# Edward M. Goldfarb

Edward Michael Goldfarb (born July 19, 1966) is an American music composer, songwriter and producer. He is best known for his collaborations with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola on films including Apocalypse Now Redux, and for his songs and score for the international version of the Pokémon Anime TV series and films.

## Early life and education

Ed was born in Boston in 1966 and lived in the Boston suburb of Newton. He is the oldest of two children. His family moved to Saratoga, California in 1975.
He started learning piano at age four and wrote his first original composition at age nine. He wrote his first orchestral arrangements in junior high school, and scored and music directed his first show, at age 15, for Children's Musical Theatre of San Jose.
Ed studied piano with Lois Zabel Banke, and organ with 20th century composer and organist Richard Purvis and pop organist Bill Thompson.
At ages 13, 15, and 17, Ed was the national winner of the Yamaha Electone (Organ) Festival.
As a National Merit Scholar, Ed attended University of California, Berkeley on an IBM Thomas J. Watson Scholarship, where he studied music composition. His primary composition teachers were Andrew Imbrie and Allan Pollock.
While at UC Berkeley, Ed was a featured performer with the Berkeley Contemporary Chamber Players, under the direction of Richard Felciano. Through his association with the Chamber Players, Ed worked with composers and performers such as Anthony Braxton, William Winant, Charles Dodge, Evan Ziporyn and Dan Weymouth.

## Early career

Ed's professional music career began during high school, when he was hired by Great America amusement park. There, he worked as assistant music director and pianist for the "Can You See the Stars" musical revue, solo pianist at the Klondike Cafe, and music director of the "Cajun Express" jazz/rock combo.
As a senior in high school, Ed began his music director career for the United Methodist Church, leading choirs and playing piano and organ for more than a thousand worship services over 30 years. He was first at Trinity United Methodist Church in Mountain View, Calif., and then at Community United Methodist Church in Fairfield, Calif.

## Career

In 1995, Ed was chosen by Steve Silver to become the music director/music supervisor at Beach Blanket Babylon, the world's longest-running musical revue. He held this role through 2005.
During his time at Beach Blanket Babylon, Ed worked with and performed for countless social, political and entertainment luminaries. Notable names include Bob Hope, Carol Channing, Annette Funicello, Tommy Tune, Tracy Chapman, Alice Walker, Amy Tan, Neil Sedaka, Billy Joe Armstrong, Senator Dianne Feinstein and Adam Savage.

## Music production

In the 1990s and 2000s, Ed produced remixes for k. d. lang, Morcheeba and Boyz II Men (for which he received a Gold Record). He also produced more than 100 independent records, including albums for his band Magnesium Bouquet (a collaboration with his brother Andrew Goldfarb), and The Sad Truth.

## Film, television and game scoring

While working at Beach Blanket Babylon in the 1990s, Ed met Francis Ford Coppola, who hired him as a music consultant. He worked on movies such as Jack, Apocalypse Now Redux, Youth Without Youth, CQ and the unproduced Pinocchio by Francesco Pennino, along with commercials for clients such as IllyCaffé, Eastpak, and Telstra.
In 1999, Ed scored the Sony PlayStation video game Monkey Hero.
In 2006, he scored the David Scott Hay feature film Hard Scrambled, which won Best Cinematography at the Fargo Film Festival.
Since 2013, working with The Pokémon Company International, Ed has composed the score and songs for the Pokémon franchise, including four movies, more than 20 songs, and more than 500 episodes of television, starting with Pokémon the Series: XY Kalos Quest.

## Teaching and speaking

As an Adjunct Professor at Foothill College in Los Altos, Calif., from 2010 to 2018, Ed taught and authored syllabi for classes including Music Business, Making Music with the Apple iOS and History of Electronic Music, 1970 – present.
He's been a guest speaker and performer at educational institutions such as Stanford, Sonoma State, San Jose State, UC Santa Cruz, and Foothill College.

## Personal life

Ed lives in Marin County, California, with his wife and son.