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 Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...
and
film score composer and conductor. He is a brother of pianist
Chilly Gonzales. He is best known for his collaborations with
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
and its subsidiaries, which include composing the soundtracks of ''
The Muppets'' (2011), ''
Frozen
Frozen may refer to:
* the result of freezing
* a paralysis response in extreme cases of fear
Films
* ''Frozen'' (1997 film), a film by Wang Xiaoshuai
* ''Frozen'' (2005 film), a film by Juliet McKoen
* ''Frozen'' (2007 film), a film by Sh ...
'' (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
Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, Ant-Man's first appearance was in ''Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) but first appeared in costum ...
'' (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 Mar ...
, and ''
Free Guy'' (2021) for
20th Century Studios, 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, 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 the disco music era i ...
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 wo ...
, 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 wide ...
.
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 wor ...
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'' franch ...
. A personal recommendation from
Buddy Baker, 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
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 ...
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'', and
the ''Hangover'' trilogy. More recently, Chris scored the
Oscar- and
Grammy-winning
animated film ''Frozen'', and several installments in 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 ...
(MCU). At the
D23 Expo
D23: The Official Disney Fan Club is the official fan club for The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 2009, the organization is known mainly for its biennial exposition event, the D23 Expo. The name ''D23'' refers to ''D'' for ''Disney'' and ''23' ...
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, which debuted ahead of the film ''
Strange World''.
Beck works out of his studio in
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
.
Discography
Composer
Music department
Soundtrack
Filmography
Actor
Self
Accolades
See also
*
Music of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
References
External links
*
*
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