About Geoff Zanelli
Born 1974. Geoff Zanelli is an American composer, film score composer, music arranger, musician, songwriter and guitarist.
Geoffrey Zanelli (born September 28, 1974) is an American composer working primarily in the medium of film, television, and video game scores. His early career was notable for scoring additional music on roughly 30 film scores written by Hans Zimmer, Klaus Badelt, John Powell, Harry Gregson-Williams, Ramin Djawadi, Danny Elfman, and Steve Jablonsky including several blockbuster films. He has since moved on to more solo work, winning a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special for his score to the miniseries Into the West.
Aside from film and television scores, Zanelli also works with recording artists, writing arrangements for Steve Martin, Edie Brickell, Robbie Williams, The Webb Sisters, Mest and Story of the Year. He is credited as a guitarist, bassist, and keyboardist on the song "I'm Not Dead" from recording artist Pink.
Early life and education Zanelli was born on September 28, 1974, in Westminster, California. He graduated in 1996 from Berklee College of Music.
Career In 1994, at 19 years old, Zanelli met Hans Zimmer, believing him to be a promising young talent, Zimmer invited him to Los Angeles to join his group of film composers. Zanelli worked as an engineer on the debut album from Goldfinger as well as Zimmer's score for The Preacher's Wife.
Zanelli's experience and desire to collaborate led him to work with British composer John Powell on his first Hollywood feature, Face/Off. Throughout the following years he built the foundation for his scoring career, composing with Powell, Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams, and Steve Jablonsky on many feature films, including: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Rango and the Golden Globe-nominated scores for The Last Samurai and Pearl Harbor. In approximately one year, Zanelli scored the films Disturbia, Hitman, Outlander, Delgo, Ghost Town and Gamer. In 2017, he composed the score to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, picking up the mantle from long-time series composer Hans Zimmer. In June 2018, he composed the score for Disney's Christopher Robin with Jon Brion.
Filmography
Film
As primary score composer
As composer of additional music
Television
Video games
Awards and nominations
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Important facts
People in Geoff Zanelli's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Geoff Zanelli's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Geoff Zanelli?
American composer
When was Geoff Zanelli born?
Geoff Zanelli was born on 28 September 1974 in Westminster.
What is Geoff Zanelli's occupation?
Geoff Zanelli is a composer, film score composer, music arranger, musician, songwriter and guitarist.
What nationality is Geoff Zanelli?
Geoff Zanelli is American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Geoff Zanelli. https://biography.guide/geoff-zanelli/
MLA: "Geoff Zanelli." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/geoff-zanelli/.
Chicago: "Geoff Zanelli." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/geoff-zanelli/.
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