Show, Tribute, The Amateur, Losin' It, Blame It On Rio, The Philadelphia Experiment.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Edward Ward
Born: INSERT. Died: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: INSERT.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Mervyn Warren
Born: 29 February 1964, Huntsville, Alabama.
Background: Award-winning composer, producer, lyricist, songwriter, arranger, pianist and vocalist, who has spent much of his film music career either working with or for Marc Shaiman. A church gospel singer in his home town in Alabama, Warren shot to fame as an original member of Take 6, the acappella sextet that took the world by storm in 1988, and with whom he recorded several albums and won four Grammy Awards. Diversified into record production and songwriting during the 1990s, and subsequently worked with artists including Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Brandy, Leann Rimes, Boyz II Men, Chicago, Queen Latifah, Al Jarreau, Bette Midler and Yolanda Adams. He produced hit singles for Donna Summer, Whitney Houston and Az Yet, wrote arrangements for his mentors Quincy Jones and David Foster, and was a music supervisor and producer on many films before making his debut as a composer in 1994. Has since gone on to notch up a number of hit films, while still continuing to act as a producer and arranger in the pop and R&B fields.
Highlight Scores: Steel, The Wedding Planner, A Walk to Remember, Marci X, Honey.

Don Was
Born: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: Backbeat.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Mark Watters
Born: Irving, Texas.
Background: Perennial Disney composer, who has specialised in writing music for the Magic Kingdom since making his debut in the early 1990s. Studied at USC, where he majored in composition and saxophone, and began his career in film music (and his long association with Disney) in the mid-1980s, assisting and orchestrating for composers such as Patrick Doyle and Chaz Jankel. Since then, Watters has written music for numerous features and TV shows - most of them animated - including the two movie spin-offs from "Aladdin", and series such as "Tazmania", "Bonkers", "101 Dalmatians", "Lionhearts", "Tiny Toon Adventures" and "The Little Mermaid". In addition to his film and TV work, Watters also has an established pedigree as a composer of "event music", having been music director for the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and at the 74th Annual Academy Awards in 2002. He is also the regular conductor and arranger for country music star Trisha Yearwood, and has written numerous orchestral classical and performance pieces.
Highlight Scores: Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, The Return of Jafar, The Pebble and the Pengiun, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, All Dogs Go To Heaven 2, Doug's 1st Movie.
Links: Official Site

Jimmy Webb
Born: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: Doc, Voices, The Last Unicorn.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Kenneth S. Webb
Born: INSERT. Died: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: INSERT.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Roy Webb
Born: 3 October 1888, New York, new York. Died: 10 December 1982.
Background: Prolific and well-respected American composer and music director, who contributed to over 200 films in a 30-year career, but whose work is virtually forgotten today. Studied at Columbia University, and began his career as a conductor on Broadway, working with the likes of Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, choreographer Busby Berkeley and director Alexander Leftwich. His friendship with fellow composer Max Steiner led to an interest in the new world of movie music. Webb joined the staff of RKO Pictures in 1930 to head up the studio's fledgling music department, and subsequently spent almost his entire career there, overseeing classic productions such as "Stage Door", "Bringing Up Baby", "Citizen Kane" and "Mr and Mrs Smith", and guiding the early careers of young composers, notably Bernard Herrmann. Many of his own early scores were culled from stock music be wrote for the RKO library, but began to make an individual name for himself in wider circles in the 1940s, often working on films by producer Val Lewton, and was subsequently nominated for seven Oscars, although he never actually won one. Briefly dabbled in TV scoring at the end of the 1950s, writing for shows such as "Wagon Train" and "The Alaskans", but retired to Santa Monica in 1960 after his life's work - every single manuscript and recorded score he ever wrote - was destroyed in a house fire. Died of a heart attack in December 1982, aged 94.
Highlight Scores: Quality Street, Stage Door, Bringing Up Baby, My Favourite Wife, Cat People, Joan of Paris, I Married a Witch, Murder My Sweet, The Body Snatcher, The Fallen Sparrow, The Seventh Victim, I Walked With a Zombie, Back to Bataan, The Fighting Seabees, The Enchanted Cottage, Bedlam, Notorious, The Spiral Staircase, Out of the Past, Flying Leathernecks, Mighty Joe Young, Marty.
Awards: Academy Award nominations for "Quality Street" (1937), "My Favourite Wife" (1940), "Joan of Paris" (1942), "I Married a Witch" (1942), "The Fallen Sparrow" (1943), "The Fighting Seabees" (1944) and "The Enchanted Cottage" (1945).

Craig Wedren
Born: New York, New York.
Background: Acclaimed indie composer who first came to fame in the late 1980s as one of the founding members of the band influential avant-punk band Shudder To Think, which he formed with his school friend and now film composer Nathan Larson. STT's albums have included popular titles such as "Ten Spot", "Funeral at the Movies", "Get Your Goat" and "Pony Express Record". Began to branch into the world of composing while still in the band, contributing two "glam-rock" songs to the Todd Haynes film "Velvet Goldmine" and writing and performing 25 songs for the Jesse Peretz film "First Love Last Rites", before making his solo composing debut in 1998. Was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for his score for "Roger Dodger", and looks likely to rise to the forefront of 'alternative' film scoring in the years to come.
Highlight Scores: First Love Last Rites, High Art, Laurel Canyon, Roger Dodger, The School of Rock.
Links: Official Site

Kurt Weill
Born: INSERT. Died: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: INSERT.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Brahm Wenger
Born:
Background: Studied at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, before moving to Los Angeles, where he took the USC film scoring programme, where his tutors included Jerry Goldsmith and Bruce Broughton. Made his film music debut in 1995, and has since gone on to score a number of movies in a peculiar genre of children's comedy adventures involving animals playing sports - notably the seemingly never-ending "Air Bud" (a dog) and "MVP" (a monkey) series which, between them, total an astonishing seven different films.
Highlight Scores: Hollow Point, I Think I Do, Air Bud, The Christmas List, Air Bud: Golden Receiver, MVP: Most Valuable Primate, Air Bud: World Pup, When in Rome, Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch.

Nigel Westlake
Born: 6 September 1958, Sydney, Australia.
Background: Popular Australian composer, the son of acclaimed clarinettist Donald Westlake. Studied with his father, and then at the Australian Film and Television School under William Motzing, and spent the early part of his career as a freelance composer and performer, across Australia and even in parts of Europe. Was a member of the popular Magic Puddin' Band during the 1980s, before being invited to be a core member of the Australia Ensemble, which promoted and performed new Australian classical music. During this time, Westlake also remained active as a composer, writing freelance commissions for various ensembles and organisations, including ABC television, and even the Royal Australian Navy Band. Made his film music debut in 1989, and broke onto the world stage through his work on the Oscar-nominated children's movie "Babe" in 1995. In addition to his film work, Westlake has recently completed symphonies for the Australian Virtuosi Orchestra and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, a concerto for pianist Michael Kieran Harvey, and a concerto for guitar and orchestra.
Highlight Scores: Babe, Children of the Revolution, A Little Bit of Soul, Babe: Pig in the City, Nugget.
Links: Nigel Westlake - Rimshot Music

Jerry Wexler
Born: INSERT. Died: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: INSERT.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Michael Whalen
Born: 2 December 1965, New York, New York.
Background: Prolific, yet largely undiscovered, composer whose vast output has been predominantly in the world of television and advertising. Began his film music career in the late 1980s, scoring episodes of the long-running soap opera "As The World Turns", before turning his hand to features and movies of the week. In addition to his film music, Whalen wrote the theme for ABC's "Good Morning America", and dozens of documentary scores for National Geographic, The Discovery Channel and PBS. He has also written many solo classical and non-classical, and released several albums, notably "The Softest Touch", "The Border of Dusk" and "Like Rain Through My Hands". He is also a noted producer, having worked with artists as diverse as Stephen Sondheim and Jim Brickman, as well as creating tracks for the multi-platinum selling "Pokemon" television soundtrack.
Highlight Scores: Katherine Hepburn: All About Me, Titanic: Anatomy of a Disaster, Stolen from the Heart, Air Force One, Chasing Destiny.
Links: Official Site

Bill Whelan
Born:
Background: Wildly popular Irish composer and arranger of traditional Gaelic dance music, who first shot to fame in the mid 1990s as a result of his work on the symphonic Irish dance show, "Riverdance". Began his career as performer and producer in the 1970s and 80s, initially as a member of the popular band Planxty, and later working with artists such as U2, Van Morrison, Kate Bush and Davy Spillane. Wrote his first major orchestral work in 1987, began writing for small Irish TV projects in the early 1990s, and was hired as an Gaelic music advisor to composers such as Elmer Bernstein, Michael Kamen and Graeme Revell when they wrote Irish scores in the early 1990s. However, Whelan owes all his international success to "Riverdance", a folk music dance extravaganza written initially to be the interval act at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. Such was the overwhelming popularity of the piece that Whelan, in collaboration with choreographer Michael Flatley, developed the piece into a full stage show. It took the world by storm, won Whelan a Grammy, and initiated a love affair with traditional Irish dance that shows no sign of abating. Since then, Whelan has scored a number of successful films, numerous theatre and stage productions, and adapted his own music from Riverdance into "Riverdance on Broadway".
Highlight Scores: Riverdance, Lamb Some Mother's Son, Dancing at Lughnasa, Under the Sun.
Links: Official Site

David Whitaker
Born:
Background: First emerged into the industry in the late 1960s, and quickly developed an association with the British Hammer film studio, with whom he worked on numerous occasions, on classic horror titles such as "Scream and Scream Again" (1969) and "Vampire Circus" (1972). During this time, Whitaker also enjoyed a great deal of success as a pop and vocal arranger, especially in France, where he regularly collaborated with artists such as Marianne Faithfull, Johnny Hallyday and Pascal Obispo. After the spectacular flop of the "The The Sword in the Stone" in 1982, Whitaker concentrated solely on arranging, and during the 80s and 90s went on to work with artists such as Annie Lennox, Simply Red, Air, Natalie Imbruglia, Luciano Pavarotti, all-girl classical group Bond, and British rockers The Verve (his most notable work with them being the string arrangements on their number one hit, "Bittersweet Symphony"). After almost two decades of total film music inactivity, Whitaker was unexpectedly hired to score the French thriller "Harry: He's Here to Help" in 2000, was nominated for a Cèsar Award for his work, and is once again finding his services as a composer in demand. Occasionally goes by the name of David Sinclair Whitaker.
Highlight Scores: Scream and Scream Again, Run Wild Run Free, Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde, Psychomania, Vampire Circus, Vampira, Dominique, Death Wish II, The Sword and the Sorcerer, Harry: He's Here to Help.

John Clifford White
Born: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: INSERT.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Marc Wilkinson
Born: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: If, Family Life, Triple Echo, The Hireling, Eagle's Wing.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Joseph Williams
Born: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: INSERT.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Patrick Williams
Born: 23 April 1939.
Background: Massively prolific composer, who has managed to pen an astonishing 200 scores - the vast majority of them for TV series or movies of the week - since making his film music debut in 1968. During his career, Williams has received twenty-one Emmy nominations (winning four times), twelve Grammy nominations (winning twice), and has been nominated for an Oscar, for "Breaking Away" in 1979, and the Pulitzer Prize in Music, for his composition "An American Concerto for Jazz Quartet and Symphony Orchestra" in 1977. He is an established and acclaimed conductor and arranger, having been chosen specifically by Frank Sinatra to act as Musical Director/Arranger for his final studio recordings, "Duets" and "Duets II". During his career, he also arranged for artists such as Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Gloria Estefan, Billy Joel, Barry Manilow, Brian Setzer, and Barbra Streisand. As a recording artist in his own right, Williams specialises in jazz and big band pieces, and some of his big band recordings, such as "Threshold" (1974), "Too Hip for the Room" (1983) and "Tenth Avenue" (1987) are considered classics of contemporary big band instrumentals. He is a Visiting Professor and Composer-in-Residence at the Universities of Utah and Colorado, and has lectured on music at Berklee College of Music, UCLA, USC and Yale University, and in 2001, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Duke University in North Carolina.
Highlight Scores: The Streets of San Francisco (TV), The Cheap Detective, Breaking Away, Used Cars, The Princess and the Cabbie, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, The Toy, Best Defense, Swing Shift, All of Me, Cry-Baby, The Cutting Edge, Jewels, The Grass Harp, That Old Feeling, Julian Po, Jesus, Yesterday's Children.
Awards: Academy Award nomination for "Breaking Away" (1979). Emmy Awards for "Lou Grant" (1977), "The Princess and the Cabbie" (1981), "Jewels" (1992) and "Yesterday's Children" (2000).
Links: Official Site

Paul Williams
Born: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: Phantom of the Paradise, A Star is Born, Bugsy Malone, The End, The Muppet Movie.
Awards: Academy Award for "A Star is Born" (1976).
Links: INSERT.

Malcolm Williamson
Born: 21 November 1931, Sydney, Australia. Died: 2 March 2003.
Background: Australian-born composer whose work in film was limited to a handful of Hammer horror movies in the 1970s. Studied at the Sydney Conservatory, and moved to England in 1953 to undertake further study with Elizabeth Lutyens, where he stayed for the remainder of his working life. Was better known as a classical composer and scholar than for his work in film; among his classical pieces are seven symphonies, numerous piano concertos and sonatas, three operas ("Our Man in Havana", "The English Eccentrics" and "The Violins of St. Jacques") and a ballet, "Sun into Darkness". Wrote his first film score in 1969, his last in 1984. Spent much of his later life studying and cataloguing the works of Olivier Messaien. Was appointed Master of Queen's Music following Sir Arthur Bliss's death in 1975 - the first non-Briton to hold the position - and remained so until his own death in 2003, at the age of 72.
Highlight Scores: The Brides of Dracula, Crescendo, The Horror of Frankenstein, Nothing But the Night, Watership Down, The Masks of Death.

Hal Willner
Born: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: INSERT.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Meredith Willson
Born: INSERT. Died: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: INSERT.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Chris Wilson
Born: 1961, Los Angeles, California.
Background: Artist, guitarist and composer Chris Wilson literally came out of nowhere to make his film music debut in 2002, co-composing the score for the smash hit "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" with Alexander Janko, as well as the subsequent TV spin-off series "My Big Fat Greek Life". However, once you realise that Chris is the younger brother of Rita Wilson (aka Mrs Tom Hanks), one of the film's producers, things fall into place. It's not what you know, it's who you know. Or who your sister is married to.
Highlight Scores: My Big Fat Greek Wedding, My Big Fat Greek Life (TV).

Nancy Wilson
Born: 16 March 1954, San Francisco, California.
Background: Rock composer and performer, best known as being one half of the all-female rock group Heart, which she formed with sister, Ann. With Heart, Wilson had several hit singles, including "Crazy on You," "Magic Man", "Barracuda", "These Dreams" and "Alone" sold 30 million records, had 21 top 40 hits, and performed in front of sold out arenas across the world. Had a brief spell with the band The Lovemongers in the 1980s, which she and Ann formed with fellow musicians Sue Ennis and Frank Cox, and had a small success with the track "The Battle of Evermore". After marrying rock journalist-turned-director Cameron Crowe in 1986, Wilson began scoring her husband's films, beginning with "Say Anything" (1989, in collaboration with Anne Dudley), and on to the Oscar-winning "Jerry Maguire" (1996), "Almost Famous" (2000) and "Vanilla Sky" (2001). Was ranked #40 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock list. Continues to tour as part of Heart, while developing further projects with Crowe.
Highlight Scores: Say Anything, Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous, Vanilla Sky, Elizabethtown.
Awards: BAFTA nomination for "Almost Famous" (2000).
Links: Official Ann and Nancy Wilson Site

Charles Wolcott
Born: INSERT. Died: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: INSERT.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Jonathan Wolff
Born: 23 October 1958, Louisville, Kentucky.
Background: Hugely prolific composer who has spent his entire career writing music for American television, including some of the most-watched shows in recent history. Studied at Louisville University, Bellarmind College in Kentucky, and at USC, and started his career as a freelance studio musician/orchestrator/recording engineer in Hollywood. First appeared on the music scene in the early 80s and quickly established himself as one of the most reliable and competent composers working in Hollywood, writing uncredited episodic underscore for a multitude of soaps and syndicated series, including "Falcon Crest", "Perfect Strangers", "Max Headroom", "21 Jump Street", "The New Mike Hammer" and "Knots Landing". First began to make a name for himself through his work on the Sarah Jessica Parker/Jamie Gertz comedy series "Square Pegs" in 1982, and hit the big time a few years later when he found himself attached to "Seinfeld", one of the most successful network comedy show in history.
Highlight Scores: Square Pegs (TV), Married With Children (TV), The Mickey Mouse Club (TV), Who's The Boss? (TV), Seinfeld (TV), Saved By the Bell (TV), Caroline in the City (TV), That's Life (TV), Will & Grace (TV), The King of Queens (TV), The Naked Truth (TV), The Geena Davis Show (TV), Reba (TV).
Links: Music Consultants Group Inc.

Albert Woodbury
Born: INSERT. Died: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: INSERT.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Alex Wurman
Born: 5 October 1966, Chicago, Illinois.
Background: The son of composer and arranger Hans Wurman (one of the pioneers of Moog synthesisers), Alex Wurman studied at the Academy of Performing Arts High School in Chicago, and went on to study composition at the University of Miami in Coral Gables and the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. Began his career writing music for advertising in his native Illinois, before moving to Los Angeles to score student films for the American Film Institute. As a member of Hans Zimmer's pre-Media Ventures team, Wurman assisted on scores such as "A League of Their Own", "Younger and Younger" and "The Lion King", before making his solo debut in 1993. First began to emerge as a new talent in 1999, through his collaboration with director Ron Shelton on the sporting drama "Play It To The Bone", and is gradually building a sizeable reputation and impressive list of credits, with several box office successes already under his belt.
Highlight Scores: The Grave, Play It To The Bone, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Hollywood Homicide, Normal, Anchorman, Criminal, A Lot Like Love.
Links: Official Site

Stomu Yamashta
Born: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: The Man Who Fell To Earth, The Tempest.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Yanni
Born: 14 November 1954, Kalamata, Greece.
Background: Real name Yiannis Chryssomalis. One of the world leaders in new-age music, who had released many best-selling albums. A champion swimmer and self-taught pianist with the gift of perfect pitch, he left his home in rural Greece to study psychology at the University of Minnesota in 1972. After graduation, he joined the rock band Chameleon as a keyboardist, which enjoyed a great deal of success around Minnesota and Wisconsin, before going solo in 1980. The release of albums such as "Optimystique", "Keys to Imagination" and "Out of Silence" cemented his reputation as a leading light of new age music, along with other single-monickered contemporaries such as Vangelis and Kitaro. He built his career in film music on the back of new success, making his debut in 1988, and reaching a peak the following year with the release of the psycho-thriller "Heart of Midnight" starring Jennifer Jason Leigh. Also Yanni's film music output has been small since the beginning of the 90s, his solo career has gone from strength to strength: his albums "Dare to Dream" and "In My Time" were nominated for Grammy Awards, and his live show "Yanni at the Acropolis" is one of the best-selling music videos of all time.
Highlight Scores: Steal the Sky, Heart of Midnight, When You Remember Me, Children of the Bride, I Love You Perfect.
Links: Official Site
Victor Young
Born: 8 August 1901, Chicago, Illinois. Died: 10 November 1956.
Background: One of the Golden Age greats, born in Chicago but raised in Poland by his grandparents. A child prodigy on the violin, Young studied at the Warsaw Imperial Conservatory of Music, and made his performance debut with the Warsaw Philharmonic aged just 20. Returning to the USA, Young became musical director of the Balaban & Katz theater chain, supervising live orchestrations for silent films, and was head-hunted by Paramount Pictures to join the staff of their new music department at the beginning of the 1930s. He made his film music debut in 1936, and stayed almost exclusively with Paramount for the next 30 years, during which time he scored upwards of 300 movies, and oversaw the musical direction on a further fifty, including popular titles such as "Anything Goes", "The Lost Weekend", "The Blue Dahlia", "Sands of Iwo Jima", "Samson and Delilah", and several Bob Hope/Bing Crosby "Road" movies. Among the many Victor Young compositions which became popular hits were "When I Fall In Love", "Sweet Sue," "Love Me Tonight," and the classic "Stella by Starlight", from the 1943 film "The Uninvited". Young was nominated for 20 Academy Awards - including two occasions on which he was nominated four times in the same year, 1939 and 1940, but his only victory came posthumously: a few months after completing "Around the World in Eighty Days" (1956), Young was working on his new film, "China Gate", when he suffered a sudden brain haemorrhage and died, aged just 55.
Highlight Scores: Army Girl, Breaking the Ice, Way Down South, Man of Conquest, Gulliver's Travels, Golden Boy, Arise My Love, North West Mounted Police, Dark Command, Arizona, Hold Back the Dawn, Take a Letter Darling, Silver Queen, Flying Tigers, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Love Letters, The Emperor Waltz, My Foolish Heart, Samson and Delilah, September Affair, Rio Grande, The Quiet Man, Scaramouche, The Greatest Show on Earth, Shane, Johnny Guitar, The Left Hand of God, Around the World in Eighty Days, Written on the Wind.
Awards: Posthumous Academy Award for "Around the World in Eighty Days" (1956), plus nineteen further nominations between 1938-1956. Golden Globe for "September Affair" (1950), nomination for "The Quiet Man" (1952).
Stephan Zacharias
Born: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: Der Grosse Baragozy, Late Show, Der Untergang.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

Paul Zaza
Born: Toronto, Canada.
Background: Canadian composer, best known for his collaborations with offbeat director Bob Clark. Studied at the Toronto Conservatory of Music, but began his career as a rock session musician, touring with the Canadian company of "Hair", and with the band Fifth Dimension in the 1970s. Began scoring films in the early 80s and has since built an impressive list of credits, the majority of which were either made in or funded by Canada. Is also the owner of Zaza Sound Productions, a state-of-the-art recording facility in Toronto. Won a Genie Award (Canadian Oscar) in 1980 for his score for "Murder By Decree", co-composed with Carl Zittrer, and was nominated again in 1984 and 1986. His best-known film is probably the American Christmas classic "A Christmas Story" (1982).
Highlight Scores: Murder By Decree, Prom Night, Porky's, A Christmas Story, Turk 182, Meatballs III, Loose Cannons, Blown Away, Baby Geniuses, I'll Remember April, Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2.

Denny Zeitlin
Born: 1938, Chicago Illinois.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Aaron Zigman
Born: INSERT.
Background: INSERT.
Highlight Scores: John Q, The Notebook.
Awards: INSERT.
Links: INSERT.

John Zorn
Born: 2 September 1953, New York, New York.
Background: Highly eclectic and avant-garde composer and saxophonist whose contributions to film music have always been at the fringes of the genre. Much of his original music is highly confrontational and abstract mix of classical, rock and roll and jazz, and goes hand-in-hand with performance art. Building on his new music roots, through his punk phase, and with influences as wide ranging as Led Zeppelin, Debussy and Charlie Parker, Zorn has released a number of acclaimed albums, including "Naked City", "Masada", "Tet", "News for Lulu" and "Grand Guignol". Interestingly for a 'mainstream' composer, Zorn has spent a surprising amount of time scoring S&M and fetish movies with arthouse pretensions, the best known of these being "Shock" and "Latex" directed by Michael Ninn, but is probably most widely known internationally for his work on director Michael Haneke's German thriller "Funny Games" (1997).
Highlight Scores: Step Across the Border, Zigrail, Funny Games, Latin Boys Go to Hell, Trembling Before G-d.

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