Dennis Dreith (born June 15, 1948 in Glendale, California) is a musician,

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and a

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 advertisin ...

& motion picture composer, arranger, and conductor. He is also known as an influential advocate for performer's rights.

Life

Dreith showed a talent for music at an early age. He learned to play a variety of

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

and

reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...

instruments while still in his teens. While in college, Dreith played woodwinds and toured with

Paul Revere & the Raiders Paul Revere & the Raiders (also known as Raiders) were an American rock band formed in Boise, Idaho, in 1958. They saw considerable U.S. mainstream success in the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s. The band was known for including Revol ...

and

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

. He later toured with the

Osmond Brothers The Osmonds were an American family music group who reached the height of their fame in the early to mid-1970s. The group had its best-known configurations as a quartet (billed as the Osmond Brothers) and a quintet (as the Osmonds). The group ...

and recorded with many artists including Leon Russell, Giorgio Moroder,

Mama's Pride Mama's Pride is an American Rock music, rock band formed in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1972. History After forming in 1972, the band quickly grew a strong following. They signed to Atco Records in 1974, a division of Atlantic Records at that ti ...

and

Firefall Firefall is an American country rock band that formed in Boulder, Colorado, in 1974. It was founded by Rick Roberts, former member of the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jock Bartley, who had been Tommy Bolin's replacement in Zephyr. The band' ...

, often as a musician as well as an arranger and conductor. He recorded on

“

15 Big Ones ''15 Big Ones'' is the 20th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released July 5, 1976 on Brother/Reprise. It includes a mix of original songs and renditions of rock 'n' roll and R&B standards. The LP was the band's first albu ...

” for which he was awarded an RIAA Gold Record.

Career

Dreith has been the composer for such films as ''

Purple People Eater Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by Additive color, mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used b ...

'' (1988) and ''

The Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

'' (1989). He also known in the industry as an

orchestrator Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

and conductor of film music scores. His work can be heard in the soundtracks of '' Jurassic Park'', '' Misery'', '' Braveheart'', ''

Addams Family Values ''Addams Family Values'' is a 1993 American supernatural black comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Paul Rudnick, based on the characters created by Charles Addams. It is the sequel to '' The Addams Family'' (1991). The fil ...

'', ''

Sleepless in Seattle ''Sleepless in Seattle'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nora Ephron, from a screenplay she wrote with David S. Ward and Jeff Arch. Starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, the film follows a journalist (Ryan) who, despite ...

'', ''

Heart and Souls ''Heart and Souls'' is a 1993 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Ron Underwood. The film stars Robert Downey Jr. as Thomas Reilly, a businessman recruited by the souls of four deceased people, his guardian angels from childhood, to ...

'', ''

A League of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The film stars Tom Hanks, Geena ...

'' and others. He has orchestrated and conducted for several well-known composers including John Williams, Lalo Schifrin, Dominic Frontiere,

Marc Shaiman Marc Shaiman (; born October 22, 1959) is an American composer and lyricist for films, television, and theatre, best known for his collaborations with lyricist and director Scott Wittman. He wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics for the Broa ...

Hans Zimmer Hans Florian Zimmer (; born 12 September 1957) is a German film score composer and music producer. He has won two Oscars and four Grammys, and has been nominated for two Emmys and a Tony. Zimmer was also named on the list of Top 100 Living G ...

Elliot Goldenthal Elliot Goldenthal (born May 2, 1954) is an American composer of contemporary classical music and film and theatrical scores. A student of Aaron Copland and John Corigliano, he is best known for his distinctive style and ability to blend various ...

Mark Isham Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and film composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic. He is also a film composer, having worked on numerous films and ...

and

Cliff Eidelman Clifford Glen Eidelman (born December 5, 1964) is an American composer and conductor who has scored films including '' Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'', '' Free Willy 3: The Rescue'', and '' Christopher Columbus: The Discovery''. Biogr ...

. Dreith has also produced numerous jazz and R & B records working with such notables as

The Tokens The Tokens were an American doo-wop band and record production company group from Brooklyn, New York City. The group has had four top 40 hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, all in the 1960s, their biggest being the chart-topping 1961 hit si ...

and

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor ...

(arranging and producing several cuts on their acclaimed “Home for Christmas” album ( The O'Jays discography). Dreith eventually became president of the Recording Musicians Association (RM

a player conference of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) devoted to improving the lives and livelihoods of working musicians. He held that post for over 15 years.

National and International negotiations

Dreith was also a member and consultant for the American Federation of Musicians Negotiating Sub-committee for every major electronic media agreement negotiated by them. During that time, he was also AFM liaison to both the

Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund The Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund is a not-for-profit organization that collects and processes residual payments from producers and distributes them to film and television musicians. The Fund was established in 1972 as part of a collective ...

(FMSMF), and the Sound Recording Special Payments Fund ("SRSPF

where he addressed the House Sub-committee on Intellectual Propertie

in support of Digital Performers Rights legislation in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

that was signed into law by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

in November 1995. In 1996, he traveled to Japan where he negotiated and executed a "Friendship Agreement" between the Musicians Rights Commission of Japan and the RMA, which in turn has resulted in the substantial distribution of Japanese royalties to U.S. recording musicians.

Other work

Dreith served as the Administrator of the

since 1998 and simultaneously as the Executive Director of the AFM &

SAG-AFTRA The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA, stylized as SAG·AFTRA ) is an American labor union representing approximately 160,000 film and television actors, journalists, radio personalities, recordi ...

Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund until 2017, overseeing the Japanese Record Rental Royalty Fund, the

Audio Home Recording Act The Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 (AHRA) amended the United States copyright law by adding Chapter 10, "Digital Audio Recording Devices and Media". The act enabled the release of recordable digital formats such as Sony and Philips' Digital Aud ...

Fund, and Digital Performance Royalties under the

Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act The Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 (DPRA) is a United States Copyright law that grants owners of a copyright in sound recordings an exclusive right “to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital au ...

on behalf of non-featured performers. In 2017, Dreith co-founded Transparence Entertainment Grou

with industry veteran Shari Hoffma

Dreith serves as the company's Chairman. Dreith continues to own and operate his own publishing and production company Magic Closet Musi

performs regularly with his 17-piece jazz ensembl

and is the Managing Partner of Graef Win

He is a speaker at a variety of music education and related conferences in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and worldwide including the

Cannes film festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

, SXSW, and the ASCAP I Create Music Expo. He is a former member of the faculty at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

Extension as well as a past member of the UCLA Advisory Board to the Department of Entertainment Studies and Performing Arts. Dreith is on the board of directors for the charity "Environment of People Foundation, Inc

which strives to ensure that music and the arts remain a central part of our children's lives and growth.

External links

*
Dennis Dreith Official WebsiteThe Environment of People, Inc. WebsiteTransparence Entertainment Group, Inc. WebsiteDennis Dreith Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2020) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dreith, Dennis American film score composers American male film score composers Living people Musicians from Glendale, California 1948 births