James Horner

Date of Birth	14 August 1953 , Los Angeles, California, USA
Birth Name	James Roy Horner

Mini Bio (1)

James Horner began studying piano at the age of five, and trained at the Royal College of Music in London, England, before moving to California in the 1970s. After receiving a bachelor's degree in music at USC, he would go on to earn his master's degree at UCLA and teach music theory there. He later completed his Ph.D. in Music Composition and Theory at UCLA. Horner began scoring student films for the American Film Institute in the late 1970s, which paved the way for scoring assignments on a number of small-scale films. His first large, high-profile project was composing music for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), which would lead to numerous other film offers and opportunities to work with world-class performers such as the London Symphony Orchestra. Currently, with over 75 projects to his name, and work with people such as George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Oliver Stone, and Ron Howard, Horner has firmly established himself as a strong voice in the world of film scoring. In addition, Horner composed a classical concert piece in the 1980s, called "Spectral Shimmers", which was world premiered by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

Trade Mark (5)

Frequently uses a chorus or soloist (e.g. Glory (1989), Titanic (1997), A Beautiful Mind (2001)).

His scores have two or three main themes and one or two motifs.

Frequently uses the sakuhachi (Ex: Braveheart (1995)).

Frequently represents bad guys with a distinctive four-note motif.

Frequently composes for James Cameron.

Trivia (13)

Attended University of the Pacific in Stockton, California

Has tagged several scores with a distinctive four-note trumpet blast during an important moment in the film.

Many of his scores contain a wordless female voice (like Ennio Morricone often does).

Often uses a "crashing piano" to symbolize genius in his scores (A Beautiful Mind (2001), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)).

Son of Harry Horner.

Brother of Christopher Horner.

His end-title themes for Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) and Glory (1989) have been heavily reused for various movie trailers.

Although he studied piano, he doesn't consider himself to be a good pianist.

Has followed Jerry Goldsmith by composing the scores for two sequels to movies Goldsmith scored: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and Aliens (1986).

Was nominated for Film Composer of the Year in 2009 by the International Film Music Critics Association.

Is close friends with score engineer Simon Rhodes. Rhodes also served as album co-producer on several of Horner's scores.

His score for Titanic (1997) is reportedly the biggest-selling orchestral soundtrack in history.

Wrote and conducted a special medley at the World Premiere of 'Titanic 3D' at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

Personal Quotes (1)

I had no idea who Jerry Goldsmith or John Williams were before I did The Hand (1981). I'm sure that I was influenced by Goldsmith's large orchestral scores when I started out, and that was because the people who employed me wanted that kind of sound. I wasn't in a position to say, 'Go to Hell!'

Source:  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000035/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm