Anthony Parnther

Anthony Parnther
Anthony Parnther
	Parnther conducting at the Teatro Real in Madrid, Spain
Background information
Born	Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
Genres	Classical music; contemporary classical music; film score; video game music; avant-garde; jazz;
Instruments	Bassoon, contrabassoon, cello
Years active	1988–present
Label	NMC Recordings
Website	www.anthonyparnther.com

Anthony Parnther is an American conductor, bassoonist, and educator, prominently known for his work conducting and playing on critically acclaimed film scores.^[1]^[2]

In 2019 he was appointed music director and conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra in San Bernardino, California and concurrently serves as the music director of the Southeast Symphony in Los Angeles, California, a position he has held since 2010.

Early life and family

Anthony Parnther was born in Norfolk, Virginia,^[3]^[4] to Samalauluoloitefu (née Paese), an economist and professor, and George Parnther, an engineer.^[5]

Around 1949, George Parnther emigrated to the United States from Kingston, Jamaica and enlisted in the U.S. Navy before serving in the Korean War.^[6] George eventually matriculated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with degrees in engineering and mathematics. Samalaulu (abbreviated) emigrated from Samoa in 1960 and studied economics at Columbia University. The Parnther family settled in Norfolk, Virginia in the late 1960s.

Anthony graduated from E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he played the cello, bassoon, and tuba in the instrumental music department.^[3]^[7]

Education

Anthony attended East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. He studied conducting at Yale University and music performance at Northwestern University. At Yale University, he studied conducting with Lawrence Leighton Smith.^[8]^[9]^[7]

Career

After a two-year international search, the San Bernardino Symphony appointed Anthony Parnther as their Music Director in May 2019.

Parnther currently serves as conductor of the Southeast Symphony in Los Angeles, California. Previously, he conducted the Orange County Symphony in Anaheim, California and the Inland Valley Symphony (now the Temecula Valley Symphony) in Temecula, California. He works as a conductor, orchestrator, and bassoonist with the Hollywood Studio Symphony for television, motion pictures, and video games.^[7]

Guest conducting

Anthony has appeared with many of the leading orchestras in North America, including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera, Houston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, and the Buffalo Philharmonic.

In 2018, Parnther conducted Chineke! following the 30-month refurbishment of the Queen Elizabeth Hall,^[10] and again in September 2023 at the BBC Proms.^[11]

Film scores

Parnther is a conductor and bassoons of scoring sessions for motion picture, television, album, and video game scores with the Hollywood Studio Symphony.

He has led the recording sessions for such projects as Avatar: The Way of Water, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Encanto, The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Nope, League of Legends, Creed III, Devotion, Tenet, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, American Dad, Arcane, The Adam Project, Slumberland, Star Trek Beyond, The Way Back, Cheaper By The Dozen, Lost City, Little, The Hunt, Turning Red, Ice Age: Adventures of Buck Wild, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, Fargo, The Night Of, 4400, The Lamplighters League, Guild Wars, Oppenheimer, Zootopia 2, and many more.

Teaching

Anthony directed the Symphonic Band and directed and designed for the Marching Buccaneers and the Men and Women's Basketball Pep Bands at East Tennessee State University from 2004 to 2007. He taught applied double reeds at Fullerton College from 2008 to 2010 and served as director of the YMP/YMCO program under the Department of Equity and Inclusion at University of California, Berkeley from 2010 to 2015. He was Artist-in-residence at the Oakwood School in North Hollywood from 2015 to 2017.^[9]

Collaborations

He has collaborated with music composers such as Ludwig Göransson, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Danny Elfman, Michael Giacchino, John Powell, Germaine Franco, Simon Franglen, Pinar Toprak, John Paesano, Steve Jablonsky, Mark Mancina, Mark Mothersbaugh, Heitor Pereira, Henry Jackman, Dominic Lewis, Rob Simonsen, Marco Beltrami, Chanda Dancy, and Rupert Gregson-Williams.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Director (s)	Composer (s)	Notes
2015	Goosebumps	Bassoon	Rob Letterman	Danny Elfman	First collaboration with Elfman
2015	The Good Dinosaur		Peter Sohn	Mychael Danna Jeff Danna	First collaboration with Danna
2016	X-Men: Apocalypse		Bryan Singer	John Ottman
	The Conjuring 2		James Wan	Joseph Bishara
	Ghostbusters		Paul Feig	Theodore Shapiro
	Star Trek Beyond		Justin Lin	Michael Giacchino	First collaboration with Giacchino
	Moana		John Musker Ron Clements	Mark Mancina	First collaboration with Mancina
	Rogue One		Gareth Edwards	Michael Giacchino	Second Collaboration with Giacchino
2017	Lady Bird		Greta Gerwig	Jon Brion
2017	Ferdinand		Carlos Saldanha	John Powell	First collaboration with Powell
2018	BlacKkKlansman		Spike Lee	Terrence Blanchard	First collaboration with Blanchard
	Under the Silver Lake		David Robert Mitchell	Disasterpeace
	The Nun		Corin Hardy	Abel Korzeniowski
	Aquaman		James Wan	Rupert Gregson-Williams
2019	The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part		Mike Mitchell	Mark Mothersbaugh	First collaboration with Mothersbaugh
	Little	Conductor	Tina Gordon	Germaine Franco	First collaboration with Franco
	The Lion King	Bassoon	Jon Favreau	Hans Zimmer	First collaboration with Zimmer
	The Addams Family		Greg Tiernan Conrad Vernon	Mychael Danna Jeff Danna	Second collaboration with Danna
	Doctor Sleep		Mike Flanagan	The Newton Brothers
	Togo		Ericson Core	Mark Isham	First collaboration with Isham
2020	A Quiet Place Part II		John Krasinski	Marco Beltrami	First collaboration with Beltrami
	Da 5 Bloods		Spike Lee	Terrence Blanchard	Second collaboration with Blanchard
	Tenet	Conductor	Christopher Nolan	Ludwig Göransson	First Collaboration with Göransson
	Mulan	Bassoon	Niki Caro	Harry Gregson-Williams
	Mank		David Fincher	Trent Reznor Atticus Ross
	The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run		Tim Hill	Hans Zimmer	Second collaboration with Zimmer
2021	Coming 2 America		Craig Brewer	Jermaine Stegall
	The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It		Michael Chaves	Joseph Bishara
	Space Jam: A New Legacy		Malcolm D. Lee	Kris Bowers
	The Suicide Squad		James Gunn	John Murphy	First collaboration with Murphy
	Venom: Let There Be Carnage		Andy Serkis	Marco Beltrami	Second collaboration with Beltrami
	Ghostbusters: Afterlife	Conductor / Bassoon	Jason Reitman	Rob Simonsen	First collaboration with Simonsen
	Red Notice	Bassoon	Rawson Marshall Thurber	Steve Jablonsky	First collaboration with Jablonsky
	Encanto	Conductor	Jared Bush Byron Howard	Germaine Franco	Second collaboration with Franco
2022	iMordecai	Musician	Marvin Samel	Matthew Kajcienski
	The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild	Conductor	John C. Donkin	Batu Sener
	The Adam Project		Shawn Levy	Rob Simonsen	Second collaboration with Simonsen.
	Turning Red		Domee Shi	Ludwig Göransson	Second collaboration with Göransson
	The Lost City		Aaron Nee Adam Nee	Pinar Toprak	First collaboration with Toprak
	The Bubble	Orchestra	Judd Apatow	Michael Andrews Andrew Bird
	Full of Grace	Fagot	Roberto Bueso	Vicente Ortiz Gimeno
	Sonic the Hedgehog 2	Bassoon	Jeff Fowler	Tom Holkenborg
	Lightyear		Angus MacLane	Michael Giacchino	Third collaboration with Giacchino
	Minions: The Rise of Gru		Kyle Balda	Heitor Pereira	First collaboration with Pereira
	Nope	Conductor	Jordan Peele	Michael Abels
	DC League of Super-Pets	Bassoon	Jared Stern	Steve Jablonsky	Second collaboration with Jablonsky
	Prey		Dan Trachtenberg	Sarah Schachner
	Bullet Train		David Leitch	Dominic Lewis	First collaboration with Lewis
	Black Panther: Wakanda Forever	Conductor	Ryan Coogler	Ludwig Göransson	Third collaboration with Göransson
	Disenchanted	Bassoon	Adam Shankman	Alan Menken
	Devotion	Conductor	J. D. Dillard	Chanda Dancy
	Strange World	Additional Conductor / Bassoon	Don Hall	Henry Jackman	First collaboration with Jackman
	Violent Night	Conductor	Tommy Wirkola	Dominic Lewis	Second collaboration with Lewis
	Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules		Luke Cormican	John Paesano	First and second collaborations with Paesano
	Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again		Matt Danner	John Paesano	First and second collaborations with Paesano
	Avatar: The Way of Water		James Cameron	Simon Franglen	First collaboration with Franglen
	Shotgun Wedding		Jason Moore	Pinar Toprak	Second collaboration with Toprak
2023	Creed III		Michael B. Jordan	Joseph Shirley
	Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves	Bassoon	Jonathan Goldstein John Francis Daley	Lorne Balfe
	The Super Mario Bros. Movie	Bassoon	Aaron Horvath Michael Jelenic	Brian Tyler
	Peter Pan & Wendy	Conductor	David Lowery	Daniel Hart
	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3	Conductor	James Gunn	John Murphy	Second collaboration with Murphy
	Shooting Stars	Bassoon	Chris Robinson	Mark Isham	Second collaboration with Isham
	Transformers: Rise of the Beasts	Conductor	Steven Caple Jr.	Jongnic Bontemps
	Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny	Bassoon	James Mangold	John Williams	First collaboration with Williams
	Oppenheimer	Conductor	Christopher Nolan	Ludwig Göransson	Fourth collaboration with Göransson
	Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie	Conductor	Cal Brunker	Pinar Toprak	Third collaboration with Toprak
	Under the Boardwalk	Bassoon	David Soren	John Debney Jonathan Sadoff Sean Douglas
	Quiz Lady	Conductor	Jessica Yu	Nick Urata
	Wish	Woodwinds	Chris Buck Fawn Veerasunthorn	Dave Metzger Julia Michaels Benjamin Rice
	Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever	Conductor	Luke Cormican	John Paesano	Third collaboration with Paesano
	Leave the World Behind	Conductor	Sam Esmail	Mac Quayle
2024	Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire	Bassoon	Gil Kenan	Dario Marianelli
	Despicable Me 4		Chris Renaud	Heitor Pereira	Second collaboration with Pereira
	Beetlejuice Beetlejuice		Tim Burton	Danny Elfman	Second collaboration with Elfman
	Joker: Folie À Deux		Todd Phillips	Hildur Guðnadóttir
	Moana 2		Jason Hand Dana Ledoux Miller David Derrick Jr.	Mark Mancina	Second collaboration with Mancina
	Dear Santa		Bobby Farrelly	Rupert Gregson-Williams	Second collaboration with Williams
2025	Love Hurts	Conductor	Jonathan Eusebio	Dominic Lewis	Third collaboration with Lewis
	The Day the Earth Blew Up		Peter Browngardt	Joshua Moshier
	Sinners		Ryan Coogler	Ludwig Göransson	Fifth collaboration with Göransson
	Elio		Madeline Sharafian Domee Shi Adrian Molina	Rob Simonsen	Third collaboration with Simonsen
	Smurfs	Bassoon	Chris Miller	Henry Jackman	Second collaboration with Jackman
	I Know What You Did Last Summer	Conductor	Jennifer Kaytin Robinson	Chanda Dancy	First and second collaborations with Dancy
	Swiped	Conductor	Rachel Lee Goldenberg	Chanda Dancy	First and second collaborations with Dancy
	Wicked: For Good	Bass Vocals	Jon M. Chu	John Powell	Second collaboration with Powell
	Zootopia 2	Bassoon	Jared Bush Byron Howard	Michael Giacchino	Fourth collaboration with Giacchino
	Ella McCay	Conductor	James L. Brooks	Hans Zimmer	Third collaboration with Zimmer
	Avatar: Fire and Ash	Conductor	James Cameron	Simon Franglen	Second collaboration with Franglen
2026	People We Meet on Vacation	Woodwinds	Brett Haley	Keegan DeWitt
	The Mandalorian and Grogu	Conductor	Jon Favreau	Ludwig Göransson	Sixth collaboraiton with Göransson
	Disclosure Day	Bassoon	Steven Spielberg	John Williams	Second collaboration with Williams
	Toy Story 5	Bassoon	Andrew Stanton	Randy Newman
	Minions & Monsters	Conductor	Pierre Coffin	John Powell	Third collaboration with Powell
	Moana	Bassoon	Thomas Kail	Mark Mancina	Third collaboration with Mancina

References

↑ Greiving, Tim (September 11, 2019). "Few black conductors lead orchestras. For Anthony Parnther, it's time to represent". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
↑ Looseleaf, Victoria. "Anthony Parnther Finds Inspiration Everywhere". sfcv.org. San Fransicso Classical Voice. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
1 2 MacMillan, Kyle (2024). "For 'Up' conductor Anthony Parnther, 'all good music is interesting'".
↑ "The Virginia Symphony Orchestra's Holiday Season Begins This Month!" (PDF). 2024.
↑ Story, Rosalyn (2025). "Where do we stand?" (PDF).
↑ "Few black conductors lead orchestras. For Anthony Parnther, it's time to represent". Los Angeles Times. September 11, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
1 2 3 Greiving, Tim (March 18, 2020). "He played this bassoon for Beyoncé and Snoop Dogg. Then it was stolen". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
↑ "Meet the Maestro". SB Symphony. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
1 2 "Anthony Parnther • conductor". Music Academy of the West. August 10, 2026. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
↑ Tonkin, Body (April 10, 2018). "Not so Brutal: the South Bank's concrete palace reopens in jubilant style". theartsdesk.com. The Arts Desk. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
↑ "Conductor Anthony Parnther on the importance of diversity in classical music". Evening Standard. London. August 31, 2023. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.

External links

[1] Greiving, Tim (September 11, 2019). "Few black conductors lead orchestras. For Anthony Parnther, it's time to represent". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 27, 2020.

[2] Looseleaf, Victoria. "Anthony Parnther Finds Inspiration Everywhere". sfcv.org. San Fransicso Classical Voice. Retrieved August 27, 2020.

[:0-3] 1 2 MacMillan, Kyle (2024). "For 'Up' conductor Anthony Parnther, 'all good music is interesting'".

[4] "The Virginia Symphony Orchestra's Holiday Season Begins This Month!" (PDF). 2024.

[5] Story, Rosalyn (2025). "Where do we stand?" (PDF).

[6] "Few black conductors lead orchestras. For Anthony Parnther, it's time to represent". Los Angeles Times. September 11, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2026.

[:1-7] 1 2 3 Greiving, Tim (March 18, 2020). "He played this bassoon for Beyoncé and Snoop Dogg. Then it was stolen". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 16, 2026.

[8] "Meet the Maestro". SB Symphony. Retrieved August 16, 2026.

[:2-9] 1 2 "Anthony Parnther • conductor". Music Academy of the West. August 10, 2026. Retrieved August 16, 2026.

[10] Tonkin, Body (April 10, 2018). "Not so Brutal: the South Bank's concrete palace reopens in jubilant style". theartsdesk.com. The Arts Desk. Retrieved May 1, 2023.

[11] "Conductor Anthony Parnther on the importance of diversity in classical music". Evening Standard. London. August 31, 2023. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2023.

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