One stress-loving composer, 125 nominees: What it takes to score the Oscars

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Chris Walden, the Hamburg, Germany-born composer who has served as the lead music arranger of the Academy Awards for seven years, was recording on a scoring stage in Cologne more than 30 years ago when a German film executive peeked in and quipped, “That sounds like Hollywood.” That moment confirmed two things for Walden: “First, I can actually write that music,” the composer said in a recent interview at his Franklin Hills home while in the thick of Oscars prep.“And secondly, it’s not wanted here.” So he moved to Los Angeles.

Movies We sit down with the French composer to discuss the colossal influence of John Williams and his desire to pay homage while conveying his own signature style.Early in his L.A.tenure, Walden landed a solid gig scoring movies made for television, a business that tanked with the advent of reality TV.

After that, the composer turned his attention to a big band pet project, making ends meet with leftover work scoring German TV shows.Unexpectedly, Walden’s band became his calling card, ultimately drawing prominent record producer David Foster into his orbit.

Foster, who produced Chicago, Celine Dion and Natalie Cole, put Walden on the path to a few Grammy wins and eventually — by way of then Oscars music director Bill Ross — back into the film industry.From his first run with the Academy Awards arranging team in 2008, Walden was hooked; the job seamlessly blended his favorite parts about film scoring and classical composing.Since then, he’s reprised the role nine times, seven as lead arranger.

“How we do the show, musically, has not changed,” Walden said, adding that the Oscars are the last awards show to employ a live orchestra.“It’s just that I’m more in control now.

I do more of the work, and I can put more of my fingerprint on the show than when I started.” Awards We caught up with the songwriters of all five of t...