Composer of the Month: Danny Elfman!

This month, first and second graders are learning all about the composer Danny Elfman! Danny Elfman is a very famous American composer, most known for his movie and television scores. Elfman is best known for movie soundtracks that he has written, most notable among them being: Spiderman 1, 2, and 3, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ('05), Alice in Wonderland ('10), Alice Through the Looking Glass ('16), Men in Black 1 and 2, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and Frankenweenie. His most notable television score is for the long running TV series The Simpsons. Elfman has written the film score for every sing Tim Burton movie excluding 3; Ed Wood, Sweeny Todd, and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, due to scheduling issues or personal conflicts. I chose this composer as our COTM for October because of his love of the weird, scary, and mysterious, which fits the mood of Halloween perfectly! We began our study of Elfman with excerpts from his film scores for The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride. We will not be watching any of these films, simply listening to the musical excerpts chosen to compare his musical stylings to those of our first COTM, John Williams.