Jean-Christophe Beck (born November 30, 1972) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and film score composer and conductor. He is a brother of pianist Chilly Gonzales. He is best known for his collaborations with

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and its subsidiaries, which include composing the soundtracks of ''

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompas ...

'' (2011), '' Frozen'' (2013) and its 2019 sequel, the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published ...

films '' Ant-Man'' (2015), '' Ant-Man and the Wasp'' (2018), and '' Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'' (2023) as well as its TV miniseries '' WandaVision'' (2021) and '' Hawkeye'' for

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Ma ...

, and '' Free Guy'' (2021) for

20th Century Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, as well as the company’s 100th anniversary logo. He is also noted for winning an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

in 1998 for his work on the television series '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', as well as for composing the soundtrack of '' The Hangover'' (2009).

Early life

Beck started piano lessons at five, and by eleven he was learning

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

songs by ear and performing with his first band. Beck attended Crescent School where he studied piano, saxophone, and drums, and wrote many '80s love ballads. While studying music at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

, Beck wrote two musicals with his brother Jason, as well as an opera based on “The Tell-Tale Heart” by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

Career

Upon graduation, Beck moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

to attend USC's film scoring program, where he studied with

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the ''Rambo'' franc ...

. A personal recommendation from

Buddy Baker Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker Jr. (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional stock car racing driver and commentator. Over the course of his 33-year racing career, he won 19 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the 1980 ...

, then head of the USC Music Department, led to his first assignment for a Canadian TV series called ''White Fang''. Several TV series later, he was asked to score the second season of WB Network's '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. Beck received the

for Outstanding Music Composition for his score to the ''Buffy'' episode, “Becoming, Part 1.” In 2000, the cheerleading comedy ''Bring It On'' launched Beck's film career. His credits include ''Under the Tuscan Sun'', '' Edge of Tomorrow'', '' Crazy, Stupid, Love'', ''

Pitch Perfect ''Pitch Perfect'' is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore and written by Kay Cannon. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis ...

'', and the ''Hangover'' trilogy. More recently, Chris scored the Oscar- and

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning

animated film Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

''Frozen'', and several installments in the

(MCU). At the D23 Expo in 2022, it was announced that Beck had composed a new arrangement of " When You Wish Upon a Star" to accompany the Walt Disney Studios's 100th anniversary

production logo A production logo, vanity card, vanity plate, or vanity logo is a logo used by movie studios and television production companies to brand what they produce and to determine the production company and the distributor of a television show or fil ...

, which debuted ahead of the film '' Strange World''. Beck works out of his studio in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

Discography

Composer

Music department

Soundtrack

Filmography

Actor

Self

Accolades

References

External links

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Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Christophe 1972 births Animated film score composers Annie Award winners Blue Sky Studios people Buffy the Vampire Slayer Canadian conductors (music) Canadian film score composers Canadian music arrangers Canadian musical theatre composers Canadian television composers Hollywood Records artists Living people Male conductors (music) Male film score composers Male musical theatre composers Male television composers Primetime Emmy Award winners USC Thornton School of Music alumni Varèse Sarabande Records artists Yale University alumni