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Dragon's Domain Records presents LEE HOLDRIDGE GOES TO THE OLYMPICS, featuring music composed and conducted by Lee Holdridge (JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL, SPLASH, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST) for several documentary films set during during the Olympics. LEE HOLDRIDGE GOES TO THE OLYMPICS includes Music from the films 16 DAYS OF GLORY, BARCELONA 1992, THE SPIRIT OF THE OLYMPICS and LILLEHAMMER 1994.
To create a historical record of the best moments from the Olympic games, documentary motion pictures have often been captured by film cameras. In 1984, sports documentarian Bud Greenspan was given unprecedented access to produce and direct what became 16 DAYS OF GLORY, a magnum opus narrative of the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. While television viewers just saw the competitions, Greenspan was able to portray the personal trials and tribulations of selected athletes as they struggled to push their bodies to break records and snare those coveted medals. His efforts resulted in a stunning and emotional document that ran almost 284 minutes.
16 DAYS OF GLORY featured dramatic imagery of the competitions, sometimes using slow-motion to accentuate the athletes' efforts. Greenspan relied upon composer Lee Holdridge to underscore many of these sequences, as well as creating a main title theme. The success of 16 DAYS OF GLORY led to a long partnership documenting both summer and winter Olympics around the world until the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.
LEE HOLDRIDGE GOES TO THE OLYMPICS compiles a variety of music Holdridge composed for the films of Bud Greenspan, including many cues composed for 16 DAYS OF GLORY that were not included on the original release of the soundtrack. Besides his work for Greenspan, he composed music for another documentary, THE SPIRIT OF THE OLYMPICS, which was a compilation of highlights culled from other films, and the OLYMPIC VIDEO WALL which was a stand-alone exhibit in Spain.
Lee Holdridge was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1944. He spent his early years in Costa Rica, beginning music studies on the violin at the age of ten with Hugo Mariani, then the conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica. Later, Holdridge moved to New York to continue his music studies and begin his professional career as a composer. Holdridge's successes in New York came to the attention of Neil Diamond who brought Holdridge to Los Angeles to write arrangements for his forthcoming albums. A string of Gold and Platinum hits followed, which led to Diamond and Holdridge collaborating on the film score for JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL. Since that time, Holdridge has scored numerous film such as SPLASH, BIG BUSINESS, MR. MOM, MICKI & MAUDE, 16 DAYS OF GLORY, SYLVESTER, A TIGER'S TALE, EL PUEBLO DEL SOL, OLD GRINGO, PASTIME and BROTHERS AT WAR. His television work include MOONLIGHTING, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, the complete eight hour remake of EAST OF EDEN, DREAMER OF OZ, Hallmark Hall Of Fame's ONE AGAINST THE WIND and THE STORY LADY. Lee also began a very successful collaboration with Moriah Films, the film division of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, with the Academy Award winning documentary feature film THE LONG WAY HOME. In addition to his film career, Mr. Holdridge has had an extensive repertoire of concert works performed and recorded. He has also worked with many major recording artists having written, arranged and conducted for Placido Domingo, Barbra Streisand, Brian May of Queen, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, John Denver, Neil Sedaka, Daniel Rodriguez, Al Jarreau, Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, Natalie Cole, Jane Oliver and many others.
Dragon's Domain Records is excited to bring these documentary film scores to compact disc for the first time as part of LEE HOLDRIDGE GOES TO THE OLYMPICS, presented on two discs and mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland. The booklet includes liner notes written by author David Hirsch with the participation of the composer.
- BSX
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