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David Spear

  • Music Department
  • Composer
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
David Spear is a composer and conductor. He began his career orchestrating many film scores for Elmer Bernstein including Animal House, Ghostbusters, Airplane and Heavy Metal. After his Broadway debut as Music Director of Merlin, the Magical Musical, Spear scored three Academy Award nominated films: Ballet Robotique, Rainbow War and The Courage to Care. He also wrote the music for the Emmy Award winning documentary, Surviving Everest, for National Geographic. He has led the London Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, the Vancouver Symphony and the Munich Philharmonic in performances and recordings of his own works. Last season he conducted the Indianapolis Symphony in the premiere of Ron McCurdy's The Langston Hughes Project, featuring actor and rapper Ice-T.

Professor Spear has served on the faculties of Berklee College of Music and the USC Thornton School of Music where, in 2005, he was awarded the Casden Institute Faculty Research Grant to re-score Samuel Goldwyn's 1922 Classic Yiddish Silent Film Hungry Hearts. The new score and restored print premiered at the 2007 New York Jewish Film Festival at Lincoln Center. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition from UCLA and was the recipient of the Henry Mancini Scholarship.
BornNovember 23, 1953
BornNovember 23, 1953
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
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    Known for

    Ghostbusters (1984)
    Ghostbusters
    7.8
    • Music Department
    • 1984
    Airplane! (1980)
    Airplane!
    7.7
    • Music Department
    • 1980
    Heavy Metal (1981)
    Heavy Metal
    6.6
    • Music Department
    • 1981
    The Creature Wasn't Nice (1981)
    The Creature Wasn't Nice
    3.6
    • Composer
    • 1981

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Music Department



    • Alaska (1996)
      Alaska
      5.8
      • orchestrations
      • 1996
    • Dolph Lundgren in Pentathlon (1994)
      Pentathlon
      4.3
      • conductor
      • 1994
    • Robert De Niro, Bill Murray, and Uma Thurman in Mad Dog and Glory (1993)
      Mad Dog and Glory
      6.2
      • conductor (uncredited)
      • 1993
    • The Human Shield (1991)
      The Human Shield
      4.5
      • composer: additional music (uncredited)
      • 1991
    • Son of Dinosaurs (1988)
      Son of Dinosaurs
      8.3
      TV Movie
      • original music
      • 1988
    • Cynthia Rothrock, Loren Avedon, and Max Thayer in No Retreat, No Surrender 2 (1987)
      No Retreat, No Surrender 2
      5.1
      • conductor
      • 1987
    • Emo Philips Live (1987)
      Emo Philips Live
      8.1
      • music editor
      • 1987
    • Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short in Three Amigos! (1986)
      Three Amigos!
      6.5
      • orchestrator (uncredited)
      • 1986
    • Fisher Stevens, John Stockwell, Raphael Sbarge, and Danielle von Zerneck in My Science Project (1985)
      My Science Project
      5.9
      • orchestrator
      • 1985
    • Enn Reitel in The Optimist (1983)
      The Optimist
      6.8
      TV Series
      • composer: theme music
      • music and theme by
      • 1983–1985
    • Exterminator 2 (1984)
      Exterminator 2
      4.6
      • orchestrator
      • 1984
    • Ghostbusters (1984)
      Ghostbusters
      7.8
      • orchestrator
      • 1984
    • Ballet Robotique (1982)
      Ballet Robotique
      7.1
      Short
      • conductor
      • 1982
    • Good-bye Cruel World (1982)
      Good-bye Cruel World
      4.3
      • composer: additional music: song "Life Is a Mammy-Jabber"
      • 1982
    • Richard Gere and Debra Winger in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
      An Officer and a Gentleman
      7.1
      • conductor (uncredited)
      • 1982

    Composer



    • 7 Days (2016)
      7 Days
      3.8
      Short
      • Composer
      • 2016
    • Brooke Mackenzie in Name of the Game (2006)
      Name of the Game
      Short
      • Composer
      • 2006
    • Man-Eaters of India
      TV Movie
      • Composer
      • 2001
    • Milo's Bug Quest (2000)
      Milo's Bug Quest
      9.2
      TV Series
      • Composer
      • 2000
    • Dolph Lundgren in Pentathlon (1994)
      Pentathlon
      4.3
      • Composer
      • 1994
    • Death Zone
      TV Movie
      • Composer
      • 1993
    • The Return of Dinosaurs
      Short
      • Composer
      • 1993
    • On Human Destiny (1992)
      On Human Destiny
      Short
      • Composer
      • 1992
    • To Be an Astronaut (1992)
      To Be an Astronaut
      7.9
      Short
      • Composer
      • 1992
    • Chris Sarandon and Tom Aldredge in Lincoln and the War Within (1992)
      Lincoln and the War Within
      7.8
      TV Movie
      • Composer
      • 1992
    • Public Enemy #2 - He's On The Psycho-path To Fame!
      Public Enemy #2
      7.5
      • Composer
      • 1991
    • The Triumph of Memory
      Short
      • Composer
      • 1989
    • Mortuary Academy (1988)
      Mortuary Academy
      4.7
      • Composer
      • 1988
    • Cynthia Rothrock, Loren Avedon, and Max Thayer in No Retreat, No Surrender 2 (1987)
      No Retreat, No Surrender 2
      5.1
      • Composer
      • 1987
    • Rainbow War (1987)
      Rainbow War
      7.8
      Short
      • Composer
      • 1987

    Producer



    • Low-Pull Artist
      • co-producer
      • Post-production

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Born
      • November 23, 1953
      • Newark, New Jersey, USA
    • Spouse
      • Yvonne Regalado? - March 23, 2015 (her death)
    • Children
      • No Children
    • Other works
      "On Human Destiny" NASA/ Space Center Houston

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Has scored (3) Academy Award Nominated films.

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