Musician; Occasional Talking Head; Twitterer; Author of The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films, Impossible Silence, & The Music of the Hobbit Films
Chicago
Joined May 2009
- Tweets9.4K
- Following1.4K
- Followers5K
- Likes7.2K
Pinned Tweet
The Music of The Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit with Doug Adams youtu.be/_mcpzUnLi04?si=5dHn… via @YouTube
Chicago-area people, come for the Halloween music, stay for my disembodied left shoulder and tambourine! (Could be worse: our trombonist was cut out of the pic entirely.)
Enjoy an afternoon of family-friendly virtuosity!
Register here: downersgrove.libnet.info/eve…
Happy memories here …
theonering.net/torwp/2026/10…
Very sad to hear of the passing of George Fenton.
bbc.com/news/articles/cwz0v4…
An unexpectedly happy update:
fox17.com/news/local/nashvil…
On the subject of Behemoth …
Critics, please do not write sentences like this: “Purposefully unfolding like a piece of classical music that’s lost its melody among a maze of overlapping leitmotifs … “
Many people actually know what these words mean, and it becomes quickly apparent when someone doesn’t. It isn’t poetic, it’s technical language used incorrectly. Like if someone asked me to write an instruction manual for a power drill.
I’m not defending Behemoth, which I haven’t seen. If it’s like other music-focused films in recent history, it’ll also misuse or falsely stress musical details and drive me crazy. But I hope not!
Interesting ….
'Behemoth!': Why Tony Gilroy Needed Nine Composers to Score His Latest Film, and a Guide to Who Did What in the Film (EXCLUSIVE) variety.com/2026/artisans/ne…
I think it's time that we, as a music community, come together and agree that "Cornet" should be abbreviated as "Ct." and then never speak of it again.
Doug Adams retweeted
Ma "will join the Michigan Marching Band for a “Lord of the Rings”-themed halftime show Saturday, Sept. 26, when the University of Michigan takes on Iowa." freep.com/story/sports/unive…
20% off today! (I don't know why, but that's pretty cool!) amazon.com/Music-Lord-Rings-…
UPDATE: Life (maybe) finds a way. Stay tuned!
Film/music nerds: a few years back, I offered the nascent Lucas Museum the John Williams Star Wars pencil* … I’d retain ownership, but they’d be able to put it on display. They politely wrote me back to say thank you, but it wouldn’t really fit in the museum’s collection. So … I tried. The museum still looks great. And it was nice of them to respond and not just ignore my offer.
I’d still love to find a proper spot for people to see it. Someday.
*Context: I own a pencil (likely THE pencil at this point) that Williams used to write the first Star Wars score, as well as a letter from him stating the same. Both are kept in a secure location. Please don’t rob me.
Well .......
HBO's 'Harry Potter' Music Will Be 'As Far Away as Possible' From the Movies; Hans Zimmer Says 'I Can't Write Like John Williams' variety.com/2026/tv/news/hbo…
Was there an official announcement that the general public was going to start referring to notes (quarter notes, eighth notes, quavers, semiquavers, etc.) as "music notes"? Have they always done that and I just don't hang out with enough non-musicians to notice?
Film/music nerds: a few years back, I offered the nascent Lucas Museum the John Williams Star Wars pencil* … I’d retain ownership, but they’d be able to put it on display. They politely wrote me back to say thank you, but it wouldn’t really fit in the museum’s collection. So … I tried. The museum still looks great. And it was nice of them to respond and not just ignore my offer.
I’d still love to find a proper spot for people to see it. Someday.
*Context: I own a pencil (likely THE pencil at this point) that Williams used to write the first Star Wars score, as well as a letter from him stating the same. Both are kept in a secure location. Please don’t rob me.
Why does it feel like there were probably 47 meetings to discuss whether or not the final piano lick in the Harry Potter trailer should quote Williams’ theme?
