Host Jon Burlingame sits down to talk about the collaboration between Oscar®-nominated director Rob Marshall and eight-time Academy Award®-winning composer Alan Menken on The Little Mermaid. They reveal exclusive, behind-the-scenes stories about recording with stars, including Halle Bailey, Awkwafina and Melissa McCarthy, as well as the excitement of working alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda to reimagine the original animated version of the film.

In this episode of The Big Score Grammy Award winner and composer, Simon Franglen, takes listeners behind the music of Avatar: The Way of Water, with water being one of the main inspirations for how Simon deftly created an ambient piece of music matching the stunning visuals of the film. But, creating unique water sounds was just one part of the process, tune in to hear how Simon created a new instrument, printed from his sketch on a 3D printer, and perfect for a character 10 feet tall with...

Host Jon Burlingame sits down with Grammy-winning composer Simon Franglen to discuss his epic score for Avatar: The Way of Water. Simon recalls the singular experience of working with director James Cameron and the tight-knit Avatar family, how sounds of Earth inspired him in the creation of music for another planet, and what the return to Pandora means to him. 

Legendary Oscar-winning composer and songwriter Alan Menken joins host Jon Burlingame to discuss his songs for Disney’s Disenchanted, the long-awaited sequel to Enchanted. Alan reflects on his enduring partnership with Disney, how he created the ‘magical’ sound so many associate with animated classics, and why he’s enjoying revisiting and reinventing that magic in this new film. 

Host Jon Burlingame sits down with long time musical partners Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard to discuss their work on Disney’s new live action Pinocchio. The composers reveal how the new film honors the original while spinning its own magic with additional songs they wrote for new and original characters. They also share stories of their years working closely with director Robert Zemeckis.

Host Jon Burlingame visits the studio of Emmy-winning composer Laura Karpman for a conversation about her latest work for Marvel, including Ms. Marvel, What If…?, and the upcoming film The Marvels. Laura speaks on the importance of representation in music and film, and how she blended Pakistani folk music, traditional super hero sounds, and hip hop to create an authentic score for the MCU’s first South Asian and Muslim super hero.

Host Jon Burlingame speaks with conductor and Academy Award® nominated film composer David Newman about his role in translating Leonard Bernstein’s original music to Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story.” Newman explains how the team’s respect for the classical music canon and Broadway traditions led them to preserve as much original score as possible, with changes mostly confined to arrangement and placement.

Grammy® nominated music producer and supervisor Matt Sullivan sits down with host Jon Burlingame to discuss his role as executive music producer on Steven Spielberg’s newest film, “West Side Story.” Sullivan explains how he worked with legends like John Williams and Stephen Sondheim to coordinate music’s unique role in the rehearsal and filming process, and how he felt seeing his work translated to the screen.

In this special episode, Host Jon Burlingame sits down first with award-winning composer, lyricist and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda to discuss how his large family, The Little Mermaid and Colombian musician Carlos Vives influenced his work on Disney’s latest animated film, Encanto. After Lin reveals the inspirations behind his songs, Jon talks with composer Germaine Franco about how she integrated them into her score, along with the sounds of Colombia and magical realism.

Iron Man and Game of Thrones composer Ramin Djawadi joins host Jon Burlingame to talk about his most recent partnership with Marvel Studios on Eternals. Djawadi reveals what it was like to work with Academy Award® winning director Chloe Zhao to create the timeless backdrop for a narrative that spans centuries and cultures. He also explains how a lucky coincidence changed the course of his career when he was offered the opportunity to work under Hans Zimmer. 

Host Jon Burlingame sits down with legendary composer Danny Elfman to talk about his scoring of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and his decades-long collaboration with Tim Burton. Danny also reveals to Jon the fascinating behind-the-scenes story of how the music for this cult classic film got made, why Halloween has been a special night for him since childhood and how intertwined he and Jack Skellington truly are. 

In the second episode of a two part series, legendary eight-time Oscar-winning composer and songwriter Alan Menken continues his conversation with host Jon Burlingame. Together, they discuss Alan's transition to new writing partners after Howard Ashman’s early death with films like Aladdin and Tangled, Disney’s Broadway takeover, and other favorite projects such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Alan looks back on his impressive Disney legacy and reveals information about upcoming new...

In the first episode of a two part series, legendary eight-time Oscar winning composer and songwriter Alan Menken sits down with host Jon Burlingame to discuss his career. Alan takes the audience back to his beginnings as a musician in a family of dentists, his love of Fantasia, and his life-changing writing partnership with Howard Ashman; which would skyrocket them both to Off-Broadway success with Little Shop of Horrors, and eventually to Disney royalty with The Little Mermaid, Beauty and...

Host Jon Burlingame talks to Lorne Balfe, composer of the score for Marvel Studios' new film, Black Widow. Lorne reveals how he immersed himself in Russian music and culture in order to create a memorable sound for Natasha Romanoff’s long awaited origin story. He also recounts his own musical origins, including his early beginnings as a composer and his training with Hans Zimmer.

Emmy winning composer Nicholas Britell sits down with host Jon Burlingame to discuss his process combining orchestra and classic rock in the score for Disney’s Cruella. Britell talks about his musical history and how his philosophy of constant learning helped him navigate an ambitious project in the midst of the pandemic. 

Composer Raphaelle Thibaut tells host Jon Burlingame how she used home-recorded music to illustrate the majesty and complex emotional lives of whales in Disney+ and National Geographic’s new four part series, SECRETS OF THE WHALES. Raphaelle also talks about how her unique childhood experiences, such as partial deafness and exposure to French cinema led her back to film composition as an adult. 

Multi-faceted composer, songwriter, and producer Neil Davidge speaks with Host Jon Burlingame about creating five immersive musical atmospheres for Disney+ and National Geographic’s new landscape themed nature series, EARTH MOODS. Neil also recalls his time working with the band Massive Attack and explains how his love of musical variety has augmented his work as a composer. 

Host Jon Burlingame sits down with multi-Oscar nominated composer James Newton Howard to talk about his latest film score for Disney+’s animated adventure RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON. James reveals how he created the fantastical sound of the fictional Southeast Asian land where the story is set — using instruments like the “genggong” — similar to a Balinese jaw harp. He also takes Jon back to his early days collaborating with Elton John, who allowed him to do some orchestral arranging very early...

Host Jon Burlingame speaks with Oscar, Emmy and Grammy-winning composer Ludwig Goransson about his work on the first two seasons of The Mandalorian. Ludwig reveals how he came up with the Mandalorian’s signature sound — the bass recorder — as well as the challenges he had with the theme for Baby Yoda. Jon and Ludwig also talk about the composer’s travels to Senegal, where he worked with local musicians on the music for Black Panther, and his more recent work on the film Tenet.