Don L. Harper
Encyclopedia
For the Australian composer, see Don Harper
.
Don L. Harper is a Los Angeles
-based film composer, songwriter, conductor, and arranger whose credits include films such as The Guardian
, National Treasure
, Training Day
, Armageddon, The Rock
, Twister, Broken Arrow
, Assassins
, and Speed. Harper composed and conducted the music for Disney’s
direct-to-video releases The Lion King
1&2, Tarzan & Jane
, and Atlantis: Milo's Return
. He also created the scores for the television series' The Magnificent Seven and The Twilight Zone
, and the TV movie Houdini
Harper’s first CD, Dream and Variations, is a hybrid of jazz, Americana, rock
, spirituals, blues, and bluegrass
. It is a sweeping assemblage of vignettes, recorded with a 70-piece orchestra live on the Eastwood Stage at Warner Bros.
in the Fall of 2006. The production included a 32-member choir, session musician Dan Higgins
on soprano saxophone
, jazz pianist Russell Ferrante
of The Yellowjackets, notable string players Dave Stone (upright bass), Sid Page
(violin), and Steve Erdody (cello). Trevor Rabin
, composer and former member of Yes
, played guitar. Dream and Variations includes the song "End of Days", featuring vocals by Lisbeth Scott
, which Harper and lyricist Tom Child wrote in response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina
. He has also recorded the soundtrack for Tokyo DisneySea
's version of Fantasmic, which is scheduled to premiere on April 28, 2011.
Don Harper
Don Harper was an Australian composer.Born in Melbourne in 1921, Don Harper showed an interest in music from an early age, learning to play the violin as a child...
.
Don L. Harper is a Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
-based film composer, songwriter, conductor, and arranger whose credits include films such as The Guardian
The Guardian (2006 film)
The Guardian is a 2006 action-adventure drama film starring Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher, and Melissa Sagemiller. The film was released on September 29, 2006, and was directed by Andrew Davis, director of The Fugitive...
, National Treasure
National Treasure (film)
National Treasure is a 2004 mystery adventure heist film from the Walt Disney Studios under Walt Disney Pictures. It was written by Jim Kouf, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Cormac Wibberley, and Marianne Wibberley, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and directed by Jon Turteltaub...
, Training Day
Training Day
Training Day is a 2001 crime drama film directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by David Ayer, starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. The film follows two LAPD narcotics detectives over a 24-hour period in the gang neighborhoods of South and East Los Angeles.The film was a box office success and...
, Armageddon, The Rock
The Rock (film)
The Rock is a 1996 action film that primarily takes place on Alcatraz Island and in the San Francisco Bay area. It was directed by Michael Bay and stars Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris. It was produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and released through Hollywood Pictures. The film...
, Twister, Broken Arrow
Broken Arrow (1996 film)
Broken Arrow is a 1996 American action film directed by John Woo, written by Graham Yost, and starring John Travolta and Christian Slater. The original music score was composed by Hans Zimmer, and features guitarist Duane Eddy. It deals with the theft of an American nuclear weapon.The film received...
, Assassins
Assassins (film)
Assassins is a 1995 American action film written by the Wachowskis and Brian Helgeland, directed by Richard Donner, and starring Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas and Julianne Moore.-Plot:...
, and Speed. Harper composed and conducted the music for Disney’s
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
direct-to-video releases The Lion King
The Lion King
The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
1&2, Tarzan & Jane
Tarzan & Jane
Tarzan & Jane is a Disney direct-to-video film released on July 23, 2002, sequel to the 1999 animated feature Tarzan, and uses three unaired episodes of the film's corresponding television series, The Legend of Tarzan. Tarzan II, a midquel to the original film, was released in 2005...
, and Atlantis: Milo's Return
Atlantis: Milo's Return
Atlantis: Milo's Return, released in 2003, is Disney's twentieth animated direct-to-video sequel. It is a sequel to the film Atlantis: The Lost Empire....
. He also created the scores for the television series' The Magnificent Seven and The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
, and the TV movie Houdini
Harper’s first CD, Dream and Variations, is a hybrid of jazz, Americana, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, spirituals, blues, and bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
. It is a sweeping assemblage of vignettes, recorded with a 70-piece orchestra live on the Eastwood Stage at Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
in the Fall of 2006. The production included a 32-member choir, session musician Dan Higgins
Dan Higgins
Dan Higgins is an American saxophone and woodwind player. He has worked with such artists as Aerosmith, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, Al Jarreau, Maroon 5, Kenny Loggins, Barry Manilow, Elton John, Go West, The Temptations, Lionel Richie, Joe Cocker and Eros Ramazzotti. He's also got over 300 motion...
on soprano saxophone
Soprano saxophone
The soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
, jazz pianist Russell Ferrante
Russell Ferrante
Russell Keith Ferrante is a jazz pianist from San Jose, California who is a founding member of the group Yellowjackets. During his early career, Ferrante performed with American blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon and guitarist Robben Ford. He also toured with Joni Mitchell. The group Yellowjackets...
of The Yellowjackets, notable string players Dave Stone (upright bass), Sid Page
Sid Page
Sid Page is an American based violin player who has been playing since the late 1960s. He became a member of Dan Hicks & The Hotlicks replacing violinist David LaFlamme...
(violin), and Steve Erdody (cello). Trevor Rabin
Trevor Rabin
Trevor Charles Rabin is a South African born musician, best known as a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the British progressive rock band Yes from 1983–1994, and since then, as a film composer.- Early years :...
, composer and former member of Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
, played guitar. Dream and Variations includes the song "End of Days", featuring vocals by Lisbeth Scott
Lisbeth Scott
Lisbeth Scott is a vocalist who was featured on the soundtracks for the films The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Munich. For the first film, she co-wrote and performed the song "Where." She also co-wrote and performed "Good...
, which Harper and lyricist Tom Child wrote in response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. He has also recorded the soundtrack for Tokyo DisneySea
Tokyo DisneySea
is a 176-acre theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, just outside Tokyo. It opened on September 4, 2001. It is owned by The Oriental Land Company, which licenses the theme from The Walt Disney Company. Tokyo DisneySea attracted an estimated 12 million visitors in...
's version of Fantasmic, which is scheduled to premiere on April 28, 2011.