Guest ArtistsDavid Newman, conductor
David Newman is one of today's most accomplished creators of music for film. In his 30-year career, he has scored over 110 films, ranging from War of the Roses, Matilda, Bowfinger and Heathers to the more recent Girls Trip and Serenity. Mr. Newman's music has brought to life the critically acclaimed dramas Brokedown Palace and Hoffa; top-grossing comedies Norbit, Scooby-Doo, Galaxy Quest, The Nutty Professor, The Flintstones, Throw Mama From the Train; and award-winning animated films Ice Age, The Brave Little Toaster and Anastasia. The recipient of top honors from the music and motion picture industries, he holds an Academy Award® nomination for his score to the animated feature Anastasia, and he was the first composer to have his piece, 1001 Nights, performed in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s FILMHARMONIC Series, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Mr. Newman is also a highly sought-after conductor and appears with leading orchestras throughout the world, including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra. He has led subscription weeks with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall and regularly conducts the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl. In July 2011 he premiered West Side Story (film with Live Orchestra) with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and has conducted the work in New York with the New York Philharmonic as well as with the Chicago and Boston symphonies, Philadelphia Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony. Mr. Newman also conducts the annual movie night at the Hollywood Bowl. In December 2013, Mr. Newman premiered the film with orchestra project Home Alone, conducting John Williams’ complete score to picture with The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall. In Fall 2017 Mr. Newman conducted the world premiere of John Williams’ epic film series, Star Wars — Episodes IV, V, VI and VII, with the New York Philharmonic.
Also an active composer for the concert hall, David Newman’s works have been performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, Long Beach Symphony and at the Ravinia Festival, Spoleto Festival USA and Chicago's Grant Park Music Festival. He also composed a violin-orchestra suite in 2012 for Sarah Chang based on the songs from the Broadway hit, West Side Story. Mr. Newman has spent considerable time unearthing and restoring film music classics for the concert hall, and he headed the Sundance Institute's music preservation program in the late 1980s. During his tenure at Sundance he wrote an original score and conducted the Utah Symphony for the classic silent motion picture, Sunrise, which opened the Sundance Film Festival in 1989. As a tribute to his work in film music preservation, he was elected President of the Film Music Society in 2007, a nonprofit organization formed by entertainment industry professionals to preserve and restore motion picture and television music.
Passionate about nurturing the next generation of musicians, Mr. Newman recently served as President of the Board of the American Youth Symphony, where he launched the three-year "Jerry Goldsmith Project” and a three-year project presenting the music of Danny Elfman in context with symphonic music. In 2007 he wrote the children’s melodrama Yoko and the Tooth Fairy for Crossroads School in Santa Monica, CA, and in 2010 he served on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival in the Film Scoring Program. Newman is also on the Board of Governors of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. When his schedule permits, he visits Los Angeles area high schools and Universities to speak about film scoring and mentor young composers.
The son of nine-time Oscar®-winning composer Alfred Newman, David Newman was born in Los Angeles. He trained in violin and piano from an early age and earned degrees in orchestral conducting and violin performance from the University of Southern California. From 1977-82 he worked extensively in the motion picture and television industry as a violinist, playing on such films as E.T., Twilight Zone – the Movie, and the original Star Trek film. He is married to wife Krystyna, and is the father of two girls, Diana and stepdaughter Brianne. He and Krystyna divide their time between Los Angeles, Carmel-by-the-Sea and New York.