About
Composer Jonathan Sacks is a versatile and eclectic composer who writes for film, theater, and the concert hall.
Originally from Boston, Sacks is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
Sacks has worked as a composer and orchestrator on over 30 feature films over the past 25 years. His musical blueprints can be found on the following films: the Academy Award winning scores to Monster’s Inc. and Toy Story 3, as well as Seabiscuit, the two X-Files movies, Meet the Parents, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Lethal Weapon 3, Mr. Holland’s Opus, plus a half dozen video games. Jonathan recently scored the award winning documentary Look At Us Now, Mother directed by Gayle Kirschenbaum. This film has appeared in film festivals throughout the world including Woodstock, Toronto, and Atlanta film festivals.
Having worked on many successful blockbuster films as an orchestrator, Sacks was given the opportunity to orchestrate and co-compose for several Disney Theme Park Rides alongside Randy Newman including Monsters, Inc., Mike & Sulley to the Rescue, and Carsland for Disneyland, and Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue at Shanghai Disneyland. His music on these rides is heard by millions of people a year.
Sacks has composed dozens of orchestral arrangements to accompany Steve Martin as well as The Steep Canyon Rangers. This work has been performed by over nine different major orchestras including the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall, the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, and the National Symphony at Kennedy Center. He also created orchestral arrangements for Metallica [on their album S&M (with the San Francisco Symphony)] and Kiss.
Sacks has written several dozen scores for productions of Shakespeare, Stoppard, A Christmas Carol, among others for such theaters as the San Diego Repertory Theatre, Antaeus Theatre, and Shakespeare Festival, LA. He is currently collaborating with WordTheatre.
Sacks’ concert works havebeenperformed and recorded, including Portals, for clarinet and large orchestra (recorded by Richard Stoltzman, and the Warsaw Philharmonic, conducted by Carl St. Clair) and Sagittarius Rising for large orchestra. He recently has composed a book of musical settings for a number of Shakespeare’s Sonnets.
Jonathan currently resides in Los Angeles with his two cats.