Biography
Named by the Hollywood Reporter as one of the top composers to look out for in 2009, Deborah Lurie has repeatedly proven herself to be one of the most versatile composers and arrangers in Hollywood.
Music has always been a visual experience for Lurie. She was born with perfect pitch as well as a rare condition called synesthesia, which allows her to identify every note by seeing a specific, corresponding color in her mind’s eye--and won her a childhood nickname as Palo Alto’s "human pitchpipe." She became fully aware of these talents in the tenth grade while excelling at music theory—a newly "academic" subject she had largely taught herself with colors since she had heard her first scale. It was immediately evident that Lurie wouldn’t just continue to pursue music out of passion, but make a career in sound, too.
Deborah Lurie began her career by scoring short films like the celebrated "George Lucas in Love." In the years following, Lurie worked as an orchestrator on studio films like "The X-Files" and "X-Men 2," and as a composer, for additional music on "Bubble Boy" and "View From The Top." Reuniting with "Lucas in Love" director Joe Nussbaum in 2004, she scored the pre-teen comedy "Sleepover" for MGM. In 2005, she scored the Lasse Hallstrom film "An Unifinished Life." Most recently, Debbie scored a second Lasse Hallstrom film: "Dear John," and the Tim Burton-produced animated feature "9."
Lurie has worked frequently with Danny Elfman, composing additional music for "Wanted," "Spiderman 3," and the IMAX film "Deep Sea: 3D" as well as arranging/orchestrating for "Charlotte's Web," "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory," and "Alice in Wonderland."
In addition to work on film scores, Lurie has an extensive background as an arranger and producer of pop, rock, and theater music. Lurie has arranged for such artists as Katy Perry, Papa Roach, Kelly Clarkson, Creed, Hawthorne Heights, Chris Daughtry, The All-American Rejects, and this year's "Idol" stars, Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert. The #1 hit single The Reason marks the beginning of Lurie's longest and most prolific collaboration in rock music is with producer Howard Benson, who was Grammy nominated in 2007 for Producer Of The Year. Lurie's work in pop music began with productions for the live stage, including arranging and producing the the music for The Pussycat Dolls' live appearance at The Roxy, starring Christina Aguilera and Gwen Stefani and Carmen Electra, and arranging/producing the music for the Off Broadway musical "Bare" and Vegas' hit show "PeepShow." Lurie’s arrangements also appear in the films "Dreamgirls" and "Fame."