Sam Cardon:Mormon Composer
Sam Cardon is an award-winning media composer. He has written music for more than 60 feature and IMAX films, two Olympic Winter Games, four documentaries, several video games, and television themes for such shows as Good Morning America, Monday Night Football, National Geographic Explorer, and ABC Sunday Night at the Movies.
Cardon was born in Durango, Colorado, and grew up in Farmington, New Mexico. He began playing the piano at a young age and took piano lessons until age 11, when he became more interested in sports. He received a bachelor’s degree in media composition from Brigham Young University. In 2006 he received the Distinguished Honored Alumnus award from BYU. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Cardon is a multi-Emmy award winner who released numerous albums. His album roster includes "Impulse," "Serious Leisure," "Innovators" and "Coming Full Circle" (with Kurt Bestor, Digability, and Earth Cinema. He was producer and arranger for Jenny Oaks Baker’s "Then Sings My Soul," and Josh Wright’s "Josh Wright," both of which reached #1 on Billboard’s Classical Chart.
A few of his film scores are: "The Work and the Glory," "Beau Jest," "Return to Secret Garden," "A House Divided," "The Velveteen Rabbit," "My Boyfriend’s Girlfriend," and "The Wild Stallion." His IMAX scores include "Hearst Castle: Building the Dream"; "Treasure of the Gods at Zion National Park, Utah"; "Whales," "Olympic Glory"; "Lewis & Clark Great Journey West"; "Mystic India"; and "The Secret of San Francisco at Pier 39." He scored music for documentaries "Messiah: Behold the Lamb of God," "The Trail of Hope," "American Prophet: The Story of Joseph Smith," and "Fires of Faith: The Coming Forth of the King James Bible." He won a Global Music Award for his score for "World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria" and also scored "Jet Moto" and "Twisted Metal".
He and Kurt Bestor, whom he collaborated with frequently, created the music for the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary. Cardon also wrote music for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
Cardon serves on the Board of Trustees of Snow College, on the Community Relations Board of Utah Valley University, and on the College of Fine Arts and Communications Board of Brigham Young University. He is currently the executive producer of the new television series "Audio Files" and "The Song that Changed My Life."
He and his wife, Tamara, have four children.
