# Mark Isham

Mark Ware Isham (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician and composer. A trumpeter and keyboardist, Isham works in a variety of genres, including jazz and electronic. He is also a prolific and acclaimed composer of film scores, and has scored over 200 film and television productions since his debut in 1983.
Isham is a nine-time Grammy Award nominee, winning Best New Age Album for his 1990 self-titled album. He was nominated for an Academy Award for A River Runs Through It (1992), and a Golden Globe Award for Nell (1994). He has also been nominated for six Primetime Emmy Awards, winning Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for EZ Streets.

## Early life

Isham was born in New York City, the son of Patricia (née Hammond), a violinist, and Howard Fuller Isham, a professor of humanities. He studied trumpet from a very young age, and made his professional debut at the age of 12. When he was a teenager, Isham and his family moved to the San Francisco bay area, where he played with the Oakland East Bay Symphony.

## Career

His discography is extensive and varied, including participation with artists including David Sylvian, Group 87, Art Lande, Pharoah Sanders, Van Morrison, David Torn, and sessions with people like Brian Wilson, Joni Mitchell, Terry Bozzio, Bill Bruford, XTC, and Siouxsie Sioux. His musical styles include crossover jazz, post-bop, ambient, progressive electronic, chamber jazz, and new age.

### Film and television scores

He is also a film composer, having worked on numerous films and television series, including The Hitcher, Reversal of Fortune, Point Break, A Midnight Clear, A River Runs Through It, Of Mice and Men, Warrior, Nell, Blade, Crash, The Black Dahlia, The Lucky One, October Sky, and Once Upon a Time.
Isham acted as well in Made in Heaven by Alan Rudolph (1987) and directed The Cowboy and the Ballerina in 1998.

## Personal life

Isham is married to Donna Isham. He is a Scientologist.

## Contributions to soundtracks
### Films

| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1983 | Never Cry Wolf | Carroll Ballard | |
| 1984 | Country | Richard Pearce | additional music (uncredited) |
| 1984 | Mrs. Soffel | Gillian Armstrong | |
| 1985 | Trouble in Mind | Alan Rudolph | |
| 1986 | The Making of Liberty | Charles Guggenheim | |
| 1986 | The Hitcher | Robert Harmon | |
| 1987 | Made in Heaven | Alan Rudolph | |
| 1988 | The Moderns | Alan Rudolph | |
| 1988 | C.A.T. Squad: Python Wolf | William Friedkin | "On the Threshold of Liberty" from Vapor Drawings |
| 1988 | The Beast | Kevin Reynolds | |
| 1990 | Everybody Wins | Karel Reisz | |
| 1990 | Love at Large | Alan Rudolph | |
| 1990 | Reversal of Fortune | Barbet Schroeder | |
| 1991 | Mortal Thoughts | Alan Rudolph | |
| 1991 | Crooked Hearts | Michael Bortman | |
| 1991 | Point Break | Kathryn Bigelow | |
| 1991 | Little Man Tate | Jodie Foster | |
| 1991 | Billy Bathgate | Robert Benton | |
| 1992 | A Midnight Clear | Keith Gordon | |
| 1992 | Sketch Artist | Phedon Papamichael | |
| 1992 | Cool World | Ralph Bakshi | |
| 1992 | A River Runs Through It | Robert Redford | Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score. Nominated for an Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Music. Nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. |
| 1992 | The Public Eye | Howard Franklin | |
| 1992 | Of Mice and Men | Gary Sinise | |
| 1993 | Nowhere to Run | Robert Harmon | |
| 1993 | Fire in the Sky | Robert Lieberman | Nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Music. |
| 1993 | Made in America | Richard Benjamin | |
| 1993 | Short Cuts | Robert Altman | |
| 1993 | Romeo Is Bleeding | Peter Medak | |
| 1994 | The Getaway | Roger Donaldson | |
| 1994 | The Browning Version | Mike Figgis | |
| 1994 | Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle | Alan Rudolph | |
| 1994 | Quiz Show | Robert Redford | |
| 1994 | Timecop | Peter Hyams | |
| 1994 | Nell | Michael Apted | Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Original Score - Motion Picture. |
| 1994 | Safe Passage | Robert Allan Ackerman | |
| 1995 | Miami Rhapsody | David Frankel | |
| 1995 | Waterworld | Kevin Reynolds | Rejected score Replaced by James Newton Howard |
| 1995 | Losing Isaiah | Stephen Gyllenhaal | |
| 1995 | The Net | Irwin Winkler | |
| 1995 | Home for the Holidays | Jodie Foster | |
| 1996 | Last Dance | Bruce Beresford | |
| 1996 | Gotti | Steve Shagan | |
| 1996 | Fly Away Home | Carroll Ballard | |
| 1996 | Night Falls on Manhattan | Sidney Lumet | |
| 1997 | Afterglow | Alan Rudolph | |
| 1997 | Kiss the Girls | Gary Fleder | |
| 1997 | The Defenders: Payback | Andy Wolk | |
| 1997 | The Education of Little Tree | Richard Friedenberg | |
| 1998 | The Defenders: Choice of Evils | Andy Wolk | |
| 1998 | The Gingerbread Man | Robert Altman | |
| 1998 | Blade | Stephen Norrington | |
| 1998 | The Defenders: Taking the First | Andy Wolk | |
| 1998 | Free Money | Yves Simoneau | |
| 1999 | At First Sight | Irwin Winkler | |
| 1999 | Varsity Blues | Brian Robbins | |
| 1999 | Breakfast of Champions | Alan Rudolph | |
| 1999 | October Sky | Joe Johnston | |
| 1999 | Body Shots | Michael Cristofer | |
| 2000 | Rules of Engagement | William Friedkin | |
| 2000 | Where the Money Is | Marek Kanievska | |
| 2000 | Trixie | Alan Rudolph | |
| 2000 | Men of Honor | George Tillman, Jr. | |
| 2001 | Save the Last Dance | Thomas Carter | |
| 2001 | Life as a House | Irwin Winkler | |
| 2001 | Hardball | Brian Robbins | |
| 2001 | Don't Say a Word | Gary Fleder | |
| 2001 | The Majestic | Frank Darabont | |
| 2002 | Impostor | Gary Fleder | |
| 2002 | Moonlight Mile | Brad Silberling | |
| 2003 | The Cooler | Wayne Kramer | |
| 2004 | Spartan | David Mamet | |
| 2004 | Miracle | Gavin O'Connor | |
| 2004 | Highwaymen | Robert Harmon | |
| 2004 | Twisted | Philip Kaufman | |
| 2004 | Crash | Paul Haggis | |
| 2005 | Racing Stripes | Frederik Du Chau | |
| 2005 | Kicking & Screaming | Jesse Dylan | |
| 2005 | In Her Shoes | Curtis Hanson | |
| 2006 | Running Scared | Wayne Kramer | |
| 2006 | Eight Below | Frank Marshall | |
| 2006 | Invincible | Ericson Core | |
| 2006 | Bobby | Emilio Estevez | |
| 2006 | The Black Dahlia | Brian De Palma | |
| 2007 | Freedom Writers | Richard LaGravenese | |
| 2007 | In the Valley of Elah | Paul Haggis | |
| 2007 | Lions for Lambs | Robert Redford | |
| 2007 | Gracie | Davis Guggenheim | |
| 2007 | Reservation Road | Terry George | |
| 2007 | No Reservations | Scott Hicks | |
| 2007 | Next | Lee Tamahori | |
| 2007 | The Mist | Frank Darabont | |
| 2008 | Pride and Glory | Gavin O'Connor | |
| 2008 | The Express: The Ernie Davis Story | Gary Fleder | |
| 2008 | The Secret Life of Bees | Gina Prince-Bythewood | |
| 2009 | Crossing Over | Wayne Kramer | |
| 2009 | Not Forgotten | Dror Soref | |
| 2009 | Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans | Werner Herzog | |
| 2009 | Fame | Kevin Tancharoen | |
| 2010 | The Crazies | Breck Eisner | |
| 2010 | The Conspirator | Robert Redford | |
| 2011 | The Mechanic | Simon West | |
| 2011 | Dolphin Tale | Charles Martin Smith | |
| 2011 | Warrior | Gavin O'Connor | |
| 2012 | The Factory | Morgan O'Neill | |
| 2012 | The Lucky One | Scott Hicks | Won a BMI Award for Film Music. |
| 2013 | The Conjuring | James Wan | |
| 2013 | The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete | George Tillman, Jr. | |
| 2013 | 42 | Brian Helgeland | |
| 2013 | Homefront | Gary Fleder | |
| 2014 | Beyond the Lights | Gina Prince-Bythewood | Nominated for a Black Reel Award for Outstanding Original Score. |
| 2015 | The Longest Ride | George Tillman, Jr. | |
| 2016 | A Family Man | Mark Williams | |
| 2016 | Mr. Church | Bruce Beresford | |
| 2016 | Mechanic: Resurrection | Dennis Gansel | |
| 2016 | The Accountant | Gavin O'Connor | |
| 2016 | Fallen | Scott Hicks | |
| 2017 | Megan Leavey | Gabriela Cowperthwaite | |
| 2017 | Dirty Dancing | Wayne Blair | |
| 2018 | Duck Duck Goose | Chris Jenkins | |
| 2019 | Bolden | Dan Pritzker | |
| 2019 | A Dog's Journey | Gail Mancuso | |
| 2019 | Togo | Ericson Core | |
| 2020 | Bill & Ted Face the Music | Dean Parisot | |
| 2020 | Honest Thief | Mark Williams | |
| 2021 | Judas and the Black Messiah | Shaka King | |
| 2021 | Needle in a Timestack | John Ridley | |
| 2022 | Blacklight | Mark Williams | |
| 2022 | The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent | Tom Gormican | |
| 2023 | Shooting Stars | Chris Robinson | |

### Television series

| Year | Title | Episode(s) | Notes |
| 1994 | Chicago Hope | "Pilot" | |
| 1996 | EZ Streets | 2 | |
| 1997 | Michael Hayes | "Prequel" | |
| 1997 | Nothing Sacred | | TV series theme |
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | 2 | |
| 1999 | Family Law | 18 | |
| 2007 | The Black Donnellys | 18 | |
| 2008–2009 | Crash | 26 | |
| 2011–2018 | Once Upon a Time | 147 | |
| 2012 | Beauty and the Beast | "Pilot" | |
| 2013–2014 | Once Upon a Time in Wonderland | 7 | |
| 2015 | Blood & Oil | 10 | |
| 2015 | American Crime | 21 | |
| 2017 | Black Mirror | "Arkangel" | |
| 2018–2019 | Marvel's Cloak & Dagger | 20 | |
| 2019 | Godfather of Harlem | 10 | |
| 2020 | Little Fires Everywhere | 8 | |
| 2020 | Amazing Stories | "The Rift" | |
| 2021 | The Nevers | | |
| 2021 | Sex/Life | 8 | |
| 2022 | The Cleaning Lady | |
| 2023 | Justified: City Primeval | | |

### Documentaries and shorts

| Year | Title | Director |
| 1984 | The Times of Harvey Milk | Rob Epstein |
| 1985 | Portraits of Anorexia | |
| 1985 | Rabbit Ears: The Steadfast Tin Soldier | |
| 1990 | Tibet | |
| 1993 | Hawaii: Born in Paradise | Robert Hillmann |
| 1993 | Hidden Hawaii | Robert Hillmann |
| 1998 | The Blood Tide | |
| 1999 | Galapagos | |
| 2001 | From the Ground Up | Laura Nix |
| 2011 | "Morning" | Dror Soref |
| 2017 | Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982–1992 | John Ridley |

## Filmography

As director
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1998 | The Cowboy and the Ballerina | Mark Isham | — |
As screenwriter
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1998 | The Cowboy and the Ballerina | Mark Isham | — |
As actor
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 1987 | Made in Heaven | Alan Rudolph | — |