Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is a Canadian composer, conductor, and orchestrator known for his work in film music. He has composed scores for more than 80 films, including "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" film trilogies. Shore has frequently collaborated with director David Cronenberg, scoring nearly all of his films since 1979, and has also worked on several films directed by Martin Scorsese.
In addition to film scores, Shore has composed concert works, including the opera "The Fly", based on Cronenberg's 1986 film of the same name, which premiered at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on July 2, 2008. He also composed "Fanfare for the Wanamaker Organ and the Philadelphia Orchestra" and an overture for the Swiss 21st Century Symphony Orchestra. Shore worked in television as the original musical director for the American sketch comedy program "Saturday Night Live" from 1975 to 1980.
Shore has received three Academy Awards for his work on "The Lord of the Rings" films, including one for the song "Into the West", shared with Annie Lennox and Fran Walsh. He has also won three Golden Globe Awards, four Grammy Awards, three Genie Awards, and nine Canadian Screen Awards.
Shore was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Bernice Shore (nee Ash) and Mac Shore. He began studying music at the age of eight or nine and learned to play several instruments. As a teenager, he performed in bands and became friends with Lorne Michaels during summer camp. Shore later attended Berklee College of Music in Boston after graduating from Forest Hill Collegiate Institute.
From 1969 to 1972, Shore was a member of the jazz fusion band Lighthouse. In 1970, he became music director for "The Hart & Lorne Terrific Hour".
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