Rob Simonsen

Rob Simonsen is an American composer based in Los Angeles.

Early life[]

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 jazz piano performance and music theory at Southern Oregon University, the University of Oregon and Portland State University.^[1]

Career[]

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. Simonsen's work includes the Sundance Film Festival features The Way, Way Back and The Spectacular Now;^[2] the Lionsgate feature film The Age of Adaline; and most recently Love, Simon 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[]

• 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]

Filmography[]

Films[]

• Westender (2003)
• Two Fisted (2004)
• Eve and the Fire Horse (2005)
• Lonely Hearts (2006) additional music
• Surf's Up (2007) additional music
• Stone of Destiny (2008) additional music
• Management (2008) co-composed with Mychael Danna
• The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) additional music
• (500) Days of Summer (2009) co-composed with Mychael Danna
• All Good Things (2010)
• The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best (2011)
• Moneyball (2011) additional music
• The English Teacher (2012)
• LOL (2012)
• The Final Member (2012) Documentary
• Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012), composed with Jonathan Sadoff
• Girl Most Likely (2012)
• Life of Pi (2012) additional music
• The Spectacular Now (2013)
• The Way, Way Back (2013)
• Wish I Was Here (2014)
• Foxcatcher (2014) (additional music by Mychael Danna and West Dylan Thordson)
• The Age of Adaline (2015) (additional music by Duncan Blickenstaff)
• Burnt (2015)
• Stonewall (2015)
• Nerve (2016)
• Viral (2016)
• Demain tout commence (2016)
• Going in Style (2017)
• Gifted (2017) (additional music by Duncan Blickenstaff)
• The House of Tomorrow (2017)
• The Only Living Boy in New York (2017) (additional music by Duncan Blickenstaff)
• The Upside (2017)
• Father Figures (2017)
• Tully (2018)
• Love, Simon (2018)
• The Front Runner (2018)
• Captive State (2019)
• Fast Color (2019)
• Our Friend (2019)
• The Way Back (2020)
• Stargirl (2020)
• Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

Television[]

• Dollhouse (series) (2009–2010)
• Battleground (series) (2012)
• Blue Bloods (series) (2010–2013)
• Life in Pieces (series) (2015–2017)

Discography[]

Studio albums

• Rêveries (2019)

References[]

External links[]

• "Official Website".
• Rob Simonsen at IMDb