Rob Simonsen
Rob Simonsen | |
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| Born | March 11, 1978 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
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| Website | robsimonsen |
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), It Ends with Us (2024) and Elio (2025), and the television series Life in Pieces (2015–2019). He is also known for collaborating with directors Marc Webb, Julia Hart, Jason Reitman, Shawn Levy, Darren Aronofsky, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman.
Early life
[edit]Simonsen 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
[edit]Rob'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. Also among Simonsen's work includes the Sundance Film Festival features The Way, Way Back and The Spectacular Now,[2] The Age of Adaline, 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
[edit]Films
[edit]| Year | Title | Director(s) | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Westender | Brock Morse | M.O.B Productions | — |
| 2004 | Two Fisted | Todd E. Freeman | York Entertainment | — |
| 2005 | Eve and the Fire Horse | Julia Kwan | Mongrel Media | Composed with Mychael Danna |
| 2006 | Lonely Hearts | Todd Robinson | Roadside Attractions Samuel Goldwyn Films | Additional music Score by Mychael Danna |
| 2007 | Surf's Up | Ash Brannon Chris Buck | Sony Pictures Releasing Columbia Pictures | |
| 2008 | Stone of Destiny | Charles Martin Smith | Alliance Films | Additional music |
| Management | Stephen Belber | Samuel Goldwyn Films | Co-composed with Mychael Danna | |
| 2009 | The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus | Terry Gilliam | Lionsgate UK | Additional music Score by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna |
| (500) Days of Summer | Marc Webb | Fox Searchlight Pictures | Co-composed with Mychael Danna | |
| 2010 | All Good Things | Andrew Jarecki | Magnolia Pictures | — |
| 2011 | The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best | Ryan O'Nan | Oscilloscope | — |
| Moneyball | Bennett Miller | Sony Pictures Releasing Columbia Pictures | Additional music Score by Mychael Danna | |
| 2012 | The English Teacher | Craig Zisk | Cinedigm Entertainment | — |
| LOL | Lisa Azuelos | Lionsgate | — | |
| The Final Member | Zach Math Jonah Bekhor | Drafthouse Films | Documentary | |
| Seeking a Friend for the End of the World | Lorene Scafaria | Focus Features | Composed with Jonathan Sadoff | |
| Girl Most Likely | Shari Springer Berman Robert Pulcini | Lionsgate Roadside Attractions | — | |
| Life of Pi | Ang Lee | 20th Century Fox | Additional music Score by Mychael Danna | |
| 2013 | The Spectacular Now | James Ponsoldt | A24 | — |
| The Way, Way Back | Nat Faxon Jim Rash | Fox Searchlight Pictures | — | |
| 2014 | Wish I Was Here | Zach Braff | Focus Features | — |
| Chu and Blossom | Charles Chu Gavin Kelly | TideRock Media Character Brigade Films 5 Productions Soaring Flight Productions Baked Industries | — | |
| Foxcatcher | Bennett Miller | Sony Pictures Classics | Additional music by Mychael Danna and West Dylan Thordson | |
| 2015 | The Age of Adaline | Lee Toland Krieger | Lionsgate | Additional music by Duncan Blickenstaff |
| Burnt | John Wells | The Weinstein Company | — | |
| Stonewall | Roland Emmerich | Roadside Attractions | Replaced Harald Kloser and Thomas Wander | |
| 2016 | Nerve | Henry Joost Ariel Schulman | Lionsgate | — |
| Viral | Dimension Films RADiUS-TWC | — | ||
| Miss Stevens | Julia Hart | The Orchard | — | |
| Two Is a Family | Hugo Gélin | Mars Films | — | |
| 2017 | Going in Style | Zach Braff | Warner Bros. Pictures New Line Cinema | — |
| Gifted | Marc Webb | Fox Searchlight Pictures | Additional music by Duncan Blickenstaff | |
| The House of Tomorrow | Peter Livolsi | Shout! Studios | — | |
| The Only Living Boy in New York | Marc Webb | Roadside Attractions Amazon Studios | Additional music by Duncan Blickenstaff | |
| The Upside | Neil Burger | STXfilms Lantern Entertainment | — | |
| Father Figures | Lawrence Sher | Warner Bros. Pictures | Additional music by Duncan Blickenstaff | |
| 2018 | ||||
| Love, Simon | Greg Berlanti | 20th Century Fox | — | |
| Tully | Jason Reitman | Focus Features | — | |
| The Front Runner | Sony Pictures Releasing Columbia Pictures Stage 6 Films | — | ||
| 2019 | Captive State | Rupert Wyatt | Focus Features | — |
| Fast Color | Julia Hart | Lionsgate Codeblack Films | — | |
| Our Friend | Gabriela Cowperthwaite | Gravitas Ventures | — | |
| 2020 | The Way Back | Gavin O'Connor | Warner Bros. Pictures | — |
| Stargirl | Julia Hart | Disney+ Walt Disney Pictures | — | |
| 2021 | Ghostbusters: Afterlife | Jason Reitman | Sony Pictures Releasing Columbia Pictures | Additional music by Duncan Blickenstaff |
| 2022 | The Adam Project | Shawn Levy | Netflix | Additional music by Taylor Lipari-Hassett |
| Hollywood Stargirl | Julia Hart | Walt Disney Pictures Disney+ | Composed with Duncan Blickenstaff | |
| The Whale | Darren Aronofsky | A24 | — | |
| 2023 | Good Grief | Dan Levy | Netflix | — |
| 2024 | Deadpool & Wolverine | Shawn Levy | Marvel Studios | Additional music by Taylor Lipari-Hassett |
| It Ends with Us | Justin Baldoni | Sony Pictures Releasing Columbia Pictures | Replaced Brian Tyler Composed with Duncan Blickenstaff | |
| 2025 | Elio | Madeline Sharafian Domee Shi Adrian Molina | Walt Disney Studios | Additional music by Duncan Blickenstaff and Taylor Lipari-Hassett |
| Caught Stealing | Darren Aronofsky | Sony Pictures Releasing Columbia Pictures | — |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Creator(s) | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Dollhouse | Joss Whedon | Fox | 2 seasons Composed with Mychael Danna |
| 2010 | Blue Bloods | Robin Green Mitchell Burgess | CBS | Theme music composer Score by Mark Snow |
| 2012 | Battleground | J. D. Walsh | Hulu | Season 1 |
| 2015 | Life in Pieces | Justin Adler | CBS | 2 seasons |
| 2022 | Stranger Things | The Duffer Brothers | Netflix | Orchestral arrangements Score by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein |
Discography
[edit]Studio 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.
External links
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