An early interest in avant-garde music techniques helped him to define his personal style, his compositions often blending traditional harmonies and a conventional orchestra with the texture of ethnic instruments and even electronic sounds. He has been known to use a wide range of exotic instruments, from steel drums to pan pipes.

While teaching music theory at UCLA, Horner became involved with the American Film Institute (AFI), scoring for their 1978 film The Drought. This le

After using the early?90s to build up his resume with countless smaller films, Horner burst back into the international spotlight with a streak of impressive scores. After another Golden Globe nomination for Legends of the Fall, he was nominated to receive Academy Awards for both Braveheart and Apollo 13, two ethnically different, but stylistically elevated scores.

d to several other projects with the AFI, and later New World Pictures. After struggling to get his concert piece ?Spectral Shimmers? performed, Horner was drawn by the prospect of having his compositions put into practise within weeks of having finished them.

Horner has continued to produce effective and thematically provocative scores, and has managed to uphold his love of ethnic instruments. In his twenty-four years as a film score composer, he has written for approximate

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Awards Horner, Spectral Shimmers, Phillip Glass, Southern California, Braveheart Apollo, Grammy Awards, Music London, James Horner, Institute AFI, Devils Own, golden globe, ethnic instruments, theory ucla,