Emily Bear facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Emily Bear
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Bear performing at Night of the Proms 2017
in SAP Arena, Mannheim (Germany) |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Emily Jordan Bear |
| Born | August 30, 2001 |
| Origin | Rockford, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | Classical, jazz, film score, musical theatre |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, pianist, songwriter and singer |
| Instruments | Piano, vocals |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Associated acts | Quincy Jones |
Emily Jordan Bear (born August 30, 2001) is a talented American composer, pianist, songwriter, and singer. She started playing piano and writing music when she was very young. Emily made her first professional piano performance at the Ravinia Festival when she was just five years old. She was the youngest person ever to play there!
Emily became more famous after appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show many times, starting at age six. Since then, she has played her own music with orchestras and groups around the world. She has performed at famous places like Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. Emily has won several awards for her compositions, including two Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. She was the youngest person to win these awards.
In 2013, Emily released a jazz album called Diversity. It was produced by her mentor, Quincy Jones. She writes and plays classical, jazz, and pop music. She also creates music for movies and TV shows. In 2017, she released an EP (a shorter album) called Into the Blue with her jazz trio. Emily was the youngest performer in the history of the Night of the Proms tour in 2017. Her 2019 EP, Emotions, was the first time she sang her own songs.
In 2021, Emily and Abigail Barlow wrote an album inspired by the Netflix show Bridgerton. This album, called The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical, won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 2022. This made Emily the youngest Grammy nominee and winner in that category. In 2023, she became the youngest person to score a full-length movie for a streaming service with the film Dog Gone. In mid-2023, Emily toured as the main pianist for Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour. She also wrote songs for the Disney movie Moana 2 with Abigail Barlow.
Contents
Early Life and Amazing Talent
Emily Bear grew up in Rockford, Illinois. She is the youngest of three children. Her mom, Andrea, is a professional singer and has a music education degree. Emily was homeschooled for a few years. Then, she went to Guilford High School and graduated at age 15 in 2017.
Emily's grandmother, a piano teacher, noticed her talent when Emily was only two years old. By age three, Emily had written her first song, "Crystal Ice." The next year, she started studying piano at the Music Institute of Chicago. A company called Hal Leonard Music has been publishing Emily's original songs since she was four.
At age five, Emily made her professional piano debut at the Ravinia Festival. She was the youngest performer ever there. When she was six, in 2008, she won her first ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award. This was for her piece "Northern Lights." She was the youngest composer to win this award.
As a young child, Emily appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show six times. At age six, she played at the White House for President George W. Bush. She performed Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 with an orchestra when she was seven. By age eight, Emily had written over 350 pieces of music. She released five albums of her piano music between 2007 and 2010.
Emily studied classical piano with famous teachers from age six. She also learned jazz improvisation and film scoring. In 2013, she was the youngest composer to attend the NYU Steinhardt Film Scoring Workshop. This showed her strong interest in writing music for movies.
Career Highlights
Early Performances and Mentorship
In 2010, Emily made her debut at Carnegie Hall when she was nine. She played her own piece for orchestra and choir, called "Peace: We Are the Future." That same year, she performed on the TV show Dancing with the Stars.
In 2011, Emily performed her song "Diversity" at a summit where the Dalai Lama spoke. This song was written to honor him. That same year, she started working with Quincy Jones, a legendary music producer. He became her mentor and manager. Quincy Jones introduced Emily at major music festivals like the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. He praised her ability to play classical, jazz, and be-bop music so well. Emily returned to Carnegie Hall at the end of 2011.
In 2012, Emily performed in Zurich, Switzerland, for 15,000 people. She also played at a charity gala in Vienna, Austria. Later that year, she performed a Schumann piano concerto with the Santa Fe Concert Association. The orchestra also played her new song "Santa Fe" and her version of "Satin Doll".
Diversity Album and More Success
In 2013, Emily released Diversity, an album of her own jazz songs. It was released by Concord Records. The album featured Emily on piano with other talented musicians. It reached No. 5 on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart. Critics praised her playing, saying she could improvise well and switch between music styles easily. They noted her music felt like the work of a deep and sensitive artist.
Emily also composed music for a national ad campaign for Weight Watchers in 2013. A documentary about her early talent, "Girl with a Gift," won an Emmy Award in 2014. Emily often donates part of her earnings to charity. She also performed at Quincy Jones' 80th birthday concerts in 2013.
In 2014, Emily sang "The Girl from Ipanema" while playing piano on The Queen Latifah Show. She also showed her skill at making up musical stories on the spot. Later in 2014, she played George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with several orchestras. Reviewers said she played the difficult piece "as easily as child's play." Since 2014, Emily has led the Emily Bear Trio.
In 2015, Emily won another ASCAP award for her orchestral piece "Les Voyages." She performed at the Jazz Open Stuttgart festival. Emily also played a solo piano version of "He's There" on the 2015 Broadway cast recording of Doctor Zhivago. She composed and performed an orchestral piece, "The Bravest Journey," for a veterans' event in Illinois.
In 2016, Emily re-arranged "The Bravest Journey" for 25 pianos for a charity event. She also received a Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award for her jazz song "Old Office." Emily was featured on a Disney Channel show, performing "Reflection" from Mulan with singer Laura Marano. She played with the Rockford Symphony again and performed with her trio at the Gilmore Festival.
Into the Blue and Night of the Proms
On January 27, 2017, Emily released a jazz EP called Into the Blue. It featured five original jazz songs and her version of "My Favorite Things". Critics praised her mature playing and emotional depth. The EP reached No. 7 on Billboard's Jazz Albums chart.
In January 2017, Emily performed for a charity that provides heart surgery for children. She received her second ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Award for her song "Je ne sais pas." Emily also wrote a choral piece, "We have a dream," which she performed in New York City. In June, her trio played at a festival in Switzerland.
In November 2017, Emily played the piano score for The Cat Concerto live at the Hollywood Bowl. She played along with screenings of the classic Tom and Jerry cartoon. From November to December, Emily performed on the Night of the Proms 2017 tour. This tour included 25 concerts in Europe. She was the youngest artist ever to perform on this tour. Reviewers called her the highlight and "discovery of the evening."
In 2018, Emily received Illinois' highest honor, the Order of Lincoln Award. She was the youngest person to receive it. She performed her song "And Forever Free" at the award ceremony. In May, Emily returned to the Hollywood Bowl to play for a Disney film screening. In June, she received a scholarship from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In July, she performed Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra.
Singing, Bridgerton, and Film Scores
In February 2019, Emily played with the World Doctors Orchestra in Israel for charity. She composed and sang two songs, "More than Just a Girl" and "Daylight," for the film Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase. She also played piano on the music for another 2019 film, A Dog's Journey. She returned to the Hollywood Bowl to play her new music for the 1938 Disney short film Merbabies.
Emily released an EP of pop songs called Emotions in October 2019. One song, "I'm Not Alone," was featured on a TV show. She performed another song, "Dancin'," on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Critics said her songs combined jazzy pop vocals with catchy tunes. In April 2020, she arranged music and sang for a project with 117 dancers.
Emily met songwriter Abigail Barlow around 2019. In 2021, they wrote songs for a musical inspired by the Netflix series Bridgerton. They streamed their songwriting sessions online and posted demos on TikTok. Their videos received over 300 million views. Emily orchestrated and produced a full album of 15 songs, The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical, which they released in September 2021. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 2022. Emily became the youngest Grammy nominee and winner in the musical theater category.
Also in 2021, Emily orchestrated and conducted "The Magic Is Calling," an anthem for Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary. She also wrote music for two streaming series episodes and a documentary. For the documentary, she won a 2022 Los Angeles Area Emmy Award.
Recent Projects
Emily was named one of Forbes' 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30, recognizing young successful people. She played piano on the soundtrack for the game Syberia: The World Before (2022). In early 2022, Emily played with the World Doctors Orchestra again. She and Abigail Barlow performed songs from their Bridgerton album on TV shows like Today and The Kelly Clarkson Show. They also performed with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center.
In 2022, Emily and Abigail Barlow wrote music for Mexican Pizza: The Musical. This funny musical was about the popular Mexican pizza item at Taco Bell. It streamed on Taco Bell's TikTok and YouTube accounts.
Emily composed the music for the Netflix film Dog Gone, released in January 2023. This made her the youngest person to score a feature film for a streaming platform. Critics praised her score, calling it charming, warm, and enjoyable. They noted its beautiful string parts and lively piano.
Emily and Abigail Barlow are also working on recreating musical numbers for the upcoming film Fred & Ginger. In mid-2023, Emily toured as the main pianist for Beyoncé's Renaissance World Tour. She also appears in the concert film Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé. Barlow and Bear wrote songs for the film Moana 2. They are the youngest composers and the first female writing team for an animated Disney movie. Two of their songs were nominated for awards in 2024. In 2024, Emily also scored the indie film K-Pops! and the Netflix movie Our Little Secret.
Discography
- Five Years Wise (2007)
- The Love in Us (2008)
- Once Upon a Wish (2008)
- Always True (2009)
- Hope (2010)
- Diversity (2013)
- Into the Blue EP (2017)
- Emotions EP (2019)
- The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical (2021, with Abigail Barlow)
Images for kids
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Bear at Night of the Proms 2017
See also
In Spanish: Emily Bear para niños
