Simon Hale | |
|---|---|
 Hale at the75th Tony Awards in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 1964 (age 60–61)[citation needed] |
| Origin | Birmingham,England[citation needed] |
| Genres | Orchestral,alternative rock,jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Composer,musician |
| Instrument(s) | Piano,keyboards |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Website | www.simonhale.co.uk |
Simon Hale is a British composer, arranger, and keyboardist.
Hale was born inBirmingham,England in 1964, being dually raised there and in South Manchester before moving to London,[citation needed] where he studied popular music atGoldsmiths College,University of London from 1982 to 1985.[1] He is married toClaire Moore.[2]His father is Tony Hale, formerly Head of Music and Programming at Capital Radio.
He is best known for his arrangements on CDs forJamiroquai,Björk,BT,Duncan Sheik,Madness,Incognito,Supergrass,The Beautiful South,George Benson,Josh Groban,Charlotte Church andRobin Gibb. As well as arranging on Duncan Sheik's solo CDs, Simon has also done orchestrations on Duncan's songs for the film "A Home at the End of the World" and theBroadway musicalSpring Awakening, which won 8Tony Awards in June 2007, including "Best Orchestrations" by Duncan and Simon.[3][4] The original cast recording won theGrammy Award for Best Musical Show Album in 2008. He has released one solo CD,East Fifteen, written forpiano,trumpet/flugelhorn,tenor saxophone,percussion andstrings. He appeared withThe Bays at their performance as part of the Fresh Festival inLiverpool's Philharmonic Hall in January 2008. The concert was entirely improvised, including all the orchestral parts, written live on stage by Simon andJohn Metcalfe.[5] In 2009, he orchestratedSongs of Love & Loss, the seventh studio album and first cover album, by Australian singer and songwriterTina Arena. He orchestrated theLincoln Center Theater production of the new musicalWomen on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, that opened on 4 November 2010 at theBelasco Theatre onBroadway.[6] This production was nominated for aDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations in May 2011.[7] He orchestrated and wrote choir arrangements forRay Davies' performance at theRoyal Festival Hall as part of theMeltdown Festival in June 2011. He co-wrote (with Andrew Hale) the soundtrack ofL.A. Noire as well as playing solo piano, orchestrating and conducting the recordings. The score won aBAFTA for Original Music.[8][9] He orchestrated a new production ofStephen Sondheim'sCompany atSheffield Theatres at the end of 2011.[10] He orchestratedFinding Neverland at theAmerican Repertory Theater in Boston in the summer of 2014 and again for the Broadway production on 2015. He received a Grammy nomination in 2015 for his contribution to theSam Smith albumIn the Lonely Hour and also arranged and orchestratedWriting's on the Wall, the theme song for theJames Bond filmSpectre. He worked in string arrangements of Japanese-American superstarHikaru Utada albumsFantôme andHatsukoi.[11] In 2019 Hale was nominated in the Best Orchestrations category for his work on the musicalTootsie at73rd Tony Awards.
1994:East Fifteen (EFZ Records)
