Biography

For more than thirty years, four-time Oscar nominee Danny Elfman has established himself as one of the most versatile film composers in the industry. A native of Los Angeles, Mr. Elfman grew up loving film music. He helped found the band Oingo Boingo, and came to the attention of a young Tim Burton, who asked him to write the score for Pee-wee’s Big Adventure in 1985. In the years since, the two have forged one of the most fruitful composer-director collaborations in film history. He has scored a broad range of films, including the Oscar-nominated scores to Milk, Good Will Hunting, Big Fish, and Men in Black; as well as Edward Scissorhands, Batman, To Die For, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Alice in Wonderland, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Spiderman, A Simple Plan, Midnight Run, Sommersby, Dolores Claiborne, and the documentaries The Unknown Known and Standard Operating Procedure. Most recently he provided the music for Fifty Shades Freed, Justice League, and Gus Van Sant's Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot. Recent and current projects include The Grinch and the Tim Burton film, Dumbo. In addition to his film work, Mr. Elfman wrote the theme music for the television series The Simpsons and Desperate Housewives. He has also written several concert works: His Violin Concerto was premiered in 2017 by the Czech National Orchestra and his Piano Quartet was premiered at the Berlin Philharmonie.