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John Beal is an internationally acclaimed film music conductor and award-winning composer for film and television, with thousands of hours leading orchestras in Hollywood and across the globe. Equally comfortable on the concert stage and in the recording studio, he serves as the Principal Pops Conductor of the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra®. Maestro Beal is a highly sought-after conductor, having led a broad array of shows and live-to-film performances with some of the world’s finest musicians. His engagements span from London to Tokyo and include prestigious ensembles such as the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Brussels Philharmonic, City of Prague Philharmonic, National Symphony of Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Evergreen Symphony of Taiwan, and numerous major U.S. symphony orchestras. For several decades, he conducted the Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra in Los Angeles. Throughout his career as a Music Director, Maestro Beal has arranged and conducted orchestras for albums, concerts, and television, collaborating with diverse artists including Elton John and Taron Egerton in the world premiere of Rocketman: Live in Concert, electronica DJ Deadmau5 in his first orchestral concert, Lola Lennox in Serengeti Live’s world premiere, Olivia Newton-John’s U.S. concert debut, and iconic singers such as Gladys Knight, Ella Fitzgerald, and B.B. King.
John Beal is also a distinguished film and television composer, best known for his extensive work on numerous hit TV shows and as the industry’s leading composer of original scores for theatrical motion picture trailers over the past thirty years. Unlike the common use of library music, Beal specialized in composing original trailer scores. Working alongside Hollywood movie marketing pioneer Andrew J. Kuehn, he was instrumental in shaping the modern form of contemporary motion picture trailers. His contributions defined the musical style and template for the industry. John Beal is President of Reeltime Creative.
Born in Santa Monica, California, John’s family has deep roots in entertainment history. His grandfather was involved in the earliest television broadcasts from RCA in New York and contributed to the development of multi-channel sound for Disney’s Fantasia (1940). John’s early years were spent in the San Fernando Valley, where he attended school alongside children of Hollywood’s most famous stars. He appeared as a child guest on Art Linkletter’s House Party in 1952.
John began piano lessons at age six and, by eight, was singing in a professional boys choir after moving to La Cañada-Flintridge, California. At ten, he began his first professional music job as a drummer. During junior high, he appeared on television shows hosted by Steve Allen and Dick Clark. After studying at San Diego State and UCLA, his musical career was interrupted by combat service in the United States Marine Corps, where he was decorated for heroism, bravery, valor, and gallantry.
Returning swiftly to Hollywood, John pursued his passion. In his twenties, he worked with Olivia Newton-John, Johnny Mathis, Gladys Knight, B.B. King, Ella Fitzgerald, and Phyllis Diller—serving as their music director and arranger. He studied with esteemed composers Earle Hagen, Dominic Frontiere, and George Duning while ghostwriting, orchestrating for major film and television composers, and conducting variety television shows. He also composed original music for Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Enchanted Village.
John’s first feature film score was Zero to Sixty (1978) starring Darren McGavin and Joan Collins. He continued composing for films such as The Funhouse (1981) and Terror in the Aisles (1984), alongside many popular television series including Happy Days (1974), Laverne & Shirley (1976), Eight Is Enough (1977), Vega$ (1978), Chicago Story (1982), and Goodtime Girls (1980).
As a pioneering figure in the creation of today’s contemporary motion picture trailer format, John Beal is recognized as the composer who established its musical style and template. He has composed original scores for the marketing of over 2,000 major studio projects, contributing to campaigns whose success measures in hundreds of billions of dollars. His work includes trailers for Aladdin (1992), Ghost (1990), Black Rain (1989), Forrest Gump (1994), The Matrix (1999), The Last Samurai (2003), Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), Titanic (1997), and True Lies (1994).
Mr. Beal credits his lifelong passion for film and television music to his childhood experiences with family friend and renowned silent movie theater organist Gaylord Carter, as well as mentorship from an extraordinary group of composers: five-time Academy Award nominee George Duning; Academy Award winner Dominic Frontiere; Disney’s Academy Award nominee Buddy Baker; Academy Award nominee and multiple Emmy-winning conductor Ian Fraser; twelve-time Emmy nominee conductor Nick Perito; and Emmy-winning composers Billy Goldenberg and Earle Hagen.
