Rob Simonsen (born March 11, 1978) is an American composer and conductor. He is best known for his scores in films such as 500 Days of Summer (2009), The Age of Adaline (2015), Gifted (2017), The Only Living Boy in New York (2017), Tully (2018), Love, Simon (2018), The Front Runner (2018), The Way Back (2020), Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), The Adam Project (2022), The Whale (2022), Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), and It Ends with Us (2024), and the television series Life in Pieces (2015–2019). He also collaborates with the directors Marc Webb, Jason Reitman and Shawn Levy.
Rob Simonsen | |
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| Born | March 11, 1978 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
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| Occupations | |
| Instruments | |
| Website | robsimonsen |
Early life
editSimonsen began playing the piano by ear at an early age. His grandmother was a voice teacher and music was around him in his family home. He later studied music at Southern Oregon University, the University of Oregon and Portland State University.[1]
Career
editRob's first break into film composing was the independent feature Westender in 2003. In 2004 he teamed up with composer Mychael Danna and has provided additional music and arrangements on Surf's Up, Fracture, Moneyball, and the Oscar-winning Life of Pi. Simonsen and Danna co-wrote the score of (500) Days of Summer, and Joss Whedon's television series Dollhouse. Simonsen's work includes the Sundance Film Festival features The Way, Way Back and The Spectacular Now;[2] the Lionsgate feature film The Age of Adaline; and most recently Love, Simon, The Way Back, and Stargirl.
In 2009 he opened his own studio, and The Hollywood Reporter named him one of the "15 Composers Primed to Take Their Place on the A List."[3]
Simonsen's music can be heard in nearly all iPhone 5 ads, and he appears in them as the conductor.[citation needed] "Red", one of his tracks for iPhone 5, has gained wide recognition. His music was featured in Coca-Cola's 2018 Super Bowl TV spot, "The Wonder of Us".[4]
On September 6, 2019, Simonsen released his first solo album, Rêveries, on Sony Masterworks.[5][6]
Awards
edit- World Soundtrack Award (nomination): Discovery of the Year for The Spectacular Now, The Way, Way Back (2013)[7]
- International Film Music Critics Award (nomination): Best Original Score for an Action/Adventure/Thriller Film for Nerve (2016)[8]
- Hollywood Music in Media Award (nomination): Best Original Score in an Independent Film for The Whale (2022)[9]
- Indiana Film Journalists Award (nomination): Best Musical Score for The Whale (2022)[10]
Filmography
editFilms
edit- Westender (2003)
- Two Fisted (2004)
- Eve and the Fire Horse (2005)
- Lonely Hearts (2006) additional music
- Surf's Up (2007) additional music
- Stone of Destiny (2008) additional music
- Management (2008) co-composed with Mychael Danna
- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) additional music
- (500) Days of Summer (2009) co-composed with Mychael Danna
- All Good Things (2010)
- The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best (2011)
- Moneyball (2011) additional music
- The English Teacher (2012)
- LOL (2012)
- The Final Member (2012) Documentary
- Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012), composed with Jonathan Sadoff
- Girl Most Likely (2012)
- Life of Pi (2012) additional music
- The Spectacular Now (2013)
- The Way, Way Back (2013)
- Wish I Was Here (2014)
- Chu and Blossom (2014)
- Foxcatcher (2014) (additional music by Mychael Danna and West Dylan Thordson)
- The Age of Adaline (2015) (additional music by Duncan Blickenstaff)
- Burnt (2015)
- Stonewall (2015)
- Nerve (2016)
- Viral (2016)
- Miss Stevens (2016)
- Two Is a Family (2016)
- Going in Style (2017)
- Gifted (2017) (additional music by Duncan Blickenstaff)
- The House of Tomorrow (2017)
- The Only Living Boy in New York (2017) (additional music by Duncan Blickenstaff)
- The Upside (2017)
- Father Figures (2017)
- Tully (2018)
- Love, Simon (2018)
- The Front Runner (2018)
- Captive State (2019)
- Fast Color (2019)
- Our Friend (2019)
- The Way Back (2020)
- Stargirl (2020)
- Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
- The Adam Project (2022)
- Hollywood Stargirl (2022) (composed with Duncan Blickenstaff)
- The Whale (2022)
- Good Grief (2023)
- Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
- It Ends with Us (2024) (composed with Duncan Blickenstaff)
- Elio (2025)
Television
edit- Dollhouse (series) (2009–2010)
- Battleground (series) (2012)
- Blue Bloods (series) (2010–2013)
- Life in Pieces (series) (2015–2017)
- Stranger Things (series) (2022)
Discography
editStudio albums
- Rêveries (2019)
References
edit- ^ "Cast & Crew". Focus Features. Archived from the original on 2013-04-10. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
- ^ Staff (January 28, 2013). "Meet Sundance composer Rob Simonsen". Miramax.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- ^ Staff (January 22, 2013). "Sundance Roundtable Composer of the Day: Rob Simonsen". BMI.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
- ^ "Coca-Cola | The Wonder of Us :60". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2018-02-18.
- ^ "Composer Rob Simonsen releases debut solo album Rêveries". Sony Masterworks. 6 September 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-10-19. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ^ Catchpole, James (22 August 2019). "Rob Simonsen - Rêveries". Fluid Radio UK. Archived from the original on 2019-10-19. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ^ Staff (October 29, 2013). "2013 World Soundtrack Awards". BMI.com. Archived from the original on 12 April 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
- ^ Staff (February 9, 2017). "IFMCA Award Nominations 2016". Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- ^ Grein, Paul (November 17, 2022). "Rihanna's 'Wakanda Forever' Song, Terence Blanchard Win at 2022 Hollywood Music in Media Awards: Full List". Billboard. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
- ^ Rogers, Nick (December 13, 2022). "Nominations Announced for the 2022 Indiana Film Journalists Association Awards". Midwest Film Journal. Retrieved April 18, 2023.