James Horner papers, 1980-2015

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Summary

Creators:
Horner, James and Horner, Sara
Abstract:
James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953-June 22, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, and orchestrator of over 100 film scores. The collection mostly consists of music scores (both loose and bound volumes), production notes, and sketches. The collection also contains a small amount of ephemera, correspondence, and one audio recording.
Extent:
177.6 linear feet (29 boxes, 92 flat boxes, 2 record cartons) and 1 audiovisual carriers (1 unprocessed optical disc)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], James Horner papers (Collection 2435). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection mostly consists of music scores (both loose and bound volumes), production notes, and sketches. The collection also contains a small amount of ephemera, correspondence, and one audio recording.

Biographical / historical:

James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953-June 22, 2015) was an American composer, conductor, and orchestrator of over 100 film scores.

Horner played the piano and violin and spent his early years in London where he attended the Royal College of Music. He received his bachelor's degree in music from the University of Southern California. He earned his master's and doctorate degrees at UCLA, where he studied with composer Paul Chihara, among others.

Horner's first movie score was for The Lady in Red in 1979. He went on to write scores to high-profile films such as 48 Hrs, Star Trek III, Cocoon, Field of Dreams, An American Tail, Avatar, and The Rocketeer amongst many others. His greatest success came when he composed the music for Titanic, which won him two Academy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards.

Horner was an avid pilot and owned many small airplanes. He was killed on June 22, 2015 when his aircraft crashed into the Los Padres National Forest.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Sara Horner, 2023.
Processing information:

Processed by Elizabeth Gost, under the supervision of Jasmine Larkin, 2023.

Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.

We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Potentially Offensive Description in Library Special Collections.

Arrangement:

The original arrangement of materials created by James Horner was retained. Materials are arranged by production title and a small amount of loose materials are listed at the end.

Physical / technical requirements:

CONTAINS UNPROCESSED AUDIO MATERIALS: Audio materials are not currently available for access and will require further processing and assessment. If you have questions about this material please email AskLSC@library.ucla.edu.

Physical location:
Stored off-site. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], James Horner papers (Collection 2435). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Website