Biography

Composer Evan Evans' sensibilities and knowledge of film, along with his innate musical talent and abilities have afforded him incredible opportunities very early in his career. And, while the son of the legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans - 8-time Grammy¨ Award recipient, 31-time Grammy¨ Award nominee and recipient of the Grammy¨ Lifetime Achievement Award - he is driven by his passion for music and his wish to make proud the father he hardly knew.

Evan, at the age of 5, was unaware of his musical lineage when his father died in 1980. He swiftly exhibited his interest in music, taking on the piano at age 6. His passion for music composition formed quickly, and so he began private studies. As early as the fifth grade, he obtained special dispensation to study electronic composition, 20th century composition, and experimental music as an advanced 11-year old student amongst adults at a nearby College. His talents and artistry were undeniable, and upon entering Middle School, he submitted an original three movement suite for piano in competition for the Disney Creativity Challenge Award. He won. He is still the youngest winner to date to recieve this national award for "Best Original Composition".

As Evan's interests grew with his artistry, he was particularly drawn to the use of music in Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles classics, and so, decidedly adopted film and music as his lifetime goal of exploration. At only age 12 he received his first professional assignment writing forty-two minutes of music for Shark Alert, a CD-interactive about the evolution of sharks from none other than media giant Capital Media/Philips.

After writing for radio, television, CD-Rom and CD-i, Evan found it was time to move to Hollywood to pursue film composing at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with aspirations of scoring his first feature film whilst entrenched in Tinseltown. Studying, writing, and conducting many times a week with veteran composer Don Ray (Twilight Zone), top-notch orchestrator Steven Scott Smalley (Batman, Starship Troopers), and music editor Joseph E. Rand (Gorky Park, Titanic), at age 19, Evan emerged a 'seasoned' composer eager for that first feature film. His break came when he scored the intense, claustrophobic thriller, Killers (Icon Entertainment).

Evan pursued further studies at the Nadia Boulanger Institute in Paris - sharing the same pedagogy as Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, and Elliot Goldenthal, among others - and in Los Angeles with Steven Scott Smalley, Clare Fischer, and musical giant Lalo Schifrin...

"I owe so much to Lalo. He taught me a great deal about the mechanics of the film industry, orchestration, recording sessions, and the philosophy and emotional architecture of film".

"One of the most fascinating and exciting moments is when I meet the filmmaker. It's at that point that I'm made aware of the context of the vision that the filmmaker has attempted. This context then becomes the driving force in actually cinematically realizing the director's vision through my musical interpretations. I don't think many filmmakers understand how vitally important the score is to the true vision of the film, but you can bet they do after they've worked with me, with my logical methods of communication, and my talents of creation."