Alan Silvestri

In over thirty years as a film composer, Alan Silvestri has blazed an innovative trail with his exciting and melodic scores, winning the applause of Hollywood and movie audiences the world over.Born in Manhattan in 1950, Alan was first drawn to music at an early age. Beginning as a drummer, his love for instruments quickly grew to include the bassoon, clarinet, saxophone and guitar. Writing his own music and forming numerous bands during his early school days, his musical life would lead him to the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he was to enroll as a composition major.Upon leaving Berklee, Alan "hit the road" with Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders. As a guitarist in Cochran's popular band, Alan toured America. Continuing to explore his love of music, he moved to Hollywood and the result was his first movie score with 1972's "The Doberman Gang (1972)".He would score a number of small films during this period before breaking through as a television composer during the second season of the hit series CHiPs (1977). During four years on the show, Alan's talent for driving, energetic rhythms would help the motorcycle cops give chase. Silvestri's talent for percussive melodies would particularly impress Robert Zemeckis, who gave the composer his breakthrough score in the action-comedy hit "Romancing the Stone (1984)".Both director and composer were suddenly propelled to a hugely successful collaboration that would include the "Back to the Future (1985)" series, "Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)", the Oscar-winning "Forrest Gump (1994)" (for which Silvestri received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score), "Contact (1997)", "What Lies Beneath (2000)", "Cast Away (2000)" (for which he won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition), "The Polar Express (2004)" (whose song "Believe", co-written with Glen Ballard, won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song), "Beowulf (2007)", "A Christmas Carol (2009)" and "Flight" which was released on November 2nd, 2012.Through the years and over 100 scores, Alan has distinguished himself in many genres, from action sci-fi (Marvel's "The Avengers (2012)" and "Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)") to thrilling suspense ("Predator (1987)", "The Abyss (1989)"), to galloping westerns ("Young Guns II (1990)", "The Quick and the Dead (1995)"), youthful fantasy ("Stuart Little (1999)", "Lilo & Stitch (2002)", "Night at the Museum (2006)" trilogy) rollicking comedy ("Father of the Bride (1991)", "The Parent Trap (1998)", "What Women Want (2000)") and heartfelt drama ("The Perez Family (1995)", "Maid in Manhattan (2002)"). But whether composing orchestral action, or tender melodies, Alan Silvestri's work has always been identifiable by its keen sense of melody and theme. He has won 2 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) for Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey: Standing Up in the Milky Way (2014) and Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014)Long time residents of the Monterey Peninsula, the Silvestri family has embarked on a new venture as the founders of Silvestri Vineyards. Their Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Pinot Blanc, Barbera and Pinot Gris wines show that lovingly cultivated fruit has a music all its own. "There's something about the elemental side of wine making that appeals to me" he says. "Both music making and wine making involve the blending of art and science. Just as each note brings it own voice to the melody, each vine brings it's own unique personality to the wine".Whether in his studio or the Silvestri vineyard in Carmel Valley, Alan continues to find inspiration and passion for music, film, wine, and life in one of the most beautiful places on earth...the Monterey Peninsula. Show less «