Born in Los Angeles, CA; educated at the Royal College of Music (London), USC (Los Angeles), and UCLA. Began studying piano at the age of five. After receiving a bachelor's degree in music at USC, he would go on to earn his master's degree at UCLA and teach music theory there. He later completed his Ph.D. in Music Composition and Theory at UCLA. Horner began scoring student films for the American Film Institute in the late 1970s, which paved the way for scoring assignments on a number of small-scale films. His first large, high-profile project was composing music for STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982), which would lead to numerous other film offers and opportunities to work with world-class performers such as the London Symphony Orchestra. Currently, with over 135 projects to his name, and work with people such as George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Oliver Stone, and Ron Howard, Horner has firmly established himself as a strong voice in the world of film scoring. In addition, Horner composed a classical concert piece in the 1980s, called "Spectral Shimmers", which was world premiered by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. He won a Grammy® for Best Instrumental Composition for GLORY (1989), which, like many of his scores, integrated choral work into the orchestration and features a distinctive 4-note trumpet blast during an important moment in the film. His other awards include several ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards, a Golden Globe and two other Grammys. Other notable (non-nominated) credits include THE LADY IN RED (1979), WOLFEN (1981), 48 HRS. (1982), COCOON (1985), THE NAME OF THE ROSE (1986), WILLOW (1988), HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS (1989), PATRIOT GAMES (1992), THE PELICAN BRIEF (1993), CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER (1994), CASPER (1995), RANSOM and COURAGE UNDER FIRE (both 1996), THE MASK OF ZORRO and DEEP IMPACT (both 1998), THE PERFECT STORM and DR. SEUSS' HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAST (both 2000). ENEMY AT THE GATES (2001), WINDTALKERS and THE FOUR FEATHERS (both 2002), RADIO and THE MISSING (both 2003), BOBBY JONES: STROKE OF GENIUS, TROY and THE FORGOTTEN (all 2004), THE CHUMSCRUBBER, FLIGHTPLAN, THE LEGEND OF ZORRO and THE NEW WORLD (all 2005), ALL THE KING'S MEN and APOCALYPTO (both 2006), THE LIFE BEFORE HER EYES (2007), THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES and THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS (both scheduled for 2008), and AVATAR (scheduled for 2009).  Nominated for Music Scoring Awards (Original Music Score) 1986: ALIENS  Nominated for Music Best Song 1986: AN AMERICAN TAIL "Somewhere Out There" - Music (w. Barry Mann)  Nominated for Achievement in Music (Original Dramatic Score) 1989: FIELD OF DREAMS  Nominated for Achievement in Music (Original Dramatic Score) 1995: APOLLO 13  Nominated for Achievement in Music (Original Dramatic Score) 1995: BRAVEHEART  Best Achievement in Music (Original Dramatic Score) 1997: TITANIC  Best Achievement in Music (Original Song) 1997: TITANIC "My Heart Will Go On" - Music  Nominated for Achievement in Music in connection with motion pictures (Original Score) 2001: A BEAUTIFUL MIND  Nominated for Music (Original Score) 2003: HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG 9 nominations, 2 Awards