Alan Howarth (born 1948) is an American

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

sound designer In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

who has worked on soundtracks for

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

films including the ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' and ''

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

'' series, and is known for his collaborations with film director and composer

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...

Childhood and early career

Alan Howarth grew up in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. Playing music in local rock bands, he opened for national touring acts including

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

and

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

. He then began to create original music in bands Braino and Pi Corp, using synthesizers. From 1976 he provided synthesizer support for fusion jazz band

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer Alphonse Mouzon a ...

, which relocated him to Los Angeles. Howarth caught his big break in 1980 when his music was used for a

movie trailer. After that he worked on the next five Star Trek films.

Films

Howarth's collaborations with John Carpenter include: ''

Escape from New York ''Escape from New York'' is a 1981 American Independent film, independent science fiction film, science fiction action film co-written, co-scored and directed by John Carpenter, and starring Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald ...

'', ''Halloween II'', '' Halloween III: Season of the Witch'', ''Christine'', ''

Big Trouble in Little China ''Big Trouble in Little China'' (also known as ''John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China'') is a 1986 American fantasy action-comedy film directed by John Carpenter, and starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun and James Hong. The ...

'', ''Prince of Darkness'' and ''

They Live ''They Live'' is a 1988 American science fiction action horror film written and directed by John Carpenter, based on the 1963 short story " Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson. Starring Roddy Piper, Keith David, and Meg Foster, the ...

''. His music has been featured in films like '' The Osterman Weekend'', '' The Lost Empire'', '' Retribution'', '' Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers'', '' Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers'', '' Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers'', ''

The Dentist ''The Dentist'' is a 1996 American slasher film directed by Brian Yuzna and written by Dennis Paoli, Stuart Gordon, and Charles Finch. It stars Corbin Bernsen, Linda Hoffman, Earl Boen and Ken Foree. It follows a successful but mentally unstabl ...

'' and '' The Dentist 2'', '' Boo'', ''Evilution'', '' Basement Jack'', ''

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...

'', ''Zombie Night'', and ''Brutal''. His award-winning sound designs have appeared in '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture'', '' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'', '' Star Trek III: The Search for Spock'', '' Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'', '' Star Trek V: The Final Frontier'', and '' Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'', ''

Raiders of the Lost Ark ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. Set in 1936, the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana ...

'', ''Poltergeist'', ''

Back to the Future Part II ''Back to the Future Part II'' is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale; both wrote the story. It is a sequel to the 1985 film ''Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the Back ...

'', '' Back to the Future Part III'', ''The Little Mermaid'' and ''Total Recall''. His team received

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

awards for Best Sound Effects for ''The Hunt for Red October'' and '' Bram Stoker's Dracula'' directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He has also created some sound effects for

Sound Ideas Sound Ideas Canada Ltd. (also known as Sound Ideas) is a Canadian audio company and the archive of one of the largest commercially available sound effects libraries in the world. It has accumulated the sound effects, which it releases in collect ...

's award-winning "Series 6000: The General" royalty-free sound effects library.

Live performance

Howarth performs his film scores in live concert to excerpts from the films, and has performed in Geneva, Kraków, St. Petersburg, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London and Pari

Sound technology

Howarth pioneered immersive multi-channel surround sound systems with Steven Taylor's "Dimension Audio" that included the early prototype theatrical 48.4 systems that are now known as

Dolby Atmos Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on existing surround sound systems by adding height channels as well as free-moving sound objects, interpreted as three-dimensional objects with neither horiz ...

and DTS sound immersion. His current research has resulted in founding of RA Music, which holds several worldwide patents for the conversion of standard musical recordings into tunings of the Natural Frequency Spectrum as defined by nature, science and ancient architecture. Natural Frequencies Feature Film Composer and Sound Design Credits

Filmography

References

External links

Official website
*
RA Music Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howarth, Alan Living people American film score composers American sound designers Musicians from Cleveland American male film score composers Varèse Sarabande Records artists 1948 births