A composer, songwriter, orchestrator and creative mind, Aaron Zigman has inspired and entertained millions the world over. Not only is he a powerhouse in the music and film industries, as a classically trained pianist since the age of six and having mastered the art of orchestration, he also has written concert music performed by the most renowned symphonies around the world. As a completion to his trifecta of skills and knowledge, Zigman worked heavily throughout the 80s and 90s as a studio musician and producer for major musicians and groups like Steely Dan, Phil Collins, Sting, Chicago, The Jets, Clive Davis, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Natalie Cole and many more.

As an award-winning composer, Zigman has written the scores for over 70 major Hollywood films and tv shows. Working with many of the biggest studios and directors in the industry, he uses his classical background with his vast knowledge of contemporary music to enable him to create some of film’s most memorable scores including “The Notebook”, “Bridge to Terabithia”, “Wakefield”, and the “Sex and the City” franchise.

A true California boy, Aaron is a native of San Diego where he began his musical journey at a young age with his mother, a pianist herself. His musical prowess was evident throughout his childhood years, but it wasn’t until his third year at UCLA that Aaron plunged into the music world full steam. At that time, he signed a four year writing contract with publishing giant Almo Irving where he got the opportunity to write, produce, arrange and orchestrate for many of the top artists in the record industry, then and today. He was one of only four songwriters on their staff and during that early time in his career he created songs for Carly Simon, the T.V. show Fame, and had the chance to co-write with David Lasley, Jerry Knight and Steve Cropper.

It was around the age of 20 that Aaron began to explore even further into the wider world of music as he began studying with his cousin George Bassman ( MGM composer who orchestrated and wrote music for many classic films including “The Wizard of Oz”).

Even furthering his career and mark on the music world, in the 1980s Zigman began as a studio musician working with producers Don Was, Gary Katz, Steely Dan and Stewart Levine. This time solidified Aaron’s name in the industry as a producer/writer and soon thereafter wrote the chart-topping pop hit “Crush on You” for The Jets. Subsequently he was hired by Clive Davis, where he produced and arranged for Aretha Franklin and Natalie Cole. During this time, he also wrote, arranged and produced songs for many of the top recording artists in the world including Ray Charles, Sting, Phil Collins, Dionne Warwick, Bozz Skaggs, Tina Turner, Seal, Carly Simon, the Pointer Sisters, Huey Lewis, Patti LaBelle, Chicago, Natalie Cole and Christina Aguilera.

As the 1990s unfolded, so did Aaron’s music career into the film industry. From the start his talent was seen and his work was featured on film soundtracks for Disney’s “Mulan”, “What’s Love Got To Do With It”, “Bird Cage”, “License to Kill”, “Caddyshack”, and Disney’s “Pocahontas”.

Although by the year 2000, Zigman had made an incredible and noteworthy mark on pop culture music and Hollywood films, his classical training and love for creating orchestral music led him to where he is today. It was inevitable that his lifelong devotion to classical music would lead him to the film scoring stage. Zigman credits his “big break” into Hollywood film scoring to the 35-minute symphonic tone poem “Rabin” (which he composed in memory and honor of the late Prime Minister of the State of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin). The piece was performed by the L.A. Jewish Symphony. In attendance at the performance, was Hollywood film director and actor Nick Cassavettes. Cassavettes was so moved by the piece that Zigman composed, he asked him to score his latest film, at the time, with Denzel Washington, “John Q”.

This then led to Cassavettes next feature, “The Notebook”, which was and has been esteemed as one of the top films of our time. Zigman’s soundtrack to the film alone was a major success and has sold a record number of albums since and developed for him a large fan base in the film score arena.

Aaron has since been firmly entrenched in the top list of film composers with a steady line and growth of films every year; including several more with director Nick Cassavettes including “The Other Woman”, “My Sister’s Keeper”, “Alpha Dog”, and “God is a Bullet”.

Aaron has currently scored over 70 films including Wakefield, Bridge to Terabithia, Flika, Sex and the City, Escape from Planet Earth, The Company Men, Mr.Magorium’s Emporium, Step Up, and the Last Song. Critics have praised Zigman's score for the dramatic film Wakefield, directed by Oscar-nominated Robin Swicord, featuring Academy Award nominee and Emmy-winners Bryan Cranston and Jennifer Garner. Esteemed film journalist, Jon Burlingame, described Zigman's Wakefield work as "one of the year’s most haunting and effective scores of 2017." Recently Zigman scored American Dream/American Knightmare, directed by Oscar-nominee Antoine Fuqua. Most recently he composed “one of the best scores of his life” for the upcoming Tyler Perry feature, Jazz Man’s Blues.

Aaron is also currently writing classical concert music which is being performed by some of the best orchestras and musicians around the world. His award-winning piece “Tango Manos” has been touring the world with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. In 2019/2020 Zigman's Tango Manos double concerto for piano and orchestra was co-commissioned by the Beijing Music Festival, Radio France, and the San Francisco Symphony. The concerto features world renowned pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and has premiered to critical acclaim.

Zigman is also in the midst of writing an oratorio that has already been scheduled with some of the world’s most famous orchestras beginning November 2023 (announcement soon to come).

When Aaron is not in the studio, on the piano, or in a concert hall; he can be found urban hiking and playing tennis with his wife Ashley, circuit training in the backyard, lounging with their bearded dragon Hakksan, or spending time in San Diego with his family.