Shirley Walker

Shirley Walker (April 10, 1945 - November 29, 2006) was an American television and film composer and conductor. She was one of only a very few female film score composers.

She served as composer for numerous productions, including films such as Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Willard and the Final Destination trilogy of movies and television series such as Falcon Crest, Space: Above and Beyond, China Beach, and The Flash. The Flash was one of many collaborations Walker did with composer Danny Elfman. She was his conductor on projects such as Scrooged and Batman. She had tirelessly served as a Board Member and Vice President for The Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL), often speaking out on behalf of composers and their working conditions. Articles and interviews are written by and about Shirley Walker in the SCL's publication, THE SCORE, a publication in print since 1986 by and about professional film/television/video game composers, songwriters and lyricists -- and where Shirley spoke her mind. [1]

From Batman to The New Frontier

Walker's association with the popular DC Comics character extended to television where she served as composer on Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond and Superman: The Animated Series, setting a standard for the musical tone of the DC Animated Universe. Series fans and film score enthusiasts alike praise her animation work for its classical reliance on theme (music). At the time of her death, Walker was composing the music for the DTV animated production based on Darwyn Cooke's DC: The New Frontier comic mini-series. Despite the fact that very few female composers exist, Shirley Walker was not recognized during the "In Memoriam" segment of 79th Academy Awards [2].

Death

Walker died on November 29, 2006 from complications of a stroke that she experienced two weeks before.

---

Notable Film Scores

• Black Christmas (2006)
• Final Destination 3 (2006)
• Willard (2003)
• Final Destination 2 (2003)
• Final Destination (2000)
• Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
• Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)

Trivia

• Walker wrote her film scores entirely by hand.
• Walker orchestrated and conducted her own scores.
• Walker worked with Danny Elfman on many DC Comic works. She served as conductor for Batman, wrote most of the scores for Batman: The Animated Series using a theme inspired by Elfman's, scored episodes of The Flash (the main theme was written by Elfman) and scored episodes of Batman Beyond with Michael McCuiston.

External links

• Shirley Walker at IMDb
• FilmMusic: Shirley Walker - a website devoted to the music of Shirley Walker
• http://www.thescl.com/site/scl/section.php?id=5070 / Shirley Walker speaking at the annual meeting of The Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL)