In his ongoing, decades-long career as a 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. With a credit list of over 100 films Alan has composed some of the most recognizable and beloved themes in movie history. His efforts have been recognized with two Oscar nominations, two Golden Globe nominations, four Grammy awards, two Emmy awards, and numerous International Film Music Critics Awards, Saturn Awards and Hollywood Music in Media Awards.
The 1970s witnessed the rise of energetic synth-pop scores, establishing Alan as the action rhythmatist for TV’s highway patrol hit “CHiPs.” This action-driven score caught the ear of a young filmmaker named Robert Zemeckis, whose hit film, 1984’s “Romancing the Stone” was the perfect first date for the composer and director. Its success became the basis of a decades-long relationship that continues to this day. Their numerous collaborations have taken them through many fascinating landscapes and stylistic variations, from the “Back to the Future” trilogy to Toontown in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,” the tension of “What Lies Beneath” and “Death Becomes Her,” to the cosmic wonder of “Contact,” the emotional isolation of “Castaway,” to the magic of the “Polar Express,” to Zemeckis’ 1994 Best Picture winner, “Forrest Gump,” for which Alan’s gift for melodically beautiful themes earned him an Oscar and a Golden Globe nomination. Their 40-year, 19-film collaboration includes such films as “Flight,” “Allied,” “The Witches,” “Pinocchio,” and “Here.”
Though the Zemeckis/Silvestri collaboration is legendary, Alan has scored films of every imaginable style and genre. His energy has brought excitement and emotion to the hard-hitting orchestral scores of Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One,” James Cameron’s “The Abyss” as well as the first two “Predator” films and “The Mummy Returns.” Alan’s diversity is on full display in family entertainment films like “The Father of the Bride 1” and “The Father of the Bride 2,” “The Parent Trap,” the two “Stuart Little” films, Disney’s animated “Lilo and Stitch,” and “The Croods,” as well as all three “Night at the Museum” films, while his passion for melody fuels the romantic emotion of films like “The Bodyguard” and “What Women Want.”
In 2018-2019, Alan composed the music for Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.” These films are the culmination of a partnership with Marvel that began in 2011 with Alan’s dynamically heroic score for “Captain America: The First Avenger,” followed by “The Avengers” in 2012. Alan’s collaboration with Marvel helped propel the “The Avengers: Infinity Saga” to spectacular world-wide success.
Alan’s success has also crossed into the world of songwriting. His partnership with six-time Grammy Award winner Glen Ballard has produced hits such as the Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated song “Believe” (Josh Groban) for “The Polar Express,” “Butterfly Fly Away” (Miley Cyrus) for “Hannah Montana The Movie,” “God Bless Us Everyone” (Andrea Bocelli) for “A Christmas Carol,” and “A Hero Comes Home” (Idina Menzel) for “Beowulf.” The duohave also teamed up on “Back to the Future – The Musical” which is currently showing on Broadway, London’s West end, and on tour across the United States.
Alan and his wife Sandra are long-time residents of California’s Central Coast. In 1997, the Silvestri family founded Silvestri Vineyards. Their wines show that lovingly cultivated fruit has a music all its own. “There’s something about the elemental side of winemaking that appeals to me,” Alan says, adding, “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 its own unique personality to the wine.”
Whether in his studio or the vineyard, Alan continues to find inspiration and passion for music, film, family and wine.