Alan Silvestri

Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American film composer and conductor who works primarily in film and television. He is best known for his frequent collaboration with director Robert Zemeckis, including composing major hit films such as the Back to the Future trilogy, Forrest Gump and Cast Away.

Early life
Silvestri grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey and attended Teaneck High School there.

Career
Silvestri started his film/television composing career in 1972 at age 21, composing the score for the low-budget action film The Doberman Gang.

Silvestri met director Robert Zemeckis when the two worked together on Zemeckis's 1984 film Romancing the Stone. Since then, Silvestri has composed the music for all of Zemeckis's movies, including the Back to the Future trilogy (1985, 1989, 1990), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Death Becomes Her (1992), Forrest Gump (1994), Contact (1997), Cast Away (2000), The Polar Express (2004), Beowulf (2007), A Christmas Carol (2009), and Flight (2012).

Silvestri is also known for his work on Predator (1987) and Predator 2 (1990), both of which are considered preeminent examples of action/science fiction film scores. Since 2001, has also collaborated regularly with director Stephen Sommers, scoring the films The Mummy Returns in 2001, Van Helsing in 2004, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra in 2009. His most recent work includes The Avengers in 2012.

Silvestri has also composed music for television shows, including T.J. Hooker (one episode), Starsky & Hutch (three episodes), CHiPs (around 101 episodes), Tales From The Crypt (seven episodes) and Manimal (seven episodes).

Personal life
Silvestri owns a vineyard, Silvestri Vineyards, located in Carmel Valley, California.

Awards
Silvestri has received two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Original Score for Forrest Gump (1994) and one for Best Original Song for "Believe" on The Polar Express soundtrack. He also received two Golden Globe nominations: Best Score for Forrest Gump and Best Song for The Polar Express.

He has also received four Grammy Award nominations, winning two awards – Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, for "Believe" from The Polar Express in 2004 and Best Instrumental Composition, for "Cast Away End Credits" from Cast Away in 2002. His other two nominations were for Best Soundtrack Album, for Back to the Future and Chicken Run. During the 2005 Grammys, Josh Groban performed "Believe."

He has won the Saturn Award for Best Music three times, for his scores for Predator (1987), Back to the Future Part III (1989/90) and Van Helsing (2004).

On September 23, 2011 he was awarded with the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award by the City of Vienna at the yearly film music gala concert Hollywood in Vienna.