Alf Clausen
Alf Faye Heiberg Clausen (born March 28, 1941)[2] is an American film and television composer. He is best known for his work scoring many episodes of The Simpsons, for which he was the sole composer between 1990 and 2017. Clausen has scored or orchestrated music for more than 30 films and television shows, including Moonlighting, The Naked Gun, ALF and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Clausen received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music in 1996.[1]
Not to be confused with Australian rules football player Alf Clauscen.
Alf Clausen
Alf Faye Heiberg Clausen
March 28, 1941
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Film and television scores
Composer, songwriter, producer
French horn, piano, bass[1]
1967–present
Early life, family and education[edit]
Clausen was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and raised in Jamestown, North Dakota.[1][3] Clausen was interested in music from a young age. He counts composer Henry Mancini as one of his heroes; his book Sounds and Scores inspired him.[3] He began playing the French horn in the seventh grade and also learned piano; and he sang in his high school choir.[4][5] He continued playing and learned to play the bass guitar, stopping singing because the choir met at the same time as the band.[4]
He studied mechanical engineering at North Dakota State University although, after being inspired by his pianist cousin, switched his major to musical theory.[5] Whilst there, Clausen took a correspondence course at Boston's Berklee College of Music in jazz and big band writing.[6] He went on to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison to complete his master's degree, but he quit as he disliked the place, especially what he felt was an "anti-jazz" attitude.[6] He later attended Berklee and graduated with a diploma in arranging and composition in 1966.[4][7] Clausen was the first French horn player to ever attend the college and took part in many ensembles; he is also featured on some Jazz in the Classroom albums.[6]
Personal life[edit]
Clausen's son Scott is also a composer.[30]
In April 2020, Clausen revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.[31]