John Scott (composer)

John Scott (born Patrick John O'Hara Scott, 1 November 1930, Bristol, England), also known as Johnny Scott and Patrick John Scott, is a British composer and conductor. Scott has worked with some of the world's foremost producers and directors including Richard Donner, Norman J. Warren, Mike Hodges, Mark Damon, Hugh Hudson, Norman Jewison, Irvin Kershner, Daniel Petrie, Roger Spottiswoode and Charlton Heston, among others.

Scott was born in Bishopston, Bristol, England, in 1930. His father was a musician in the Bristol Police Band, who gave Scott his first music lessons.

At age 14, he enrolled in the army (in the Royal Artillery Band, Woolwich) as a Boy Musician in order to continue his musical studies of the clarinet, harp, and saxophone. Following this, he toured with some of the top British bands of the era. He was hired by EMI to arrange and conduct some of EMI's foremost artists and, during that time, worked with Beatles producer George Martin (playing flutes on the Beatles' song "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" in 1965) and recorded such artists as Tom Jones, Cilla Black, and The Hollies. As a musician, he played with The Julian Bream Consort, Yehudi Menuhin, Ravi Shankar, Nelson Riddle, John Dankworth and Cleo Laine.

Credited as Johnny Scott, playing flute, he led a jazz quintet, quartet and trio during the 1960s. He played for Henry Mancini and was principal saxophonist on John Barry's Goldfinger soundtrack. This exposure to film music whetted his appetite for composing music for films. His first score was in 1965 for the film, A Study in Terror.

Since then, Scott has scored over one hundred film and television projects. His film scores include the above-mentioned A Study in Terror (1965), Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon (1967) and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984). More recently, his TV work has included incidental music for the ITV series Rosemary and Thyme. Of note are his many scores for films and documentaries by explorer Jacques Cousteau.

He is also active as a classical composer (he has written a symphony, a ballet, 4 string quartets, a guitar concerto and is currently working on an opera) and as a conductor (he has also conducted many the world's finest orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and several of Europe's leading orchestras, including the Munich Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Budapest Opera Orchestra, the Lubliana Radio Orchestra and the Prague Philharmonic).

Since 2006, John Scott has been the Artistic Director of the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra.