Lee Holdridge

Lee Holdridge
Born (1944-03-03) March 3, 1944
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Occupation Composer, orchestrator
Relatives Leslie Holdridge (father)

Lee Elwood Holdridge (born March 3, 1944) is an American composer and orchestrator.[1]

Biography

Holdridge was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, of a Puerto Rican mother and an American father, the botanist and climatologist Dr. Leslie Holdridge.[2] While living in Costa Rica, at age ten, he studied the violin with Hugo Mariani, who was at the time the conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica.[2] Holdridge then moved to Boston, where he finished high school and studied composition with Henry Lasker.[2]

As an adult, Holdridge moved to New York City to continue his music studies and begin his career as a professional composer.[2] There, he composed chamber works, rock pieces, songs, theater music and background scores for short films, and eventually came to Neil Diamond's notice. Diamond then brought Holdridge with him to Los Angeles to write arrangements for his forthcoming albums.[2] After several gold and platinum hits, the two collaborated on the Grammy Award winning film score for Jonathan Livingston Seagull.[2]

Holdridge has composed, conducted, and orchestrated for many films, some of the most notable being Jeremy,[3] American Pop,[4] The Beastmaster, Mr. Mom, Splash, A Tiger's Tale, Old Gringo, Beautiful Music, Puerto Vallarta Squeeze, Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport[2] and Brothers at War.[5] He has also composed for several television series, including the 1976 western series Sara, The Mists of Avalon, American Family, The Brooke Ellison Story, and Moonlighting.[2]

Holdridge has performed and recorded in several concerts, including The Golden Land, the Jefferson Tribute, his suite from the opera Lazarus and His Beloved, the Concerto for Viola and Chamber Orchestra, the Concertino for Violoncello and Strings, the Serenade for Oboe and Strings, the Fantasy Sonata for ‘Cello and Piano, the Elegy for Strings and Harp, and Sonnet for soprano and orchestra.[2]

He has also written, arranged and conducted for recording artists such as Helen Reddy, Plácido Domingo, Barbra Streisand, Brian May of Queen, Stevie Wonder, John Denver, Neil Sedaka, The Angels, Daniel Rodriguez, Al Jarreau, George Benson, Peabo Bryson, Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, Natalie Cole, Whitney Houston and Jane Olivor.[2]

Holdridge is married to ex-ballet dancer Elisa Justice. She is Western Region Audition Co-Director of the Metropolitan Opera National Council, hosts her own classical music radio show called "Eclectic Classics" and is co-producing a new album.

Recent films include the epic documentary feature film by Richard Trank on Winston Churchill entitled Winston Churchill: Walking with Destiny and the Hallmark Movie The Shunning. The newest film projects include the forthcoming It Is No Dream, Hell and Mr. Fudge, The Confession, Liz & Dick, When Calls The Heart and The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers and The Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers.

Recent works include Ode to Orion premiered by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Concierto Para Mendez premiered by the Los Angeles Opera as well as concert versions of An American Hymn, Mists of Avalon, Suite for Flute and Orchestra, Moonlighting and Once Again It’s Christmas Time This Year.

Recently Placido Domingo and the Los Angeles Opera Company premiered the full length opera Dulce Rosa based on an Isabel Allende short story. Filmed in HD, a DVD is planned for the near future as well as productions by other opera companies.

Awards and nominations

Primetime Emmy awards:

Daytime Emmy awards:

Sports Emmy awards:

News and Documentary Emmy awards:

Grammy awards:

ASCAP Awards:

Further reading

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Lee Holdridge". The New York Times.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Lee Holdridge Official website - Biography". Lee Holdridge. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-15.
  3. ↑ Discogs.com
  4. ↑ Canby, Vincent (February 13, 1981). "'American Pop' Grown-Up Animation". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ KRNV.com

External links

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