Christopher Young
Born in Red Bank, New Jersey, Christopher Young began his musical life as a jazz drummer before finding his true calling in film composition. In 1980, he moved to Los Angeles to study under the legendary David Raksin (Laura) at UCLA, launching a career that would make him one of Hollywood’s most celebrated and distinctive voices in film music.
A Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated composer, Young has scored more than 160 films spanning every genre and emotional register. His collaborations with filmmakers such as Norman Jewison (The Hurricane), Barry Levinson (Bandits), Lasse Hallström (The Shipping News, Golden Globe Nominee for Best Original Score), Curtis Hanson (Wonder Boys), John Amiel (Entrapment), and Bruce Robinson (Jennifer 8, The Rum Diary) showcase his extraordinary range and sensitivity as a storyteller. Other acclaimed works include Murder in the First, Rounders, Copycat, Ghost Rider, and Spider-Man 3, each revealing his hallmark gift for melody, drama, and orchestral color.
At the same time, Young’s name has become synonymous with the art of cinematic horror. His groundbreaking scores for Hellraiser I, and II, The Fly II, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, The Dark Half, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Species, Sinister, Pet Sematary (2019), and The Piper (2023) have earned him legendary status among both filmmakers and fans, influencing the language of modern horror scoring for decades.
Recent projects include the score for Meta’s upcoming Deadpool VR game (2025) and the Paramount feature Passenger. Honored by BBC Classical Magazine as “the greatest horror film composer of our time”, Young was also commissioned to compose a new score for the restored 1923 silent masterpiece Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (Warner Classics).
A thoughtful and dedicated artist, Young has long championed bringing film music to the concert stage, transforming many of his works into symphonic suites. As a mentor and educator, he has inspired hundreds of composers worldwide, shaping the next generation of musical storytellers with the same passion, intellect, and originality that define his own remarkable career.