Merrill Jenson

Merrill Jenson
Merrill Jenson
Born	January 20, 1947 (age 77); Film score composer
Years active	1976-present

Merrill Boyd Jenson (born January 20, 1947) is an American composer and arranger who has composed film scores for over thirty films including

Windwalker. Many of the films Jenson composed music for were directed by Academy Award-winning director Kieth Merrill

. Jenson has also composed several concert productions including a symphony that premiered at Carnegie Hall. Additionally, he has composed music for many television commercials including the acclaimed Homefront ads, music for three outdoor pageants, and several albums. Jenson lives in Provo, Utah with his wife Betsy Lee Jenson.

Early life

Jenson was born in

Mormon Tabernacle Choir. She also taught him to play the piano while his father taught him the trumpet. He attended Brigham Young University

where he directed the BYU Cougar Marching Band and graduated with a degree in Music Composition. Soon after graduating, Jenson took on odd jobs at the film studios in Los Angeles in order to be near the industry. While there he was able to meet and associate with some of the great film composers of the day.

Career

Jenson eventually landed a few tiny composing projects at the

Windwalker Harry's War, and Take Down

.

Jenson worked for many years with

Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration

.

Jenson collaborated with award-winning composer Sam Cardon to compose the music for three PBS documentaries by producer and director Lee Groberg: Trail of Hope: The Story of the Mormon Trail, American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith, and Sacred Stone: Temple on the Mississippi. A career highlight for him was composing the score for the critically acclaimed film Emma Smith: My Story which played in many theaters across the country.

Jenson has taught music composition at Brigham Young University since 2008, and at Snow College since 2012.

Film and soundtrack scores

The First Vision (1976)
John Baker's Last Race (1976)
The Great American Indian (1976)
The Mailbox (1977)
The Phone Call (1977)
The Great Brain (1978)
Three Warriors (1978)
Where Jesus Walked (1978)
Uncle Ben (1978)
The Emmett Smith Story (1979)
Blind Love (1979)
The Trophy Case (1979)
Take Down (1979)
Windwalker
(1980)
In One Blinding Moment (1980)
Oakland Temple Pageant (1980)
Harry's War (1981)
The Red Fury (1984)
One Fold, One Shepherd - musical (1984)
Washington DC Visitor Center - film (1984)
Grand Circle - Zion Canyon Visitor Center (1985)
Mormon Battalion Visitors Center - film(1986)
How Rare a Possession: The Book of Mormon (1987)
Alamo: The Price of Freedom (1988)
On Our Own (1988)
Nora's Christmas Gift (1989)
Remembering Nauvoo - Nauvoo Visitors Center (1989)
Carthage Jail Visitors Center - film (1989)
Legacy (1990)
Polynesian Odyssey (1991)
The Seventh Brother (1991/1994)
Froboland - water screen projection (1995)
Second Chance (1996)
Trail of Hope: The Story of the Mormon Trail (1997) with Sam Cardon
The Witness (1997)
Alyson's Closet (1998)
The Book of Mormon Video Soundtrack (1999)
The New Testament Video Soundtrack (1999)
The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd
(2000)
American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith (2000) with Sam Cardon
Bug Off! (2001)
Water with Food Coloring (2001)
Horse Crazy (2001)
Out of Step
(2002)
Sacred Stone: Temple on the Mississippi (2002) with Sam Cardon
Almost Perfect - musical (2002)
Manti Miracle Pageant (2002)
Hill Cumorah Visitors Center - film (2003)
Kirtland, Ohio Visitors Center - film (2003)
Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration
(2005)
Praise to the Man (2005)
Profile of a Prophet - musical (2005)
Mesa Temple Pageant (2005)
Martin Harris Pageant (2007)
Emma Smith: My Story (2008)
Friends for Life (2008)
Demographic Winter (2008) with Arlen Card
Demographic Bomb (2009)
Horse Crazy 2:The Legend of Grizzly Mountain (2010)
The Lost Civilizations of North America (2010)
The Boathouse Detectives (2010)
Masque (2012)
Washington DC Temple Visitors Center - film (2013)
Mexico Temple Visitors Center - film (2014)
The Infinite Gift (2015)

Concert productions

The Clancy Brothers (1992). Irish folk music for the Utah Symphony.
The Garden (1995). Allegorical oratorio co-written with Michael McLean and Bryce Neubert.
Pioneer Portrait (1998). Suite for concert band.
Come Unto Christ (1999). Oratorio commissioned by
Brigham Young University-Idaho
.
This is Christmas (2000).
Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert with Roma Downey and Gladys Knight
.

Viking Saga (2003). Symphony that premiered at Carnegie Hall.
Legacy Suite for Orchestra (2004). Performed in Park City, Utah.
String Quintet in F Major (2004). For the
Brigham Young University-Idaho
Faculty String Quintet.
How Glorious the Voice of God (2005). Song cycle for the Brigham Young University Opera Department.
Music & the Spoken Word (2006). With
Mormon Tabernacle Choir
commemorating the centennial of Norwegian independence.
Concert of Orchestral Works (2010). Conducting the Murray, Utah Symphony.
O Little Town of Bethlehem (2010). Performed in the Libby Gardner Concert Hall at the University of Utah.
Gloria by John Rutter (2012). Orchestrated for British Brass Band
Chanson De Nuit (2013). Orchestrated for Orchestral Winds.
A Canyon People's Portrait (2014). Overture composed and premiered in
Kanab, UT
.
Spirit of Yosemite (2015). Premiered by the Utah Premier Brass.

Discography

Beyond (1992) with the London Philharmonic Orchestra
Encore (1992)
In A Land Called Israel (1993) with
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Noel (1993) with
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
This Is Christmas (1994) with
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Nativity Story (1994) with
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Garden (1995) with Michael McLean and Bryce Neubert
Pioneer Portrait (1996)with the National Philharmonic Orchestra
Merry Christmas (1997)
High on a Mountaintop: Hymns of the Restoration (2004) with the Prague Symphony Orchestra