Michael Giacchino
composer
l arranger l orchestrator
History:
Michael
Giacchino's melodies have enhanced entertainment of all genres,
including television shows, animated shorts, video games, and stand-alone
symphonies with themes that run the gamut from driving, melancholic,
and suspenseful to serene. Viewers of the hit ABC TV shows Lost
and Alias are well acquainted with his work and have been enjoying
his compositions for several seasons.
In early 1997,
Giacchino was approached by the newly formed DreamWorks Studios
to score their flagship PlayStation video game, based on Steven
Spielberg’s summer box office hit The Lost World. The Lost
World featured the first original live orchestral score written
for a PlayStation console game and was recorded with the members
of the Seattle Symphony.
Since The Lost
World, Giacchino has gone on to compose many orchestral scores for
DreamWorks Interactive, including the highly successful Medal of
Honor series, a World War II simulation game created by Steven Spielberg.
It was his work on such games that led to his involvement in the
ABC series Alias, created by writer/director JJ Abrams. The producers
of the show contacted the composer because they were fans of the
games he had worked on. Alias, in turn, became a gateway of sorts
for his work with Pixar on The Incredibles.
At the age of
ten, Giacchino spent the majority of his time split between the
movie theater and his basement, where he made many 8mm stop-motion
animated films using his brother’s ping pong table as a sound
stage for his miniature movie sets. His favorite part of the process
was actually finding music to put to the films. He remembers listening
to the Star Wars soundtrack as a kid, and being completely amazed
at the way the music was telling a story. It was an instant awakening
as to what the various instruments of an orchestra could accomplish.
His boyhood
fascination with movies led him to film school at the School of
Visual Arts in New York City, where he majored in film production
with a minor in history. Upon graduation, Giacchino began composition
studies at Juilliard School at Lincoln Center while working day
jobs at both Universal and Disney’s New York publicity offices.
Two years later, he was transferred to the Disney Studios in Burbank
to work in their feature film publicity department. During that
time, the aspiring composer accepted a job with Disney Interactive
as an assistant producer, managing and producing titles for the
division. He devoted his evenings and weekend to practicing and
studying music.
Current
Credits:
The Emmy-winning "Lost" and "Speed Racer" composer
and conductor was selected by Oscar producer Laurence Mark and executive
producer Bill Condon as music director for the 09 Oscars ceremony.
Giacchino, who
was nominated last year for an original score Oscar for "Ratatouille,"
conducted the live telecast and injected bit'o Hollywood nostalgia
into the live ceremony at the Kodak Theatre.
On May 13th, 2000, the Haddonfield Symphony premiered Giacchino’s
first Symphony, Camden 2000. The concert took place at the Sony
E-Center in Camden, and proceeds went to benefit the Heart of Camden,
an organization dedicated to rebuilding inner city Camden housing.
The symphony, which played to a sold-out crown, celebrated the birth,
past greatness, and future of hope in the city of Camden, N.J.
Contact:
Michael
Giacchino
copyright 2009 studioexpresso
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