Brad Dechter
- Music Department
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
A note to readers of this bio: IMDB has been negligent for many years despite repeated efforts to correct or delete credits that do not belong to Brad Dechter. He does indeed have in excess of 300 orchestration/arranging credits but there are many that have incorrectly been attributed to him. Specifically, credits since 2009 attributed to him where James Newton Howard is the composer are incorrect. Similarly, Brad has been credited with almost every project for which composer John Debney has scored, most of which are correct through about 2013. After that point, most--but not all--are incorrect. He has worked with each of these fine composers starting in the late 1980's. Somehow IMDB must have an algorithm that automatically adds him to each of their works regardless of the truth. It is disappointing that IMDB has ignored every attempt made to correct these erroneous credits. What follows is Brad's bio which has not been updated since about 2013. It will be updated soon.
Brad Dechter is an orchestrator, arranger, composer and woodwind player who has been a professional musician since 1971 and an active participant in the Hollywood music industry since 1981. A native of Los Angeles, he grew up in a musical family in which his father Ted, himself a noted classical and big band trombonist as well as a beloved local music teacher, was his primary influence and teacher. Originally playing clarinet and then progressing to saxophone and flute, Brad gained valuable experience performing with symphonies, big bands and various other groups before attending Yale University, where he received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in music.
Primarily working in film, Brad has orchestrated or arranged all or parts of over 300 feature films with such composers as Mark Isham, Marc Shaiman, John Debney, Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard, James Horner and Trevor Jones. These films include the Academy Award-nominated scores for "The Fugitive," "The Prince of Tides," "My Best Friend's Wedding," "The Village," "The Passion of the Christ," "Defiance," "Michael Clayton" and "The First Wives Club" as well as audience favorites "Mary Poppins Returns," "Rogue One," "42", "City Slickers," "The Dark Knight," "Dolphin Tale," "The Sixth Sense," "Pretty Woman" and "Dave." He has worked on numerous television shows including a 7-year run with "Once Upon a Time" as well as "Moonlighting," (for which he was nominated for 2 Emmy awards for his arranging work) and "The West Wing," (for which he arranged and orchestrated its Emmy-winning title theme for composer W.G. "Snuffy" Walden). He has often been an arranger for the Primetime Emmy Awards show as well as well as for many Academy Awards telecasts. In 2006 he arranged and orchestrated the new music for The CBS Evening News With Katie Couric.
Brad's arrangements and orchestrations are also showcased in numerous diverse record albums, including those featuring such artists as Chris Botti, Josh Groban, Barbra Streisand, Sir Elton John, Mariah Carey, Johnny Mathis, Jack Jones, John Denver, Seal, Cy Coleman, Jim Self, McCoy Tyner, Al Jarreau, Placido Domingo, Renee Olstead, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London and his wife Maureen's debut vocal album, "Songs of a Mother's Love," and son Graham's debut jazz guitar album "Right On Time." He has composed various concert works including jazz concertos for both piano and oboe as well as commissioned works for groups such as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the U.S. Army Field Band Concert Band. His work is heard in the new ballet "Tom Sawyer," (composed by Tony-winner Maury Yeston) which is the first major all-American 3-act ballet (author Mark Twain, composer Yeston, choreographer William Whitener, ballet company Kansas City Ballet).
As a saxophonist, he studied with jazz legend George Coleman (of the Miles Davis Quintet fame) and has played with jazz greats Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Ventura, Bill Holman, Bill Berry, Toshiko Akyoshi and Ray Anthony (with whose band he met his singer/wife Maureen when both were performing at Disneyland in 1981!). He is leader of the Brad Dechter Octet, a group featuring luminaries of the Southern California jazz world, and co-leader of the group Sopranos and Strings featuring 2 soprano saxes, 2 guitars and bass.
Brad Dechter is an orchestrator, arranger, composer and woodwind player who has been a professional musician since 1971 and an active participant in the Hollywood music industry since 1981. A native of Los Angeles, he grew up in a musical family in which his father Ted, himself a noted classical and big band trombonist as well as a beloved local music teacher, was his primary influence and teacher. Originally playing clarinet and then progressing to saxophone and flute, Brad gained valuable experience performing with symphonies, big bands and various other groups before attending Yale University, where he received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in music.
Primarily working in film, Brad has orchestrated or arranged all or parts of over 300 feature films with such composers as Mark Isham, Marc Shaiman, John Debney, Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard, James Horner and Trevor Jones. These films include the Academy Award-nominated scores for "The Fugitive," "The Prince of Tides," "My Best Friend's Wedding," "The Village," "The Passion of the Christ," "Defiance," "Michael Clayton" and "The First Wives Club" as well as audience favorites "Mary Poppins Returns," "Rogue One," "42", "City Slickers," "The Dark Knight," "Dolphin Tale," "The Sixth Sense," "Pretty Woman" and "Dave." He has worked on numerous television shows including a 7-year run with "Once Upon a Time" as well as "Moonlighting," (for which he was nominated for 2 Emmy awards for his arranging work) and "The West Wing," (for which he arranged and orchestrated its Emmy-winning title theme for composer W.G. "Snuffy" Walden). He has often been an arranger for the Primetime Emmy Awards show as well as well as for many Academy Awards telecasts. In 2006 he arranged and orchestrated the new music for The CBS Evening News With Katie Couric.
Brad's arrangements and orchestrations are also showcased in numerous diverse record albums, including those featuring such artists as Chris Botti, Josh Groban, Barbra Streisand, Sir Elton John, Mariah Carey, Johnny Mathis, Jack Jones, John Denver, Seal, Cy Coleman, Jim Self, McCoy Tyner, Al Jarreau, Placido Domingo, Renee Olstead, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London and his wife Maureen's debut vocal album, "Songs of a Mother's Love," and son Graham's debut jazz guitar album "Right On Time." He has composed various concert works including jazz concertos for both piano and oboe as well as commissioned works for groups such as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the U.S. Army Field Band Concert Band. His work is heard in the new ballet "Tom Sawyer," (composed by Tony-winner Maury Yeston) which is the first major all-American 3-act ballet (author Mark Twain, composer Yeston, choreographer William Whitener, ballet company Kansas City Ballet).
As a saxophonist, he studied with jazz legend George Coleman (of the Miles Davis Quintet fame) and has played with jazz greats Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Ventura, Bill Holman, Bill Berry, Toshiko Akyoshi and Ray Anthony (with whose band he met his singer/wife Maureen when both were performing at Disneyland in 1981!). He is leader of the Brad Dechter Octet, a group featuring luminaries of the Southern California jazz world, and co-leader of the group Sopranos and Strings featuring 2 soprano saxes, 2 guitars and bass.
