The following people have been highly influential in my development both as a film composer and as a pops arranger, and I thank them for sharing so much of their time, talents, and insights with me.
- Director of Music at Walt Disney for 28 years
- Program Director of the "Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television" program at The University of Southern California from 1988-2002 (I was fortunate to have participated in this prestigious film scoring program.)
- Composer of music for numerous Disney films, including "The Fox and the Hound"
- Before becoming a film music legend, Dr. Baker had an extensive career in the arena of popular music, and wrote arrangements for "The Bob Hope Show" and "The Jack Benny Show," to name a few.
- Click here for my tribute to Dr. Baker.
- Composer of music for many feature films, including "Silverado," "Miracle on 34th Street" (the 1994 remake), "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey," "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid," and "The Rescuers Down Under"
- Member of the ASCAP Board of Directors
- Member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
- A legend in the world of television music for many years, he created the theme songs and underscore for many of TV's most popular shows, including "Hill Street Blues," "L.A. Law," "The Rockford Files," "Law & Order," and "NYPD Blue."
- Legendary arranger of a vast amount of pops music, including arrangements written for the Boston Pops Orchestra and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
- Frequent guest lecturer at the "Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television" program at the University of Southern California
- Arranger and orchestrator par excellence for movies such as "The Slipper and the Rose"
- Composer for television shows (including "Dynasty" and "Dallas") and films (such as "Watership Down")
- Prolific arranger of jazz and popular music for many celebrated singers, including Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and Beverly Sills
- Winner of four Grammy Awards for his album "Fly Me to the Moon"
- Composer of over 400 hours of original music for motion pictures and for such television shows as "Cagney & Lacey," "The Incredible Hulk," "Alien Nation," "In the Heat of the Night," and the miniseries "V"
- Recipient of 3 Emmy Award nominations for Best Dramatic Score
- Pupil of Aaron Copland, Sir William Walton, and Nadia Boulanger
- Composer of music for many films, including "One Special Night" and "Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story"
- Winner of an Emmy Award for his score for the Stephen King thriller, "It"
- Author of the book, "The Emerging Film Composer"
- Outstanding arranger and orchestrator for some of Hollywood's most successful musical adaptations, including "The Sound of Music," "West Side Story," "Mary Poppins," "Brigadoon," and "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang."
- Famed arranger and orchestrator for numerous Broadway musicals
- Composer of over 450 film and television scores, including the film classics "Laura" and "The Bad and the Beautiful"
- Composer for numerous television hits, including "Dallas," "Trapper John, M.D.," "Police Story," "Barnaby Jones," and "M*A*S*H"
- Composer of jingles for many famous commercials, including commercials for Pizza Hut and Toyota
