Warren Giancaterino
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Warren Giancaterino, Music Director for the CBS On-Air Promotion
Department, has performed with the likes of Sinatra and Sergio Mendes,
and has worked with Grammy and Academy award winners like Stevie
Wonder. For us, he is the person who composes music for CBS promos and
all music-related projects for network promotions. He composes, plays,
records and directs other musicians - anything required to create the
music for our promos. His musical talent has brought about fantastic
performances of the annual upfront presentations and innovative
musicianship for special projects.
Although he had his first lessons playing upright bass and electric bass at age 19, he had a full music career not a year later. By 20, he was the bass player for the Harold Minsky Follies back-up band in Las Vegas. He also toured all over the world for about two years with various bands. When asked how he managed to immediately begin playing professionally with few music lessons, he modestly explained that he took a lot of music theory and just figured it out.
At 22, Warren returned from touring to perform and study at Temple University and at the Philadelphia Music Academy. However, the big time soon beckoned him as he found himself working with Michael Sembello, the co-composer behind many Stevie Wonder albums. With Sembello, he worked on "Songs in the Key of Life," and the score for Academy Award nominated "Flashdance." Additionally, he composed music with Jeffrey Osborne, best known for his hit, "On the Wings of Love."
After engineering and playing behind the scenes for some time, Warren met Sergio Mendes, the Brazilian powerhouse known worldwide for smooth Bossanova hits and pop covers. He was flown out from New York to L.A. to meet Mendes, and Warren recalls, "Within a week, I was part of the family." He spent 6 months rehearsing and began touring again. They played in North America, Europe and Asia! Some years later, Frank Sinatra wanted Sergio Mendes and band to open for him for a tour. Being "family," of course, Warren was there. As you can imagine, the audiences were often celebrity-laden - from Cary Grant to Gregory Peck to Shirley MacLaine to Ronald Reagan. They finished the tour playing Albert Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.
Upon returning to Los Angeles, Warren began working in TV, Approached by CBS to score music 'as an experiment,' Warren has been there ever since. It's been 12 years now and he's still going strong. In Warren's words, "every year is a new year with new ideas for music based on the needs of CBS." His pursuit of excellence and professionalism contributes to some of the best music in TV promos today.
Although he had his first lessons playing upright bass and electric bass at age 19, he had a full music career not a year later. By 20, he was the bass player for the Harold Minsky Follies back-up band in Las Vegas. He also toured all over the world for about two years with various bands. When asked how he managed to immediately begin playing professionally with few music lessons, he modestly explained that he took a lot of music theory and just figured it out.
At 22, Warren returned from touring to perform and study at Temple University and at the Philadelphia Music Academy. However, the big time soon beckoned him as he found himself working with Michael Sembello, the co-composer behind many Stevie Wonder albums. With Sembello, he worked on "Songs in the Key of Life," and the score for Academy Award nominated "Flashdance." Additionally, he composed music with Jeffrey Osborne, best known for his hit, "On the Wings of Love."
After engineering and playing behind the scenes for some time, Warren met Sergio Mendes, the Brazilian powerhouse known worldwide for smooth Bossanova hits and pop covers. He was flown out from New York to L.A. to meet Mendes, and Warren recalls, "Within a week, I was part of the family." He spent 6 months rehearsing and began touring again. They played in North America, Europe and Asia! Some years later, Frank Sinatra wanted Sergio Mendes and band to open for him for a tour. Being "family," of course, Warren was there. As you can imagine, the audiences were often celebrity-laden - from Cary Grant to Gregory Peck to Shirley MacLaine to Ronald Reagan. They finished the tour playing Albert Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.
Upon returning to Los Angeles, Warren began working in TV, Approached by CBS to score music 'as an experiment,' Warren has been there ever since. It's been 12 years now and he's still going strong. In Warren's words, "every year is a new year with new ideas for music based on the needs of CBS." His pursuit of excellence and professionalism contributes to some of the best music in TV promos today.