Scott Elder Harper (born Scott Gleckler; December 22, 1952) is an American composer, arranger and musician for motion picture and television scores and orchestra, as well as a multi-instrumentalist, conductor, and session-player for pop music. With a background in popular music, Harper has composed theater pieces, oratorios, orchestral chamber works, and dynamic and diverse ensemble arrangements with various instrumental combinations for popular recording artists and film scores alike. His work includes conducting and album arrangements for

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

, and

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

. He has performed on multiple original motion picture soundtracks, such as ''

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, d ...

'' (1983), ''

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise, and a prequel to the 1981 film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', fea ...

'' (1984) — scored by

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

— and '' The Right Stuff '' (1983), by

Bill Conti William Conti (born April 13, 1942) is an American composer and conductor, best known for his film scores, including ''Rocky'' (and four of its sequels), ''The Karate Kid'' (and all of its sequels), '' For Your Eyes Only'', ''Dynasty'' (and its ...

, as a double bass player in the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra. He has also composed several original scores for documentary feature films.

Biography

Scott E. Harper was born in Pasadena, California, to David Gleckler and Sarah Lee. He has two brothers, Steve and Jim, and a sister, Milly. In 1975, Scott attended the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

in London for composition, cello, and piano, before majoring in double bass. He graduated with honors in 1977 in only two years. The Royal College of Music awarded him the Cobbett Prize for "Freer Thou", his composition with clarinet, violoncello, and piano. His feature film compositions include ''

Eat and Run ''Eat and Run'' is a 1986 American comedy science fiction horror film directed by Christopher Hart with the script by Christopher Hart and Stan Hart. The film starred Ron Silver, Sharon Schlarth and R. L. Ryan. Plot A humanoid alien ( R. L. ...

'', ''

Orion's Belt Orion's Belt or the Belt of Orion, also known as the Three Kings or Three Sisters, is an asterism in the constellation Orion. It consists of the three bright stars Alnitak Alnitak is a triple star system in the constellation of ...

'', '' Rendez-vous'', ''

Reborn Reborn may refer to: Film *''Reborn'', a 2015 video produced by the Augustine Institute * ''Re:Born'' (film), a 2016 Japanese action film * ''Reborn'' (film), a 2018 American horror film Music * Reborn (band), a Moroccan death metal band Albums ...

'', ''To Hell With Love''. A film critic states in Variety magazine that "Movies benefit greatly from Scott Harper's jazz-inflected scores because the score infectiously adds wily, contrapuntal undertones and smart upbeat riffs to the action". Harper wrote the original underscores to numerous feature-length documentary specials during the mid-1980s. From adventurous National Geographic Specials to comedy prime-time TV series, Harper composed music with variety in style to a wide-range audience. In 1986, Scott Harper and co-writer

Lyn Murray Lyn Murray (born Lionel Breeze, August 13, 1909 – May 20, 1989) was a composer, conductor, and arranger of music for radio, film and television. Early years Born in London, Murray was the son of a violinist. Before entering a career in music, ...

were awarded an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for ''Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition'' for the ''National Geographic Special: Miraculous Machines''. Then in 1990, Special

BMI Awards The BMI Film & TV Awards are accolades presented annually by Broadcast Music, Inc., honoring songwriters, composers, and music publishers in various genres. Based in the United States, the awards include the BMI Christian Awards, BMI Country Awards ...

were honoring Composers work in film and prime-time television. Harper was awarded a second Emmy in the Music Categories for ''"Amazon, Land of The Flooded Forest"'', a National Geographic Special on PBS. Harper's compositions won the Sunny Awards (GTE) competition, including 1st Place in the Campaign category and 1st place in the Music category. In 1980, he changed his name from Gleckler to Harper. Harper married Susan Picking Harper on May 1, 1994. They have daughter named Lauralee.

Discography

Original motion picture soundtracks

Performances with the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra *2018: ''Commando'' (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – bass player *2008: ''Indiana Jones: The Complete Soundtracks Collection'' (Original Motion Picture Soundtracks) – bass player *1987:

Harry and the Hendersons ''Harry and the Hendersons'' is a 1987 American fantasy comedy film directed and produced by William Dear and starring John Lithgow, Melinda Dillon, Don Ameche, David Suchet, Margaret Langrick, Joshua Rudoy, Lainie Kazan, and Kevin Peter Hall. ...

(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – bass player *1984:

(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – bass player *1983: The Right Stuff (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – bass player *1983: E.T., the Extraterrestrial (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – Double bass player

Film and TV music compositions

*1999: ''The Free Willy Story – Keiko's Journey Home'' (TV movie) – composer *1998: ''To Hell With Love'' (feature film) – composer *1994: ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Roseann ...

: An Unauthorized Biography'' (TV movie) – composer *1993: ''

Phenom Phenom may refer to: * AMD Phenom, the 64-bit AMD desktop processor line based on the K10 microarchitecture ** Phenom II, a family of AMD's multi-core 45 nm processors using the AMD K10 microarchitecture * Phenom (electron microscope), a fast elec ...

'' (TV series) – composer, 2 episodes **"Crazy for You" (1993) **"Answered Prayers" (1993) – composer *1992: '' Hearts Are Wild'' (TV series) – composer *1991: '' Night Games'' (film) – composer *1991: ''

The Point! ''The Point!'' is the sixth studio album by American songwriter and musician Harry Nilsson, released in late 1970. It was accompanied by an animated film adaptation directed by Fred Wolf, which aired in early February 1971 on the ABC-TV networ ...

'' (film) – composer *1990: ''A Woman's Heart'' (film short) – composer *1989: ''Serengeti Diary'' (TV film) – composer of "a lovely, subdued score" *1987: '' Eat & Run'' (feature film)

Documentary scores

*2008: ''Proof of Propaganda'' (documentary) – composer *2008: ''Food Fight'' (documentary) – composer *1993: ''Wilderness: The Last Stand'' (documentary) – 3 episodes *1990–1992: ''World of Discovery'' (documentary TV series) – composer; 2 episodes: **"Realm of the Serpent" (1992) **"Inventors: Out Of Their Minds" (1990) *1992: ''Survive Siberia'' (documentary TV film) – composer *1990: ''

The Urban Gorilla ''The Urban Gorilla'' is a 1991 documentary television film from National Geographic Explorer and ArgoFilms. The film explores the lives of gorillas in an urban environment. ''The Urban Gorilla'' was narrated by Glenn Close and shot by Robert ...

'' (documentary TV film) – composer *1990: ''Amazon: Land of the Flooded Forest'' (documentary TV film) – Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music & Composition *1985–1989: ''National Geographic Specials'' (documentary feature film TV series): **"Those Wonderful Dogs" (1989) – composer **" Mysteries of Mankind" (1988) – composer **"The Grizzlies" (1987) – composer **"Miraculous Machines" (1985) – composer; Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music & Composition *1987: ''The Grizzlies'' (documentary TV film)

Popular music

*2008: ''Three Graces'', Three Graces – orchestration, string arrangements *2005: ''Chronicles'',

-album arrangements *2003: ''A Time for the Soul'', Winard Harper – percussion *2002: ''Memphis Rockabillies: Hillbillies and Honky Tonkers'' – composer *2002: ''The Slash Recordings'', The Blasters – composer *2002: ''The Colour of My Love'',

– conductor, string arrangements, string conductor *1999: ''Say Man!'', Bill Stuve – composer *1998: ''Backtracking: The Duke Recordings, Vol. 2'', Junior Parker – composer *1997: ''Ricky Jones'', Ricky Jones – conductor, orchestral arrangements *1997: ''Ultimatum'', Ultimatum – engineer *1996: ''Chapters'', Steve Chapman – guitar (bass) *1996: ''Kissing Rain'', Roch Voisine – conductor, string arrangements *1994: ''Federico Mompou: Music for Piano'', Michel Wagemans – audio engineer *1993: ''

The Colour of My Love ''The Colour of My Love'' is the third English-language and twelfth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion. It was released by Columbia Records/550 Music on 9 November 1993. The songs were produced mainly by David Foster, Ric Wake, Guy Roche ...

'',

– string arrangements, string conductor *1992: ''Deeper Than A River'', Back to Basics *1991: ''Love Hurts'',

– album arrangements

Performances

* 1983: ''Karen Akers''

Awards

, - , 1977 , "Freer Thou" , Cobbett Prize, Royal College of Music , , Clarinet, violoncello, piano , - ,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, ''Miraculous Machines'' , 20th Primetime Emmy Awards
''Outstanding Achievement in Musical Composition'' , , with Lyn Murray , - ,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, ''Amazon, Land of the Flooded Forest'' , 23rd Primetime Emmy Awards
''Individual Achievement in Musical Composition'' , ,

References

External links

Full Score Productions
– official website * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Scott 20th-century American composers American double-bassists Male double-bassists 20th-century classical composers 20th-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American composers 21st-century classical composers 21st-century American conductors (music) American classical composers American male conductors (music) American film score composers American male classical composers American music arrangers Living people American male film score composers Primetime Emmy Award winners 1952 births 21st-century double-bassists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians