Tony Blondal, is a film and television orchestrator and conductor, and record arranger. He started out his musical career playing live (guitar) and doing studio recording sessions (guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

, mandolin

Mandolin

A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...

, banjo

Banjo

In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...

, balalaika

Balalaika

The balalaika is a stringed musical instrument popular in Russia, with a characteristic triangular body and three strings.The balalaika family of instruments includes instruments of various sizes, from the highest-pitched to the lowest, the prima balalaika, secunda balalaika, alto balalaika, bass...

, charango

Charango

The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, 66 cm long, traditionally made with the shell of the back of an armadillo. Primarily played in traditional Andean music, and is sometimes used by other Latin American musicians. Many contemporary charangos are now made with...

 and various instruments). He also pursued his other interests, which were writing orchestral and band arrangements for singers, and big band writing and arranging. Through this early work he met a group of tv composers who were busy and needed someone to help orchestrate and copy their music for weekly recording sessions. That experience led to other opportunities and started him on a new path, and he soon transitioned to film orchestration

Orchestration

Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...

. To this day he still works in film primarily, but also occasionally in television and video games.

Education

Studied music theory, jazz performance, arranging and film composition between the University of British Columbia, Western Washington University, and the famous Dick Grove

Dick Grove

Richard Dean "Dick" Grove was an American musician, composer, arranger and award-winning music educator. He performed with Alvino Rey, and worked with Paul Horn, Buddy Rich, and Nancy Wilson....

 School of Music. Also studied privately with Jack Smalley

Jack Smalley

Jack Smalley is an American composer, orchestrator, and teacher of film and television scoring.After working for years as a jazz bassist, Smalley began to get jobs writing music for television, notable Charlie's Angels and Murder, She Wrote....

 and David Angel.

Career

Has orchestrated more than 75 feature films, as well as several tv series and video games. He is most known for his many collaborations with Rolfe Kent , but has also worked with Ramin Djawadi

Ramin Djawadi

Ramin Djawadi is a German composer of orchestral music for film and television. He was born in Duisburg, Germany to an Iranian father and German mother...

 , Elliot Goldenthal

Elliot Goldenthal

Elliot Goldenthal is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He was a student of Aaron Copland and John Corigliano, and is best known for his distinctive style and ability to blend various musical styles and techniques in original and inventive ways...

, Henry Pryce Jackman

Henry Pryce Jackman

Henry Pryce Jackman is a film score composer and keyboard player.-Early life and career:Jackman studied classical music at St...

 , Garry Schyman

Garry Schyman

Garry Schyman is an American film, television, and video game music composer. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in music composition in 1978, and began work in the television industry, writing music for such television series as Magnum, P.I. and The A-Team. By...

, Jeff Cardoni

Jeff Cardoni

Jeffrey E. “Jeff” Cardoni is an American film composer. He is a multi-instrumentalist, who studied classical piano before playing drums and guitar in numerous bands, including a brief stint with the rock band Alien Crime Syndicate. After graduating James M...

 , Andrew Gross , Christopher Young

Christopher Young

Christopher Young is an American music composer for both film and television.Many of his music compositions are for horror films, including Hellraiser, Tales from the Hood, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, Urban Legend, and Drag Me to Hell...

 , Tyler Bates

Tyler Bates

Tyler Bates is a music producer and composer for films. His most known work includes "The Hangman's Song" and various other tracks from the zombie horror film Dawn of the Dead, and 2008's Day of the Dead...

 , Craig Armstrong

Craig Armstrong

Craig Armstrong, OBE is a Scottish composer of modern orchestral music, electronica and film scores.Armstrong's score for William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet earned him a BAFTA for Achievement in Film Music and an Ivor Novello...

 , Andrea Morricone

Andrea Morricone

Andrea Morricone is an Italian composer and conductor, known for his film scores. He is the son of composer Ennio Morricone. He composed the film scores for the American films Capturing the Friedmans and Liberty Heights. He collaborated with his father on the famous score for Cinema Paradiso,...

and others.

As an arranger, he has worked with recording artists such as Peabo Bryson, Sheena Easton, Jeffrey Osborne, Melissa Manchester and Natalie Cole. He did arrangements for various artists on the Colors of Christmas Tour, the Elvis Lives Tour, and has done charts for the Tonight Show, Pat Sajack Show and Arsenio Hall Show. He was also part of the Music Director’s Emmy award winning team for the 2007 TV Special MOVIES ROCK . Arranging for Usher for his Singin' In The Rain tribute, in addition to composing additional music.

He also contributes regularly to the trailer libraries of Immediate Music, Killer Tracks and Firstcom/Universal.

Has been featured in Film Score Monthly (FSM Online) Magazine.

Credits: Films and Video Games

• Halo 4 (VG)
• Red Dawn
• Puss in Boots
• Fright Night
• Mr. Popper's Penguins
• Priest
• Open Season 3
• Front Mission Evolved (VG)
• Charlie St. Cloud
• Killers
• Beyond All Boundaries (Documentary)
• The Men Who Stare at Goats
• Up in the Air"
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (VG)
• Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
• Lemo
• Tales of the Black Freighter (VG)
• 17 Again
• Beethoven's Big Break
• The Day the Earth Stood Still
• Punisher: War Zone
• Open Season 2
• The Incredible Hulk
• Fly Me to the Moon
• Finn on the Fly
• Fred Claus
• The Hunting Party
• Spider-Man 3 (VG)
• Firehouse Dog
• Open Season
• Reign Over Me
• Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny
• Bonneville

• You, Me and Dupree
• King Leopold's Ghost (Documentary)
• Failure to Launch
• Just Friends
• Just Like Heaven
• Wedding Crashers
• The Matador
• Blade: Trinity
• The Last Shot
• Sideways
• Mean Girls
• Something's Gotta Give
• Duplex
• Freaky Friday
• Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
• Fly Me to the Moon
• About Schmidt
• 40 Days and 40 Nights
• Kate & Leopold
• Legally Blonde
• Town & Country
• Someone Like You...
• Happy Campers
• Mexico City
• Nurse Betty
• Gun Shy
• Election
• Don't Go Breaking My Heart
• The Theory of Flight
• Slums of Beverly Hills
• Men in Black: The Series (TV)
• The House of Yes
• Citizen Ruth
• Dead Connection

Television work

• Cinema Verité (HBO Movie)
• Walt & Grupo
• Avalon High
• Movies Rock (TV Special)
• The Flash Gordon Story
• Men In Black-The Series
• Animaniacs
• Pinky & The Brain
• Family Matters
• Full House
• Perfect Strangers
• Thirtysomething

Recording artists

• Rick Braun
• Peabo Bryson
• Sheena Easton
• Jon Secada
• Jeffrey Osbourne
• Melissa Manchester
• Jeffrey Smith
• Jeff Siegel
• Natalie Cole
• The Temptations
• Pointer Sisters
• Sheena Easton
• Jennifer Holiday
• Susan Anton
• Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis
• Fifth Dimension