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FMS FEATURE...

July 14, 2005
Emmy Plays Favorites
Highly-nom'd Clausen, Fraser, Broughton are among this season's contenders by Jon Burlingame Emmy® Award

Simpsons composer Alf Clausen has tied arranger/musical director Ian Fraser for the record of most-nominated musician in the history of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Clausen scored his 26th and 27th Emmy nominations for "outstanding music composition for a series (dramatic underscore)" for the "Treehouse of Horror XV" episode of The Simpsons, and "outstanding music and lyrics" for the song "Always My Dad" in the "A Star Is Torn" episode of the popular animated series.

Since 1991-92, Clausen has been nominated 20 times for music on the Fox series, and has won twice, for songs in the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. His previous nominations were for work on the Omnibus special and the Bruce Willis-Cybill Shepherd comedy Moonlighting.

Fraser's 27 nominations are all in the music-direction category (which involves arranging and conducting, usually on music specials). He is also the most-honored musician in Emmy history, having won 13 times for such classic television specials as America Salutes Richard Rodgers: The Sound of His Music, Baryshnikov on Broadway and Julie Andrews: The Sound of Christmas. This year's nomination was for the TNT special Christmas in Washington.

Alf Clausen
Alf Clausen
Michael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino
Bruce Broughton
Bruce Broughton
The Emmy nominations for the 2004-05 season contained – for the first time in several years – no surprising or potentially controversial omissions (as happened last year when Thomas Newman was inexplicably ignored for his acclaimed score for Angels in America). Among the highlights:
  • Michael Giacchino, who burst onto the film- and TV-music scene with his scores for Alias and The Incredibles, received his first two Emmy nods for original music on Lost and an original song in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz.
  • Danny Elfman received his second Emmy nomination ever for the main title theme music of Desperate Housewives (his first, 14 years ago, was for The Simpsons theme).
  • Bruce Broughton, whose nine Emmys make him the most-awarded composer of original music in Emmy history, received his 20th prime-time nomination for the music of the HBO TV-movie about Franklin D. Roosevelt, Warm Springs.
  • The TV-movie and miniseries score category took on an international flavor, with nominations for French composer Bruno Coulais (an Oscar nominee this year for Les Choristes) for the HBO movie Sometimes in April; Australia-based composers Christopher Gordon and Lisa Gerrard, for the music of TNT's Salem's Lot; and Britisher George Fenton (2002 winner for Blue Planet), for music in A&E's Pride.
  • Oscar winner Rachel Portman (Emma) received her first Emmy nomination in the music-direction category for the PBS telecast of her opera The Little Prince.
  • Previous Emmy winners honored with new nominations include Jeff Beal (2003 winner for the Monk theme) for music on Carnivale; Sean Callery (2003 winner for scoring 24), receiving his fourth nomination for 24; W.G. Snuffy Walden (2000 winner for his theme for The West Wing), nominated for the theme for Huff; and Michael McCuistion (2001 daytime Emmy winner for his Batman Beyond music), receiving his first prime-time Emmy nomination for the theme of Cartoon Network's Justice League Unlimited.
The complete list of nominees follows:

Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Dramatic Underscore)
  • Carnivale, episode "Lincoln Highway" / HBO
    Jeff Beal, Composer
  • House, Pilot episode / FOX
    Christopher Hoag, Composer
  • Lost / ABC
    Michael Giacchino, Music by
  • The Simpsons, episode "Treehouse of Horror XV" / FOX
    Alf Clausen, Music by
  • 24, episode "2:00 AM - 3:00 AM" / FOX
    Sean Callery, Composer
Outstanding Music Composition For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special (Dramatic Underscore)
  • Miracle Run / Lifetime Television
    Joseph Conlan
  • Pride / A&E
    George Fenton
  • Revelations, Part 1 / NBC
    Joseph Vitarelli
  • Salem's Lot / TNT
    Lisa Gerrard, Christopher Gordon
  • Sometimes In April / HBO
    Bruno Coulais
  • Warm Springs / HBO
    Bruce Broughton
Outstanding Music Direction
  • Broadway: The American Musical / Oh, What A Beautiful Morning / PBS
    Matthias Gohl, Music Supervisor, Arranger and Producer
  • A Christmas Carol / NBC
    Michael Kosarin, Music Produced and Adapted Underscore by
  • Christmas In Washington / TNT
    Ian Fraser, Music Director
  • Genius: A Night For Ray Charles / CBS
    Rickey Minor, Music Director
  • The Little Prince (Great Performances) / PBS
    Rachel Portman, Music by
Outstanding Music And Lyrics
  • Malcolm In The Middle / Dewey's Opera
    Song: "The Marriage Bed" / FOX
    Charles Sydnor, Music by
    Eric Kaplan, Written by
  • The Muppets' Wizard Of Oz
    Song: "I'm With You' / ABC
    Michael Giacchino, Written by
    Jeannie Lurie, Written by
    Adam Cohen, Written by
    Debra Frank, Written by
    Steve Hayes, Written by
  • Reefer Madness
    Song: "Mary Jane/Mary Lane" / Showtime
    Dan Studney, Music by
    Kevin Murphy, Music by
  • The Simpsons / A Star Is Torn –
    Song: "Always My Dad" / FOX
    Alf Clausen, Music by
    Carolyn Omine, Lyrics by
  • Terror at Home: Domestic Violence in America
    Song: "The Tears of the Angels" / Lifetime Television
    Michael Bolton, Written and Performed by
Outstanding Main Title Theme Music
  • Desperate Housewives / ABC
    Danny Elfman
  • Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends / Cartoon Network
    James L. Venable
  • Huff / Showtime
    W.G. "Snuffy" Walden
  • Justice League Unlimited / Cartoon Network
    Michael McCuistion
  • Stargate Atlantis / SCI FI
    Joel Goldsmith

©2005 Jon Burlingame


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