Paul Cantelon (born December 25, 1959) is an American

contemporary classical music Contemporary classical music is Western art music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st-century classical music, 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 Modernism (music), post-tonal music after the death of ...

and popular music composer, a film score composer and an actor He is also a

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist,

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

, and

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

ist, and a founding member of the American

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

band

Wild Colonials Wild Colonials are an United States, American alternative rock musical ensemble, band formed in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California in 1992 in music, 1992 by Angela McCluskey (vocals), Shark (musician), Shark (guitar/vocals/percuss ...

Background

Cantelon was born in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

. He was a music prodigy who made his violin debut at the age of 13 at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Royce Hall Royce Hall is a building on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Designed by the Los Angeles firm of Allison & Allison (James Edward Allison, 1870–1955, and his brother David Clark Allison, 1881–1962) and completed ...

. Inspired by the work of Donalee Reubenet, he started piano studies. He studied with Andre Gauthier at the Geneva Conservatory of Music in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, Jacob Lateiner at the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named afte ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and

Vlado Perlemuter Vladislas "Vlado" Perlemuter (26 May 1904 – 4 September 2002) was a Lithuanian-born French pianist and teacher. Biography Vladislas (Vlado) Perlemuter was born to a Polish Jewish family, the third of four sons, in Kovno, Russia (now Kaunas in L ...

at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

Music

Over the course of his career, he has released a number of solo classical piano recordings, including the following: *''In the Morning Early'' (a collection of Celtic hymns) (1978) *''Paul Cantelon Solo Piano'' *''A Modern Day Mozart'' (1998) *''Nightwood, 24 Preludes for Solo Piano'' *''Point No Point'' (2001) He is a founding member of the American alternative band

, in which he plays

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, and

, and has featured on their albums... *'' Fruit of Life'' (1994) *'' This Can’t Be Life'' (1996) *''Reel Life vol 1'' (2000) *''Life As We Know It EP 1/4'' (2007) Since the 1990s, he has also recorded and performed with a diverse range of artists including Yo Yo Ma,

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances featuring expressive body movements. Most of his best-known singles, such as "Feelin' Alright ...

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

, George Clinton,

King Crimson King Crimson were an English progressive rock band formed in London in 1968 by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald (musician), Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. Guitarist Fripp remained the only constant member throughout the ...

, Everclear, and

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, and h ...

. He has guested on Perla Betalla's debut album, Lili Haydn's '' Lili,'' Loup Garou's ''Dobb's Ferry,'' and Sara Sant'Ambrogio's ''Dreaming.'' In the 1990s and early 2000s, he played piano in a jazz-inflected group that also featured Lili Haydn on violin, Martin Tillman on cello, and Satnam Singh Ramgotra on tablas. They released a self-titled CD under the name Luciana's Wish. In 2000, under the name Tryptich, they released an EP of cover songs called ''Curio,'' with vocals by Angela McCluskey.

Music for film

In recent years, he is perhaps best known for his compositions for films, which include the following: * '' Jane Fonda in Five Acts'' (2018) * '' The Visit'' (2015) ("epilogue theme") * '' Wish You Well'' (2013) * '' Violet and Daisy'' (2013) *'' Firelight'' (2012) * '' The Music Never Stopped'' (2011) * ''

New York, I Love You ''New York, I Love You'' is a 2008 American romantic comedy-drama anthology film consisting of eleven short films, each by a different director. The shorts all relate in some way to the subject of love and are set among the five boroughs of Ne ...

'' (2010) * ''

Conviction In law, a conviction is the determination by a court of law that a defendant is Guilty (law), guilty of a crime. A conviction may follow a guilty plea that is accepted by the court, a jury trial in which a verdict of guilty is delivered, or a ...

'' (2010) * '' W.'' (2008) * '' The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008) * '' The Diving Bell & The Butterfly'' (2007) * ''Superheroes'' (2007) * '' Year of the Fish'' (2007) * ''

Everything is Illuminated ''Everything Is Illuminated'' is the first novel by the American writer Jonathan Safran Foer, published in 2002. It was adapted into a film of the same name starring Elijah Wood and Eugene Hütz in 2005. The book's writing and structure rece ...

'' (2005)''Everything is Illuminated'' Soundtrack
/ref> * ''The Swimmers'' (2005) * ''Kill Your Darlings'' (2004) * ''Issaquena'' (2002) In addition, he composed a special

centenary A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

score for ''

The Battleship Potemkin '' Battleship Potemkin'' (, ), sometimes rendered as ''Battleship Potyomkin'', is a 1925 Soviet silent epic film produced by Mosfilm. Directed and co-written by Sergei Eisenstein, it presents a dramatization of the mutiny that occurred in 1905 ...

'' in 1995.

Personal life

Cantelon's mother was a

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

er in the Philadelphia Symphony, and his father was an evangelist. His brother is the multi-talented photographer/artist/writer/musician/activist, Lee Cantelon. At age 17, Cantelon had a serious bicycle accident which left him in a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

. When he emerged from the coma a month later, he had significant

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or brain diseases,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be temporarily caused by t ...

. As a result, he had to relearn his musical skills. Cantelon was married to

vocalist, Angela McCluskey. When they were in their early 20s, they met in London at the Star of India, where he was playing, and she was dining with British actor

Hugh Grant Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as a charming and vulnerable romantic leading man, and has since transitioned into a character actor. He has received List of awards ...

References

External links

*
GOOD COMPANY; The King and Queen of Scots, in TriBeCaYear of the Fish Presskit biography (PDF)Pop: Angela McCluskey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantelon, Paul 1959 births 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American violinists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American alternative rock musicians American classical composers American film score composers American male film score composers American male violinists Living people Musicians from Los Angeles 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American accordionists American male pianists