John Swihart

John Swihart
Occupation	composer

John Swihart is a musician, best known for composing music for movies, most notably the Napoleon Dynamite movie. This 2004 soundtrack album was the first CD release of his music.

From an early age Swihart learned a number of instruments, including the piano, saxophone and later guitar. He eventually became interested in original compositions. Swihart attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

His first brush with cinema came when a group of students from Emerson College asked his help with their film project. Later he was chosen to be a performer with Blue Man Group, which caused him to move from Boston to Las Vegas. Later Swihart's wife obtained a job in Los Angeles and Swihart moved there with her. In LA he started doing music for independent films. One of these was the movie Napoleon Dynamite.

The Napoleon Dynamite film was a hit surprise hit and Swihart was awarded a Golden Satellite Award for best original score. After this his work on music scores for film and television increased dramatically.

List of films with scores composed by Swihart

• The Brothers Solomon (Revolution)

• The Hammer (Bentley Film Group)

• The Education of Charlie Banks

• Employee of the Month (Lion's Gate)

• Full of It (New Line Cinema)

• Out There (Picture Farm)

• Sasquatch Dumpling Gang

• Daltry Calhoun (Miramax)

• The Great New Wonderful (Serenade Films)

• Napoleon Dynamite (Fox Searchlight / MTV Films)

• One Last Dance (Mediacorp Riantree Pictures)

• Our Very Own (Miramax)

• Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas (Fox Searchlight / MTV Films)

• Mall Cop

• Life on the Ledge

• Up 2 Down

• Garden Party (Lookout Films)

• South of Pico (Snails Pace Productions)

• Randy and the Mob (Capricorn Pictures)

• One Part Sugar (Dewey Beach Films)

• Splinterheads (Paladin)

• Youth in Revolt (Dimension Films)

List of Television programs or episodes with scores composed by Swihart

• How I met Your Mother (CBS)

• Trick My Truck (CMT)

• Hope & Faith - Main Title (ABC)

• Nadine in Dateland

• Home Blitz (CMT)

• The Drive (CMT)

• MTV Undressed (MTV Films)

• MTV Real World (MTV Films)

• Greek (ABC)

Awards and nominations

• Golden Satellite Award (2004) for best original score (Napoleon Dynamite)

• Grammy Nomination (2006) for best compilation soundtrack album for motion picture, television or other visual media (Napoleon Dynamite)