Known for his wide-ranging talents, Mark Mancina's film scores traverse almost every genre: drama, action, comedy, suspense, and period epic. His dark, edgy music for the Oscar-winning Training Day (2001), is a benchmark score that expanded the boundaries of scoring street-wise drama, and is widely used as a temp track, while his breakout score for Speed (1994), another innovative work, influenced the sound of subsequent action movies. Mancina's orchestral originality on Loin du paradis (1998), reflecting the haunting gloom of its subject, and his score for the period epic Moll Flanders (1996), which appeared on Billboard's Classical Crossover Chart, further point to Mancina's considerable compositional range. Other films include Twister (1996), Bad Boys (1995), Les ailes de l'enfer (1997), L'intrus (2001), Tarzan (1999), Frère des ours (2003), Le manoir hanté et les 999 fantômes (2003), and Sony's 3-D animated short, Early Bloomer (2003).
But Mancina's achievements as composer for some of the top-grossing films of recent years comprise only one aspect of his diverse career. Composer, producer, songwriter and three-time Grammy winner, he has also added Broadway to his list of accomplishments by writing, producing and arranging the score for Disney's Tony-winning stage production of The Lion King. The foundation for this expansion into theatre was set in the early 1990s when Oscar winning composer Hans Zimmer, recognizing Mancina's varied gifts, asked him to arrange and produce three Elton John songs for what would become the enormously successful original film version of The Lion King. Mancina's efforts on "Can You Feel the Love Tonight," "I Just Can't Wait To Be King," and "Hakuna Matata" were rewarded with a multi-platinum record that has sold over ten million copies worldwide, and earned him a Grammy for Best Musical Album for Children and two American Music Awards for Best Pop Album. On the heels of the success of Le roi lion (1994), Mancina went on to write and produce additional songs for a Lion King follow-up album entitled Rhythm of the Pridelands featuring South African artist 'Lebo M'. One of Mancina's original songs, "He Lives In You," became a thematic centerpiece for The Lion King theatrical production which opened on Broadway in 1997, and has since been performed to great acclaim in numerous cities around the world. In his role as producer of music for the stage, Mancina collaborated with 'Lebo M', and director Julie Taymor to create the distinctive musical atmosphere of the Tony award winning show. Mancina received a Tony nomination, was awarded Britain's Ivor Novello Award for the London production, and earned his second Grammy for producing the Original Broadway Cast Album.
Born in Santa Monica, Mancina spent his childhood in Culver City, then Huntington Beach, California. Commencing his musical training at a very early age, he has performed all his life as a singer, guitarist and pianist. His film and television scores frequently feature Mancina's own performances on piano, guitar, bass, percussion, and drums, highlighting unique sounds harvested from a personal collection of traditional, exotic, and custom instruments from all over the world.
After studying composition and performance as a classical guitar major at Cal State Fullerton, he went on to perform on Trevor Rabin's solo tour, and later to write and produce for Yes. He also worked on several records with producer Trevor Horn, including the song "Crazy," performed by Grammy-winning artist Seal. In 1990, Mancina moved from Los Angeles to London for a year to work with Emerson, Lake and Palmer, producing and composing their "Black Moon" album for PolyGram. More recently, he has composed and arranged songs with Kenny Loggins. His extensive partnership with Phil Collins includes Disney's animated hit Tarzan (1999), for which Mancina composed the score and co-produced several Collins songs. The ballad "You'll Be In My Heart," which Mancina arranged and co-produced, won the Oscar for Best Song. They renewed their collaborative efforts for the recent Brother Bear for which Mancina co-produced songs and co-composed the dramatic score. In addition to his work in film, theatre and the recording industry, Mancina also writes score and themes for many television projects, which have included "The Outer Limits," "Poltergeist," "Millennium," "Lifepod," and HBO's "From the Earth to the Moon." Among his countless television commercial clients are Nike, Mountain Dew, Jaguar, Skittles, McDonald's, Verizon, Computer Associates, Goodyear, The U.S. Army, American Express and AT&T. Working from his studio in Pasadena, and his home studio, a mountaintop farmhouse/barn, he continues to expand his repertoire, and is currently developing songs for musicals and films.
