John Warrington Van Tongeren is an American

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

and composer for

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and television.

Biography

Van Tongeren's career in the entertainment business began as a

, with one of his earliest projects being the band Q, featuring

Jon St. James Jon St. James is an American guitarist, songwriter–composer, producer and recording engineer. His Casbah Recording Studio was a part of Orange County, California's new music scene in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. St. James' first albu ...

and Stacey Swain (a.k.a.

Stacey Q Stacey Lynn Swain (born November 30, 1958), known by her stage name Stacey Q, is an American pop singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. Her best-known single, John Mitchell's " Two of Hearts", released in 1986, reached number one in Canada, n ...

). Q then became

SSQ SSQ may refer to: * La Sarre Airport, the IATA code for the Canadian airport * Shell Lake Municipal Airport, the FAA code for the United States airport * '' Social Science Quarterly'', a peer-reviewed social science journal * Society for Software ...

, which released one album, Playback, on EMI records with John contributing four songs, most notably Anonymous. After leaving SSQ in the early '80s, Van Tongeren became an in-demand session musician and began composing music for movies. As a musician, he has worked with

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...

Robbie Nevil Robert S. Nevil (born October 2, 1958) is an American pop singer, songwriter, producer, and guitarist who had five ''Billboard'' top 40 hits including his songs "C'est la Vie" (#2, 1986), "Dominoes" (#14, 1987), and " Wot's It to Ya" (#10, 1987 ...

John Parr John Stephen Parr (born 18 November 1952) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, best known for his 1985 single "St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)", charting at number one in the US and number six in the UK, and for his 1984 US number- ...

Starship A starship, starcraft, or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for interstellar travel, traveling between planetary systems. The term is mostly found in science fiction. Reference to a "star-ship" appears as early as 188 ...

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

The Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, b ...

Living in a Box Living in a Box are a British band founded in 1985. They are best known for their eponymous debut single, produced by Richard James Burgess. The group currently consists of founding members Anthony "Tich" Critchlow (drums) and Marcus Vere (key ...

Stryper Stryper is an American Christian metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet (lead vocals, guitar), Oz Fox (guitar), Perry Richardson (bass guitar), and Robert Sweet (drums). Formed in 1983 as Roxx ...

, and others. He currently works out of The Blue Room, a recording studio in Los Angeles. Van Tongeren began his film scoring career as one of the original members of

Media Ventures Remote Control Productions, Inc. is a film score company run by composer Hans Zimmer and based in Santa Monica, California. Originally known as Media Ventures Entertainment Group, which was conceived and founded by Jay Rifkin and Hans Zimmer, th ...

(now Remote Control Productions). During his time at Media Ventures Van Tongeren worked on films such as ''

Thelma & Louise ''Thelma & Louise'' is a 1991 American road crime comedy-drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. It stars Susan Sarandon as Louise and Geena Davis as Thelma, two friends who embark on a road trip that ends up in unfores ...

'', ''

True Romance ''True Romance'' is a 1993 American romantic crime film directed by Tony Scott and written by Quentin Tarantino. It features an ensemble cast led by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette, with Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, ...

'' and ''

Drop Zone A drop zone (DZ) is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes. In ...

'' with

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Academy Awards, Oscars and four Grammy Awards, Grammys, and has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmys and a Tony Awar ...

. He also collaborated with

Mark Mancina Mark Mancina is an American film composer. A veteran of Hans Zimmer's Media Ventures, Mancina has scored over sixty films and television series including ''Speed'', '' Bad Boys'', ''Twister'', ''Tarzan'', ''Training Day'', ''Brother Bear'', ''Cr ...

on ''

Speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...

'', ''

Moll Flanders ''Moll Flanders'' is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1722. It purports to be the true account of the life of the eponymous Moll, detailing her exploits from birth until old age. By 1721, Defoe had become a recognised novelist, wit ...

'', '' Fair Game'', ''

Assassins An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder. Assassin may also refer to: Origin of term * Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins Animals and insects * Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviida ...

'' and ''

Twister Twister may refer to: Weather * Tornado Aviation * Pipistrel Twister, a Slovenian ultralight trike * Silence Twister, a German homebuilt aircraft design * Wings of Change Twister, an Austrian paraglider design Entertainment * ''Twister'' (1989 ...

''. Van Tongeren then began to compose music for television series, including '' Poltergeist: The Legacy'' and the nineties revival of '' The Outer Limits'', which he won awards for. Van Tongeren again collaborated with Mancina on the ''Speed'' sequel, '' Speed 2: Cruise Control'', and then worked with

Trevor Rabin Trevor Charles Rabin (; born ) is a South African rock musician and composer. Born into a musical family and raised in Johannesburg, Rabin took up the piano and guitar at an early age and became a session musician, playing and producing with a va ...

on the 1998 film ''

Armageddon According to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, Armageddon (, from grc, Ἁρμαγεδών ''Harmagedōn'', Late Latin: , from Hebrew: ''Har Məgīddō'') is the prophesied location of a gathering of armies ...

''. Outside of film and television Van Tongeren was asked to compose three orchestral interludes and contribute production for the late jazz drummer Tony Williams' 1996 album ''Wilderness''. In the 2000s Van Tongeren continued working on film scores, such as ''

XXX XXX may refer to: Codes and symbols * 30 (number), Roman numeral XXX * XXX, designating pornography ** XXX, an X rating#United_States, X rating ** .xxx, an internet top-level domain intended for pornographic sites * XXX, a symbol of the straight ...

'' and '' The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor'' with

Randy Edelman Randy Edelman (born June 10, 1947) is an American musician, producer, and composer for film and television. He began his career as a member of Broadway's pit orchestras, and later went on to produce solo albums for songs that were picked up by ...

, ''

The Passion of the Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mary M ...

'' with

John Debney John Cardon Debney (born August 18, 1956) is an American composer and conductor of film, television, and video game scores. His work encompasses a variety of mediums and genres including comedy, horror, thriller, and action-adventure. He is a ...

, '' Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'' and the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

films '' The Cheetah Girls'' and ''

Princess Protection Program ''Princess Protection Program'' is a 2009 Disney Channel Original Movie, directed by Allison Liddi-Brown and starring Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez. The script was written by Annie DeYoung from a story by Annie DeYoung and David Morgasen. The fil ...

''. He also scored more sci-fi television series including ''

The 4400 ''The 4400'' (pronounced "the forty-four hundred") is a science fiction television series produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with BSkyB, Renegade 83, and American Zoetrope for USA Network in the United States and Sky ...

'', for which he won the BMI award. His songwriting has led to platinum CDs for ''

Rhythm of the Pride Lands ''Rhythm of the Pride Lands'' is an audio CD released on February 28, 1995 by Walt Disney Records, a "sequel" to the original motion picture soundtrack of the animated film ''The Lion King'' (1994). Most of the tracks were composed by Lebo M, ...

'' – Disney, and '' The Cheetah Girls'', as well as the Top Ten hit single for Starship, " It's Not Over ('Til It's Over)" and 3 songs on the ''

Wall-E Inspired by ''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed and co-written by Andrew Stanton, prod ...

'' CD. 2010 saw projects including ''

Iron Man 2 ''Iron Man 2'' is a 2010 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it is the sequel to ''Iron Man (2008 film), Iron Man'' (2008) and List of Marve ...

'' and ''

Predators Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

'' with

and movies for

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

and

. John also wrote and produced songs on Disney's ''

Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure ''Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure'' is a 2009 American computer-animated adventure film directed by Klay Hall (in his feature directorial debut) and the second installment in the ''Disney Fairies'' franchise. Produced by DisneyToon Studios, it ...

'' and '' Bayou Boogie: Inspired by Princess & the Frog''. 2014, John is scoring the redux of the classic '' Tom and Jerry Show'' for WB, airing on the Cartoon Network. Staying true to the style of the original cartoons from the 1940s and '50s, the series has John writing in a mix of orchestral and old school big band styles. In 2015 Van Tongeren wrote, sang and performed the theme to DreamWorks Animation's

Dawn of the Croods ''Dawn of the Croods'' is an American 2D-animated television series that is produced by DreamWorks Animation. The series is based on the 2013 animated film ''The Croods'', taking place before the events of the film. It premiered on December 24, 2 ...

, now in its third season on Netflix. '' Trinom3'' is John's jazz project that has released two albums so far. '' Details are Sketchy'' and '' Just a Bit Further''.

Awards

Van Tongeren has won numerous awards, the most prestigious of which are a

Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

, BMI Award and two

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

s. John won an Emmy in 2019 for his scores to WB Animation's '' The Tom and Jerry Show''. In 2005 Van Tongeren won a BMI Cable Award for the television series ''

''; which he shared with Tim P., Stephen Phillips,

George S. Clinton George Stanley Clinton, Jr. (born June 17, 1947) is an American composer, songwriter, arranger, and session musician. Biography Clinton was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His musical career began in Nashville while earning degrees in music and ...

and Claude Foisy. In 2000 and 2001 Van Tongeren won the

for Best Original Music Score for a Dramatic Series, for '' The Outer Limits''; these were for the episodes "

Tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...

" and "

Simon Says Simon Says is a children's game for three or more players. One player takes the role of "Simon" and issues instructions (usually physical actions such as "jump in the air" or "stick out your tongue") to the other players, which should be follow ...

" respectively.

Personal life

Van Tongeren grew up in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

Filmography

* ''

'' * '' The Tom and Jerry Show'' (52 episodes, 2014–2016) * ''

Swindle A swindle is a kind of fraud or confidence trick. Swindle may also refer to: People * Swindle (surname) Places * Swindle Island, British Columbia, Canada * 8690 Swindle, an asteroid Films * ''Il bidone'' (English titles ''The Swindle'' or ' ...

'' * ''

The Suite Life Movie ''The Suite Life Movie'' is a 2011 American science fiction comedy-drama television film directed by Sean McNamara, written by Michael Saltzman, and starring Dylan and Cole Sprouse, Brenda Song, Debby Ryan, Matthew Timmons, John Ducey, Matthew ...

'' * ''

Rockin' The Wall Rocking may refer to: *Rocking chair * Uprock, the street dance known as "Rocking" Music Albums *Rockin' (The Guess Who album) *Rockin' (Frankie Laine album) 1957 Songs *" Hajej, nynjej" Czech children's carol, recorded as "Rocking" by Julie And ...

'' * ''

Den Brother ''Den Brother'' is a 2010 Disney Channel Original Movie starring Hutch Dano and G Hannelius. The film premiered on August 13, 2010 on Disney Channel. Plot Alex Pearson (Hutch Dano) is a self-absorbed, but avid Lemon Oaks High School hockey p ...

'' * '' The Boy Who Cried Werewolf'' * ''

'' * ''

Twitches Too ''Twitches Too'' is a 2007 Disney Channel Original Movie. It is the sequel to the Disney Channel Original Movie '' Twitches'', released in 2005. The film began production in late April 2007 and was released on October 12. It aired during ''Disney ...

'' * '' WarGames: The Dead Code'' * ''

Christmas Is Here Again ''Christmas Is Here Again'' is a 2007 American animated Christmas musical-comedy-fantasy- adventure film distributed by Screen Media Films, also known as ''Who Stole Santa's Sack? '' The first feature production from the Renegade Animation studi ...

'' * ''

'' (21 episodes, 2004–2007) * ''

The Initiation of Sarah ''The Initiation of Sarah'' is a 1978 American made-for-television supernatural horror film directed by Robert Day. It first aired on ABC on February 6, 1978, and starred Kay Lenz as a shy, withdrawn young woman who discovers that she has psychi ...

'' * ''

Thief Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

'' (6 episodes) * ''

Masters of Science Fiction ''Masters of Science Fiction'' is a television anthology series by some of the producers of '' Masters of Horror''. The show debuted on ABC on August 4, 2007, at 10PM for a run of four episodes. It was originally scheduled to run in six parts, b ...

'' (1 episode) * '' Wanted'' (5 episodes) * '' Twitches'' * ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' * '' Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'' * ''

Son of the Mask ''Son of the Mask'' is a 2005 superhero comedy film directed by Lawrence Guterman. A stand-alone sequel to ''The Mask'' (1994), it is the second installment in ''The Mask'' franchise, an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name by Da ...

'' (additional music) * ''

Jesus the Driver Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

'' * '' Van Helsing: The London Assignment'' * ''

The Five People You Meet in Heaven ''The Five People You Meet In Heaven'' is a 2003 novel by Mitch Albom. It follows the life and death of a ride mechanic named Eddie (inspired by Albom's uncle) who is killed in an amusement park accident and sent to heaven, where he encounters fi ...

'' (additional music) * '' Lilo & Stitch: The Series'' (uncredited) * '' Don: Plain & Tall'' * '' The Cheetah Girls'' * ''

Malibu's Most Wanted ''Malibu's Most Wanted'' is a 2003 American comedy film written by and starring Jamie Kennedy and co-starring Taye Diggs, Anthony Anderson, Blair Underwood, Regina Hall, Damien Dante Wayans, Ryan O'Neal, and Snoop Dogg. The film is written by t ...

'' * ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

'' (various episodes) * ''

'' (additional music) * ''

The Scorpion King ''The Scorpion King'' is a 2002 American sword and sorcery action adventure film directed by Chuck Russell, starring Dwayne Johnson, Steven Brand, Kelly Hu, Grant Heslov and Michael Clarke Duncan. It is both a prequel and spin-off of ''The ...

'' (additional music) * Disney's '' The Legend of Tarzan'' * '' The Outer Limits'' (54 episodes, 1995–2000) * '' Red Letters'' * '' Poltergeist: The Legacy'' (36 episodes, 1996–99) * ''

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay by William Roberts is a remake – in an Old West–style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself initially relea ...

'' (3 episodes, 1998–99) * '' Creature'' * ''

'' (additional music) * '' Speed 2: Cruise Control'' (additional music) * ''

Dante's Peak ''Dante's Peak'' is a 1997 American disaster thriller film directed by Roger Donaldson, written by Leslie Bohem, and starring Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton, and Charles Hallahan. The film is set in the fictional town of Dante's Peak where the i ...

'' (additional music) * ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'' (additional music) * ''

Monkey Trouble ''Monkey Trouble'' is a 1994 American comedy drama film directed by Franco Amurri and starring Thora Birch and Harvey Keitel. Amurri dedicated the film to his daughter Eva and named the film's protagonist after her. Plot In Los Angeles, nine-year ...

'' (additional music) * ''

Renaissance Man A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

'' (additional music) * ''

The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers ''The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers'' is an American animated space Western television series created by Robert Mandell and Gaylord Entertainment Company. It was broadcast in syndication between 1986 and 1989. The series combines sci-fi sto ...

Discography

: ''

Love Among the Cannibals ''Love Among the Cannibals'' is the third album released in 1989 by rock band Starship (band), Starship. It was the first album after Grace Slick's departure from the band, and their last full-length studio release until ''Loveless Fascination'' ...

'' *

Steve Porcaro Steven Maxwell Porcaro (born September 2, 1957) is an American keyboardist, songwriter, and film composer, known as one of the founding members of the rock band Toto and the last surviving Porcaro brother (after the deaths of Jeff in 1992 and M ...

: '' Someday/Somehow'' * Trinom3: '' Just a Bit Further'' * Trinom3: '' Details are Sketchy''

References

External links

*
John Van Tongeren
at Movie Music UK * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Tongeren, John American film score composers American male film score composers Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American keyboardists 20th-century American keyboardists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American male musicians 20th-century American male musicians