Alex Wurman

Emmy Award-winning composer Alex Wurman is highly versatile with a broad musical palette. He can traverse the film-score landscape by writing a critically-acclaimed score for an Oscar®-winning film, to supporting comedy with musical punctuation for box office giants, to capturing the essence of brainy ideas for indie films. Some examples include: the eerie piano melodies of Lời Thú Tội Của Sát Nhân (2002), minimalist/20th century sculpted sounds for Chuyện Của Temple Grandin (2010), groovy '70's themes for Huyền Thoại Ron Burgundy (2004), contemporary interpretations of French impressionism for Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001), and soulful melodies combined with ethereal orchestrations for Hành Khúc Chim Cánh Cụt (2005). When asked to score another wildlife documentary, Bầy Sư Tử Cuối Cùng (2011) for Dereck Joubert and Beverly Joubert, Wurman wrote a score that won him his second award for "best music" at the world's leading natural history film forum: The Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. Although known primarily for his work on films, when scoring major telefilms, such as Bà Harris (2005), or Bernard and Doris (2006), he is rewarded with Emmy recognition. Wurman's score for Chuyện Của Temple Grandin (2010) starring Claire Danes won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special. Alex Wurman's talents are the result of both nature and nurture, hailing from a family with generations devoted to the study and performance of music. The Chicago native's father, Hans Wurman, was an arranger and composer, who pioneered the world of electronic music by recording intricate works on the first Moog synthesizer. As a youngster, Alex would spend afternoons at his father's workplace; his love for the arts would secure him admission into the prestigious Academy of Performing Arts High School. He went on to study composition at the University of Miami in Coral Gables and the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. In his early twenties, Wurman moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film scoring. He immediately began scoring AFI student films. These valuable experiences proved to be the launching pad for Wurman's independent career. Soon thereafter, assignments came his way as directors discovered a fresh and versatile composer whose music lent depth to their films.

This cerebral composer is able to work with directors in many film genres. He especially develops a close relationship with writer/directors, such as Steve Conrad, John August, Jill Sprecher, and Ron Shelton; perhaps because Wurman's music, on its own, also tells a story. "He is a born storyteller whose work gets to the heart of the matter and expresses what words cannot. The music he creates is completely unique, complex and stunning," said Jill Sprecher, director of Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001). Ron Shelton (Play It to the Bone (1999), Sát Nhân Hollywood (2003)) stated, "I don't think there is any kind of music in which he is not conversant." The Los Angeles Times wrote: "Wurman's spare, elegant score contributes strongly to creating and sustaining the film's shifting moods." Percy Adlon, director of Out of Rosenheim (1987) and In der glanzvollen Welt des Hotel Adlon (1996) Adlon described Wurman's abilities by stating, "He has a wonderfully wide range of styles. You can travel with him from Schubert to Thelonius Monk, from Jamaican to Baroque, from noise to ballroom, from rich to sparse. He will never give you a cheap imitation. You always get an original."