James Newton Howard

James Newton Howard is an American composer, songwriter, conductor, and music producer whose work spans film scores, pop recordings, and concert music. Born on June 9, 1951, in Los Angeles, California, he studied piano at the Thacher School in Ojai and later attended the University of Southern California School of Music. His early professional career included touring and recording as a keyboard player with Elton John; Howard contributed to albums and live performances during the late 1970s and 1980s, including work associated with Elton John’s “Too Low for Zero” era. Howard became one of Hollywood’s most prolific composers through scores that combine orchestral writing, electronic textures, and carefully shaped melodic themes. His early major film credits included “Pretty Woman” (1990), “The Prince of Tides” (1991), “The Fugitive” (1993), and “Dave” (1993). He received Academy Award nominations for “The Prince of Tides,” “The Fugitive,” “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” “The Village,” “Michael Clayton,” “Defiance,” “The Dark Knight,” and “News of the World.” His score for “The Village,” directed by M. Night Shyamalan, prominently featured violinist Hilary Hahn and received particular notice for its lyrical solo-violin writing. His collaboration with Shyamalan has included “The Sixth Sense,” “Unbreakable,” “Signs,” “The Village,” “Lady in the Water,” “The Happening,” “The Last Airbender,” “After Earth,” “The Visit,” “Split,” “Glass,” “Old,” and “Knock at the Cabin.” Howard also composed the music for several major fantasy and franchise films. He scored “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” and “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” creating music within J. K. Rowling’s Wizarding World. For Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon,” he shared composing credit with Fopr? Wait. Howard’s work on “The Hunger Games” series began with “The Hunger Games” in 2012 and continued through “Catching Fire,” “Mockingjay – Part 1,” and “Mockingjay – Part 2.” The first film’s song “Safe & Sound,” written by Howard, Taylor Swift, and Joy Williams and performed by Swift with The Civil Wars, won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. He frequently collaborates with director Francis Lawrence, scoring “I Am Legend,” “Water for Elephants,” “Red Sparrow,” “Slumberland,” and the later “Hunger Games” films. Other notable scores include “King Kong,” “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight,” co-composed with Hans Zimmer, “Snow White and the Huntsman,” “Maleficent,” “A Man Called Otto,” and “All the Light We Cannot See.” Howard’s career has earned him multiple Grammy Awards, Emmy recognition, Golden Globe nominations, and eight Academy Award nominations.