Christopher Young
Christopher Young | |
---|---|
Christopher Young in 2022 | |
Background information | |
Born | Red Bank, New Jersey, U.S. | April 28, 1957
Genres | Film score |
Occupation(s) | Composer orchestrator |
Instrument | Piano |
Years active | 1982–present |
Website | officialchristopheryoung |
Christopher Young (born April 28, 1957) is an American composer and orchestrator of film and television scores.[1]
Many of his compositions are for horror and thriller films, including Hellraiser, Species, Urban Legend, The Grudge, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Drag Me to Hell, Sinister, Deliver Us from Evil and Pet Sematary. Other works include Rapid Fire, Copycat, Set It Off, Entrapment, The Hurricane, Swordfish, Ghost Rider, Spider-Man 3 and The Shipping News, for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
Young was honored with the prestigious Richard Kirk award at the 2008 BMI Film and TV Awards. The award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music.[2]
Life and career
Young was born in Red Bank, New Jersey.[3] He graduated from Hampshire College in Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Arts in music, and then completed his post-graduate work at the University of North Texas. In 1980, he moved to Los Angeles. Originally a jazz drummer, when he heard some of Bernard Herrmann's works he decided to become a film composer. He studied at the UCLA Film School under David Raksin. He teaches at the Thornton School of Music of the University of Southern California.[4]
Discography
Film
1960s
Year | Title | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1968 | Robby | Ralph C. Bluemke | 1988 re-issue score |
1980s
Year | Title | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1982 | The Dorm That Dripped Blood | Stephen Carpenter Jeffrey Obrow |
— |
Highpoint | Peter Carter | — | |
1984 | The Oasis | Sparky Greene | — |
The Power | Stephen Carpenter Jeffrey Obrow |
— | |
1985 | Avenging Angel | Robert Vincent O'Neil | — |
Def-Con 4 | Paul Donovan | — | |
Wheels of Fire | Cirio H. Santiago | — | |
Wizards of the Lost Kingdom | Héctor Olivera | — | |
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge | Jack Sholder | — | |
Barbarian Queen | Héctor Olivera | — | |
Godzilla 1985 | R.J. Kizer Koji Hashimoto |
Part of Young's score from Def-Con 4 appears in several scenes, including Godzilla's attack on the Soviet submarine, the scene where the SDF armored division arrives in Tokyo Bay, and Okumura's near-death experience during the helicopter extraction in Tokyo.[citation needed] | |
1986 | Getting Even | Dwight H. Little | — |
Torment | Samson Aslanian John Hopkins |
— | |
Invaders from Mars | Tobe Hooper | — | |
Trick or Treat | Charles Martin Smith | — | |
1987 | Hellraiser | Clive Barker | — |
Flowers in the Attic | Jeffrey Bloom | — | |
U-Boats: The Wolfpack | — | Short film | |
1988 | The Telephone | Rip Torn | — |
Hellbound: Hellraiser II | Tony Randel | — | |
Bat*21 | Peter Markle | — | |
Haunted Summer | Ivan Passer | — | |
1989 | Vietnam War Story: The Last Days | David Burton Morris Sandy Smolan |
Segments "Last Outpost, The", "Dirty Work" |
The Fly II | Chris Walas | — | |
Hider in the House | Matthew Patrick | — |
1990s
Year | Title | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | Bright Angel | Michael Fields | — |
Max and Helen | Philip Saville | — | |
1992 | The Vagrant | Chris Walas | — |
Rapid Fire | Dwight H. Little | — | |
Jennifer 8 | Bruce Robinson | — | |
1993 | The Dark Half | George A. Romero | — |
Dream Lover | Nicholas Kazan | — | |
1994 | Judicial Consent | William Bindley | — |
1995 | Murder in the First | Marc Rocco | — |
Tales from the Hood | Rusty Cundieff | — | |
Species | Roger Donaldson | — | |
Virtuosity | Brett Leonard | — | |
Copycat | Jon Amiel | — | |
1996 | Unforgettable | John Dahl | — |
Set It Off | F. Gary Gray | — | |
Head Above Water | Jim Wilson | — | |
Norma Jean & Marilyn | Tim Fywell | — | |
1997 | Murder at 1600 | Dwight H. Little | — |
The Man Who Knew Too Little | Jon Amiel | — | |
1998 | Hard Rain | Mikael Salomon | — |
Hush | Jonathan Darby | — | |
Rounders | John Dahl | — | |
Judas Kiss | Sebastian Gutierrez | — | |
Urban Legend | Jamie Blanks | — | |
Playing by Heart | Willard Carroll | replacement for score by John Barry | |
1999 | Entrapment | Jon Amiel | — |
In Too Deep | Michael Rymer | — | |
The Big Kahuna | John Swanbeck | — | |
The Hurricane | Norman Jewison | — |
2000s
2010s
Year | Title | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | When in Rome | Mark Steven Johnson | — |
Gone with the Pope | Duke Mitchell | — | |
The Black Tulip | Sonia Nassery Cole | — | |
2011 | Priest | Scott Stewart | — |
Box of Shadows | Mauro Borrelli | — | |
The Rum Diary | Bruce Robinson | — | |
2012 | Sinister | Scott Derrickson | — |
Scary or Die | Bob Badway Michael Emanuel Igor Meglic |
— | |
The Baytown Outlaws | Barry Battles | — | |
2013 | Killing Season | Mark Steven Johnson | — |
Gods Behaving Badly | Marc Turtletaub | — | |
A Madea Christmas | Tyler Perry | — | |
2014 | The Monkey King | Cheang Pou-soi | — |
The Single Moms Club | Tyler Perry | — | |
Deliver Us from Evil | Scott Derrickson | — | |
2016 | The Monkey King 2 | Cheang Pou-soi | — |
2019 | Pet Sematary | Kevin Kölsch Dennis Widmyer |
— |
2020s
Year | Title | Director | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | The Empty Man | David Prior | — |
2023 | The Offering | Oliver Park | — |
Television
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2020 | 50 States of Fright | With Caleb Chan
and Brian Chan |
2022 | Echo 3 |
Video Games
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
2009 | The Saboteur | Theme music |
2017 | Wilson's Heart | — |
References
- ^ New York Times
- ^ "BMI Film & Television Awards Tout Composers of Year's Top Film and Television Music". bmi.com. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ "Bio". OfficialChristopherYoung.com. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
- ^ USC faculty list
External links
- 1957 births
- American film score composers
- American male film score composers
- American television composers
- Hampshire College alumni
- Living people
- People from Red Bank, New Jersey
- University of North Texas College of Music alumni
- UCLA Film School alumni
- USC Thornton School of Music faculty
- Musicians from New Jersey
- Varèse Sarabande Records artists
- La-La Land Records artists