Danny Elfman

Danny Elfman came to film music out of a rock band. Born in Los Angeles, he spent his youth travelling in France and Africa before joining the theatrical troupe that turned into Oingo Boingo, for which he sang and wrote most of the songs. Tim Burton hired him for Pee-wee's Big Adventure in 1985 and the partnership held: Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow and a dozen more. He wrote the theme for The Simpsons in 1989, and has scored for Sam Raimi, Gus Van Sant, Ang Lee and David O. Russell. His concert works include Serenada Schizophrana, a violin concerto written for Sandy Cameron, a piano quartet and a percussion concerto. The film work has brought him a Grammy for Batman, Saturn awards, the Richard Kirk Award in 2002, Disney Legend in 2015, the Max Steiner Award in 2017 and a lifetime award from the Society of Composers and Lyricists in 2022, alongside three Golden Globe nominations, BAFTA nominations and four Oscar nominations. He has scored Errol Morris's documentaries and the series Desperate Housewives, worked with Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro and Brian De Palma, and appeared as a performer at Coachella in 2022 and in San Diego and Irvine in August 2023. His theme for Wednesday received an Emmy Award in 2023.