Geoff Zanelli

Geoffrey Zanelli or Geoff Zanelli (born September 28, 1974) is a composer working primarily in the medium of film music. His early career was notable for scoring additional music on roughly 30 film scores written by Hans Zimmer, John Powell, Harry Gregson-Williams and Steve Jablonsky including several blockbuster films. He has since moved on to more solo work.

Aside from film and television scores, Zanelli also works with recording artists, writing arrangements for Steve Martin, Edie Brickell, Robbie Williams, The Webb Sisters, Mest and Story of the Year. He is credited as a guitarist/bassist/synthsist on the song "I'm Not Dead" from recording artist Pink.

Life and work

Zanelli is from Westminster, California, and is a graduate of Berklee College of Music. Zanelli began his musical career as a guitar player and songwriter for numerous local acts in Southern California. While attending the prestigious Berklee College of Music on scholarship, Zanelli dual majored in Film Scoring and Music Production/Engineering. He was the recipient of both the Doug Timm Award in recognition of his film scoring work and the Music Production and Engineering Scholar Award.

In 1994, Hans Zimmer recognized Zanelli as a promising young talent and invited him to Los Angeles to join his group of film composers. Zanelli quickly earned his reputation as a workhorse, becoming versed in many facets of music while working as an engineer on the début album from Goldfinger as well as Zimmer's Oscar Award-nominated score for The Preacher's Wife.

Zanelli's experience and desire to collaborate led him to work with British composer John Powell on his first Hollywood feature, Face/Off. Throughout the following years he built the foundation for his scoring career, composing with Powell, Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams and Steve Jablonsky on many feature films, including: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Rango and the Golden Globe-nominated scores for The Last Samurai and Pearl Harbor.

The composing experience Zanelli had accrued prepared him for a kinetic start to his solo career. One of his earliest solo works, Steven Spielberg's miniseries Into The West, earned him an Emmy. Showcasing his versatility, in just over one year Zanelli scored the films Disturbia, Hitman, Outlander, Delgo, Ghost Town and Gamer, each with a unique approach. Harking back to his earlier days as a songwriter, he co-wrote the song "Don't Make Me Wait" for Disturbia. He currently writes at Hans Zimmer's Remote Control Productions.

In early 2013, influential film blog Ain't It Cool News called his score for The Odd Life Of Timothy Green the best score of 2012.

Filmography (as principal composer)

2017

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

2015

• No Stranger Than Love

2013

• The Lone Ranger (arranged Gioachino Rossini's "William Tell Overture" and additional material by Hans Zimmer for "Finale.")

2012

• The Odd Life Of Timothy Green

2011

• Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (composer: Spain theme)
• Rango (composer: Rattlesnake Jake theme, Mayor's theme, Holy Spigot theme)
• Beneath The Darkness
• Should've Been Romeo

2010

• The Pacific (miniseries) -- Emmy Award nominated score
• You May Not Kiss The Bride

2009

• Gamer

2008

• Ghost Town
• Outlander
• Delgo

2007

• Hitman
• Disturbia

2005

• Into the West (miniseries) -- Emmy Award winning score

2004

• House of D
• Secret Window

2001

• Feast

External links

• Geoff Zanelli's official website
• Geoff Zanelli Twitter
• Geoff Zanelli's imdb.com entry
• Article about Zanelli's Emmy win for Into The West
• Soundtrack.net's coverage of the recording of Zanelli's score for Disturbia