Joseph Trapanese (born 1984) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

, and producer. He works in the production of music for films, television, records, theater, concerts, and interactive media.

Early life and education

Raised in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School (often dubbed Academic previous to its dedication, or as McNair) is a magnet public high school located at 123 Coles Street in Jersey City, in Hudson County, United States. The school is named in me ...

before moving on to the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in m ...

Film and television music

Early career

Trapanese began his composing career by collaborating with

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

(

Thomas Bangalter Thomas Bangalter (; born 3 January 1975) is a French musician, record producer, singer, songwriter, DJ and composer. Son of French music composer and artist Daniel Vangarde. He is best known as one half of the former French house music duo Daft ...

and

Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo Guillaume Emmanuel "Guy-Manuel" de Homem-Christo (; born 8 February 1974) is a French musician, record producer, singer, songwriter, DJ and composer. He is known as one half of the former French house music duo Daft Punk, along with Thomas B ...

) on the soundtrack for the

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...

film '' Tron: Legacy''. His arrangements for the soundtrack have been described as "resolutely grand" and "stirring... ominous, hypnotic". The BBC described the work as "a sophisticated integration of acoustic and electronic instrumentation... majestic… rich, solemn tones… saturnine orchestration and a muscular rhythm”.

2011–present

Trapanese has gone on to compose numerous projects including

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven yea ...

's animated series '' Tron: Uprising'',

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produce ...

' '' The Raid: Redemption'' (co-composed with

Mike Shinoda Michael Kenji Shinoda (; ja, 篠田賢治, Shinoda Kenji; born February 11, 1977) is an American musician, singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. He co-founded the rock band Linkin Park in 1996 and was the band's collaborative vocal ...

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drumm ...

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainme ...

's original web series ''

The Bannen Way ''The Bannen Way'' is an American crime drama web series starring Mark Gantt as Neal Bannen, a third generation criminal who wants to get out of the con man lifestyle he's been living. The show officially premiered on Crackle on January 6, 2010 ...

'', the independent feature ''Mamitas'' (featured at the 2011

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, epis ...

), and numerous scores for live action and animated films from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

's School of Theater, Film and Television. Trapanese contributed musical arrangements to '' Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief'', ''

What Happens in Vegas ''What Happens in Vegas'' is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Tom Vaughan and written by Dana Fox. It stars Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher as a couple who get married and win a casino jackpot prize during a drunken night in L ...

'' and ''

Traitor Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

''. Alongside composer

Daniel Licht Daniel Licht (March 13, 1957 – August 2, 2017) was an American soundtrack composer and musician, best known for writing the score of Showtime TV drama series ''Dexter''. Life and career Licht grew up in suburban Detroit and attended the Roep ...

, Trapanese produced and orchestrated the scores for seasons 3 and 4 of Showtime's original series ''

Dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series '' Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British web series ''Diary of a Bad Man'' * Dext ...

'', and provided orchestrations for seasons 5 and 6. The 2012 teaser trailer for ''

Iron Man 3 ''Iron Man 3'' (titled onscreen as ''Iron Man Three'') is a 2013 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Ir ...

'' features Trapanese's composition ''Something to Fight For''. His career eventually lead to working on major studio feature films working solo and alongside recording artists. Some of his well known credits include

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

's ''

Straight Outta Compton ''Straight Outta Compton'' is the debut studio album by rap group N.W.A, which, led by Eazy-E, formed in Los Angeles County's City of Compton in early 1987. Released by his label, Ruthless Records, on August 8, 1988, the album was produced ...

'',

Lionsgate Films Lionsgate Films (formerly known as Cinépix Film Properties) is an American film production and film distribution studio, headquartered in Santa Monica and founded in Canada, and is the flagship division of Lionsgate Entertainment. It is the la ...

's '' The Divergent Series: Insurgent'',

' '' The Raid 2'', and

's '' Oblivion'' (co-composed with Anthony Gonzalez of M83). In 2017 he scored the

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acq ...

feature '' Only the Brave'', his third collaboration with director Joseph Kosinski, and co-scored the

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

musical ''

The Greatest Showman ''The Greatest Showman'' is a 2017 American biographical musical drama film directed by Michael Gracey in his directorial debut, written by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon and starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, ...

'' alongside composer

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 l ...

. On that film he produced several of the chart-topping songs from the film written by Oscar-winning duo

Justin Paul Justin Paul (born January 3, 1985) is an American theater and television composer and lyricist best known for his works ''The Greatest Showman'', ''La La Land'' and ''Dear Evan Hansen'', all of which he co-wrote with his songwriting partner, Ben ...

and

Benj Pasek Benj Pasek (born June 6, 1985) is an American theater and television composer and lyricist best known for his works '' The Greatest Showman'', ''La La Land'' and ''Dear Evan Hansen'', all of which he co-wrote with his songwriting partner, Just ...

Music collaboration with artists

Following his collaborations with

on '' Tron: Legacy'', Anthony Gonzalez ( M83) on '' Oblivion'', and

(

) on '' The Raid: Redemption'', Trapanese continues to work with artists in film scoring, album production, and live events. On August 7, 2015

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and w ...

released his long-awaited third album '' Compton'' which featured string arrangements by Trapanese and Jennifer Hammond. They were conducted by Trapanese at the ''

'' scoring sessions at the

Sony Pictures Studios The Sony Pictures Studios is an American television and film studio complex located in Culver City, California at 10202 West Washington Boulevard and bounded by Culver Boulevard (south), Washington Boulevard (north), Overland Avenue (west) and ...

scoring stage in Culver City. On February 27, 2015

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of '' American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her de ...

released her seventh album '' Piece by Piece'' which featured an orchestra arranged and conducted by Trapanese recorded at EastWest Studios in Hollywood. He collaborated with producers

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs ...

Jesse Shatkin Jesse Samuel Shatkin (born 1979) is an American songwriter, producer and engineer. He has worked with Sia, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez, Fitz and the Tantrums and One Direction, among others. Shatkin was nominated in 2014 for Grammy Awards as ...

, and Jason Halbert on the project. On September 22, 2013, Trapanese performed with M83 at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

as conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. For the concert, Trapanese arranged new orchestral material for songs from ''

Before The Dawn Heals Us ''Before the Dawn Heals Us'' is the third studio album by the French electronic group M83, released in January 2005 to positive reviews. The album was released on the Gooom label in Europe and on the Mute label in the United States. It was the ...

'', '' Saturdays=Youth'', ''

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming ''Hurry Up, We're Dreaming'' (stylised as ) is the sixth studio album by French electronic music band M83. The album was released on 18 October 2011, by Naïve Records in France and by Mute Records in the United States. The album was the last ...

'', and '' Oblivion''. He also arranged and conducted an orchestra for M83's show at

Central Park Summerstage Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

in New York City on August 8, 2012. Released on October 25, 2013, by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

's ''

Wrapped in Red ''Wrapped in Red'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, released on October 25, 2013 by RCA Records. The album is a follow-up to her first greatest hits album, '' Greatest Hits – Chapter One'', and its companion extend ...

'' features an orchestra arranged and conducted by Trapanese. Produced by

, it is Clarkson's first Christmas-themed release, featuring cover versions of various Christmas standards in addition to original material. As part of the album's promotion, on October 30, 2013, Trapanese led the orchestra for ''

Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale ''Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale'' is a 2013 Christmas television special produced by Done and Dusted for NBC. Directed by Hamish Hamilton, it stars Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood, Robin Williams, Wh ...

'' at

The Venetian Las Vegas The Venetian Las Vegas is a luxury hotel and casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States, on the site of the old Sands Hotel. Designed by KlingStubbins, the hotel tower contains 36 stories and rises . The Venet ...

, which was broadcast on NBC on December 11, 2013. Trapanese collaborated with Active Child on the arrangement of "Silhouette" (featuring

Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and Artists and ...

) for his 2013 EP '' Rapor''. In addition to the album, he provided new string and choir arrangements for his performances in Melbourne, London, New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. For 2012's '' The Bourne Legacy'', Trapanese worked with

Moby Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...

on a new orchestral version of his " Extreme Ways". On October 18, 2011, M83's double-disc album ''

'' released with five tracks arranged by Trapanese. Trapanese's work can be heard on "Intro", "Wait", "Soon, My Friend", "My Tears Are Becoming a Sea", and "Outro". Trapanese co-wrote and co-produced the song "Do or Die" with

3OH!3 3OH!3 (pronounced "three oh three") is an American electronic music duo from Boulder, Colorado, made up of Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte. They are best known for their single "DONTTRUSTME" from their album ''Want'', which reached number seve ...

from their album ''

Omens An omen (also called ''portent'') is a phenomenon that is believed to foretell the future, often signifying the advent of change. It was commonly believed in ancient times, and still believed by some today, that omens bring divine messages fr ...

''.

Music for live theater

The music Trapanese has produced for theater is performed primarily in New York City, most notably in productions by

The Actors Company Theatre The Actors Company Theatre (TACT) is an Off-Broadway theatre company that was founded in 1992 by a group of New York City, New York stage veterans. For their first several years, TACT produced a number of concert performances, a cross between a s ...

. Recent productions that he has provided music for include T. S. Eliot's '' The Cocktail Party'',

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

's '' Incident at Vichy'',

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then ...

's ''

The Memorandum ''The Memorandum'' is the common name in English for the 1965 play ''Vyrozumění'', by Czech playwright Václav Havel. The first English translation, by Vera Blackwell in 1967, used this title. In 2006, Canadian translator Paul Wilson publish ...

'', and

Edward Bond Edward Bond (born 18 July 1934) is an English playwright, theatre director, poet, theorist and screenwriter. He is the author of some fifty plays, among them ''Saved (play), Saved'' (1965), the production of which was instrumental in the abol ...

's ''The Sea''. His music for the production of

Milan Stitt Milan Stitt (February 9, 1941 – March 12, 2009

's '' The Runner Stumbles'' was described by the ''New York Times'' as "Precise and evocative... wistful, ringing melodies”.

Awards and honors

*In 2012, Joseph was nominated for an IFMCA Award for 'Breakthrough Film Composer of the Year' by the

International Film Music Critics Association The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is a professional association for online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing about original film and television music. History and purpose The IFMCA was founded in the ...

*In 2013, Joseph was nominated for Discovery of the Year for '' Oblivion'' at the

World Soundtrack Academy The World Soundtrack Awards, launched in 2001 by the Film Fest Gent, is aimed at organizing and overseeing the educational, cultural and professional aspects of the art of film music, including the preservation of the history of the soundtrack and i ...

Awards in Ghent, Belgium. *In 2013, Joseph was nominated for the ASCAP Composers’ Choice Award for the movie '' Oblivion''. *In 2015, Joseph was nominated for Best Original Song Written for a Film from ''

Insurgent An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irre ...

'' for the song "Carry Me Home" at the

Awards *In 2015, Joseph won the

Black Reel Award The Black Reel Awards, or BRAs, is an annual American awards ceremony hosted by the Foundation for the Augmentation of African-Americans in Film (FAAAF) to recognize excellence of African Americans, as well as the cinematic achievements of the Afr ...

for Outstanding Score for the film ''

''. *In 2018, Joseph was nominated for a

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

for Best Music for ''

'' (shared with John Debney)

Education

Trapanese completed his bachelor's degree in composition at the

, and later an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in Music for Visual Media at UCLA, with support from the

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

fund. Joseph's tutors included Giampaolo Bracali,

Bruce Broughton Bruce Harold Broughton (born March 8, 1945) is an American orchestral composer of television, film, and video game scores and concert works. He has composed several highly acclaimed soundtracks over his extensive career and has contributed man ...

Paul Chihara Paul Seiko Chihara (born July 9, 1938) is an American composer. Life and career Chihara was born in Seattle, Washington in 1938. A Japanese American, he spent three years of his childhood with his family in an internment camp in Minidoka, Idah ...

, Roger Bourland,

Jack Smalley Jack Smalley was an American composer, orchestrator, and teacher of film and television scoring. After working for years as a jazz bassist, Smalley began to get jobs writing music for television, notably Charlie's Angels and Murder, She Wrote ...

, and

Martin Bresnick Martin Bresnick (born 1946) is a composer of contemporary classical music, film scores and experimental music. Education and early career Bresnick grew up in the Bronx, and is a graduate of New York City's specialized High School of Music an ...

, and he also engaged in brief studies with

Louis Andriessen Louis Joseph Andriessen (; 6 June 1939 – 1 July 2021) was a Dutch composer, pianist and academic teacher. Considered the most influential Dutch composer of his generation, he was a central proponent of The Hague school of composition. Althoug ...

Aaron Jay Kernis Aaron Jay Kernis (born January 15, 1960) is a Pulitzer Prize- and Grammy Award-winning American composer serving as a member of the Yale School of Music faculty. Kernis spent 15 years as the music advisor to the Minnesota Orchestra and as D ...

, Julia Wolfe, Mark Snow, and

Ira Newborn James Ira Newborn (born December 26, 1949) is an American musician, actor, orchestrator and composer, best known for his work composing motion picture soundtracks. Life and career Newborn was born in New York City. References to him as James I ...

. From 2008 to 2011, Trapanese taught the Electronic Music and Composition curriculum at UCLA's

Herb Alpert Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...

School of Music.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trapanese, Joseph 1984 births 21st-century American composers 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century classical composers 21st-century classical trombonists American classical composers American classical trombonists American conductors (music) American contemporary classical composers American electronic musicians American film score composers American male classical composers American male conductors (music) American male film score composers American music arrangers American music educators American people of Italian descent American television composers Classical musicians from New Jersey Composers for trombone Concert band composers Electronic composers Living people Male television composers Male trombonists Manhattan School of Music alumni Musicians from Jersey City, New Jersey Record producers from New Jersey UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture alumni Video game composers