Charles Bernstein (composer)

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Charles Bernstein (February 28, 1943) is a Daytime Emmy Award winning composer for film and television music. He composed the music for many popular films including the original A Nightmare on Elm Street.

After studying composition with Vitorio Giannini and Vincent Persichetti at the Juilliard School in New York, Mr. Bernstein attended the University of California at Los Angeles, where he received an Outstanding Graduate of the College Award, a Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship and a Chancellor's Doctoral Teaching Fellowship while working with American composer Roy Harris. Mr. Bernstein is currently elected to the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Board of Directors of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, the Board of Directors of the ASCAP Foundation and serves as Vice President of the Academy of Motion Picture’s Foundation. He has taught on the graduate film scoring faculty at USC, and presents film scoring seminars over the past 15 years at UCLA Extension. He has received an ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for his writings on music and is author of the recent book, "Film Music and Everything Else” as well as numerous articles and a second book on film music to be published later this year.

Mr. Bernstein has composed scores for over 100 motion pictures (www.imdb.com), including musical contributions to Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, Vol.1 (music which was originally used in the classic car chase film White Lightning (1973 film)). Also scores for genre classics A Nightmare on Elm Street (the original), The Entity, Stephen King's Cujo, George Hamilton's Dracula spoof Love At First Bite, and a wide variety of comedies, dramas and action films. He has provided music for Academy Award winning documentaries Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision and Czechoslovakia 1968, as well as for the Tom Hanks Vietnam saga, Return with Honor. His many made-for-television films include an Emmy nominated score for the Jane Seymour historical epic Enslavement: The True Story of Fanny Kemble, HBO's multiple Emmy Award winning Miss Ever's Boys with Alfrie Woodard, Michael Mann's Emmy winning 10-hour miniseries Drug Wars I & II, Hallmark Hall of Fame's Emmy winning Caroline?, Jack London's The Sea Wolf (Emmy nominated for Best Score), and Emmy Nominated mini-series The Long Hot Summer starring Don Johnson, Cybill Shepherd and Jason Robards, as well as the acclaimed historical mini-series Sadat, starring Lou Gossett Jr.

[edit] Positions held

Board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (current)
Board of directors of The Society of Composers and Lyricists (current)
Board of directors of the ASCAP Foundation (current)
Taught on the graduate film scoring faculty at USC
Teaches an UCLA Extension film scoring seminar annually

[edit] Albums and Soundtracks

MASS: Voices of the World (1991) - album
CBS Schoolbreak Special: Little Miss Perfect (won the Emmy for "Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition") - Score
A Nightmare on Elm Street - Score
Cujo - Score
Deadly Friend - Score
Excessive Force - Score
Enslavement: The True Story of Fanny Kemble - Score
Sea Wolf (Emmy nominated for Best Score) - Score
Out of the Ashes - Score
Profoundly Normal - Score
Crossing the Line - Score
White Lightning - Score
Bull Run - Score
After Innocence - Score
Love, Lies and Murder - Score
Refusenik (AKA Let My People Go) - Score
Sweet Nothings in My Ear - Score
The Entity - Score
Love at First Bite - Score
Drug Wars: The Camarena Story (Michael Mann Emmy winning 10 hour mini-series) - Score
Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision - Score
Czechoslovakia 1968 - Score
Return with Honor- Score
Miss Evers' Boys - Score
The Long Hot Summer - Score
White Lightning (1973 film) - Score
Kill Bill Volume 1 - featured on the soundtrack