Nathan Barr

Nathan Barr is a unique breed of composer. In addition to writing his scores, he also performs all of the instruments heard in many of his compositions. Skilled in many styles and genres ranging from orchestral to rock, Barr is known for his collection and inclusion of rare and unusual instruments from around the world, such as human bone trumpets from Tibet, dismantled pianos, a rare glass armonica, and gourd cellos, among many others. Nathan began studying music in Tokyo, Japan at the age of four. He grew up surrounded by eclectic music ranging from Kabuki Theater, to the sounds of his mother performing on the koto and piano, and his father playing the banjo, guitar, and shakuhachi. His interest in the art form was further influenced by extensive travels around the world, where he experienced music ranging from Bali's Kecak Orchestras to China's Beijing Opera. Barr went on to study at Skidmore College and during the summer of 1993, he toured Italy and Switzerland with the Juilliard Cello Ensemble. In 1996, Barr moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career composing for film. Shortly thereafter, he joined Media Ventures (now Remote Control Productions) and worked as assistant to world-renowned composer, Hans Zimmer, on films such as As Good As It Gets (1997) and The Prince of Egypt (1998). After just eight months, Barr landed an agent and his first feature film (Lions Gate's romantic comedy Too Smooth) and set out on his own. Since then, Barr has scored more than 24 feature films, including Warner Bros’ theatrical remake of the southern comedy series, The Dukes of Hazzard, the unconventional Broken Lizard comedies Beerfest and Club Dread, New Regency's hit supernatural thriller Shutter, Lions Gate’s horrifying thriller Hostel and Hostel 2 directed by Eli Roth, and Universal Pictures’ critically acclaimed documentary Beyond the Mat, among many others. Barr’s most ambitious solo project to date has been scoring and performing all episodes of Alan Ball’s award winning HBO series True Blood. Barr is currently scoring the second season of True Blood and scoring Strike Entertianment's film Cotton, produced by Eli Roth and Eric Newman.