Joel McNeely

Joel McNeely (born 1959) is a music composer for movies and television. Joel McNeely was born in Madison, Wisconsin. Both of his parents were involved in music and theater, and as a child he played the piano, saxophone, bass, and flute. He attended the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, studied jazz at the University of Miami, and earned a masters degree as a composition major at the Eastman School of Music. Lucasfilm chose McNeely to compose the soundtrack to the 1996 Star Wars novel Shadows of the Empire. This was an experimental project where he conveyed general moods and themes instead of writing music to flow for specific scenes. He is also notable for conducting a series of re-recordings of Bernard Herrmann, Franz Waxman, John...