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Michael Kamen
1948 - 2003
United States of America, NY
Michael Kamen (15/04/1948 - 18/11/2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, song writer, and session musician. Kamen was born in New York City, USA. He was the second of four sons of a left-wing Jewish dentist and his teacher wife and studied at the New York High School of Music & Art in New York, then at Juilliard's School for Music Dance and Drama in New York. While in high school, he met and became friends with Martin Fulterman, later known as "Mark Snow," who composed the theme music for The X-Files among other projects. He was also a classmate and friend of Janis Ian. While studying the oboe, he formed a rock classical fusion band called New York Rock & Roll Ensemble, together with classmates Snow and Dorian Rudnytsky. It was on the first of Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic. Martin Fulterman/Mark Snow was also a member. The group would perform rock music, dressed in tuxedos. In the middle of the concert, Martin and Michael would play on oboe duet. The group backed up Janis Ian in a concert at Alice Tully Hall in the Fall of 1967.
Requiem for a Soldier
The Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks-produced epic World War II television series Band of Brothers is based on a true story adapted from the best-selling book by Stephen Andrews. The story depicts a
regiment of U.S. army soldiers who parachute into France on D-Day, and climaxes with their daring
capture of Hitler's fortified mountain retreat in Bavaria. The music was composed by the award-
winning Michael Kamen, and the new lyrics are by English songwriter Frank Musker.
The lyrics (by Frank Musker) of the song Requiem for a Soldier, (theme from Band of Brothers, 2001):
You never lived to see What you gave to me One shining dream of hope and love Life and liberty With a host of brave unknown soldiers For your company you will live forever Here in our memory In fields of sacrifice Heroes paid the price Young men who died for old men's wars Gone to paradise We are all one great band of brothers And one day you'll see we can live together When all the world is free I wish you'd lived to see All you gave to me Your shining dream of hope and love Life and liberty We are all one great band of brothers And one day you'll see - we can live together When all the world is free
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