Wikipedia Biography / Profile Background
Introduction :
- Michael “Mike” J. Verta is an American music composer, noted piano player, special effects artist and logo designer.
- He is best known for composing the soundtrack for famous movies such as The Forbidden Warrior, for being the brain behind the Star Wars Legacy project and for training new generations of composers.
Personal Life, Parents and Family Details :
- Mike was born on June 20, 1972 in Cook County, Illinois, but he is currently living in Los Angeles.
- He got married to the American actress and mathematics writer Danica Mae McKellar in 2009. Unfortunately, the couple divorced in 2013. In 2014, Danica got married again, this time to Scott Sveslosky.
- Verta and McKellar have a son named Draco Verta, who was born in 2010.
Education : Qualifications, High School & College Info
- In his teenage years, Mike attended the New Trier Township High School in Winnetka.
- He never got a college education but managed to teach himself everything he needed to know to pursue his career.
- Since the day his family inherited a grand piano, Verta had been studying music every day. While playing the first notes of the main title theme from Star Wars, he realized he wanted to spend the rest of his life writing music for movies.
Career Development :
- Mike’s most acclaimed album is Forbidden Warrior – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2004) and can be found on Google Play, Spotify, Amazon, or Deezer.
- Apart from the Forbidden Warrior, Verta has worked for a long list of movies in which we can include the most notable ones – Brave Storm (2017), Independent’s Day (2016), Don’t Blink (2014), Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy (2009), Heatstroke (2008), Inspector Mom (2006).
- As a mentor for new generations of composers, Mike launched his official website where they can find a wide variety of masterclasses, from “A better main title” to “50 years of Star Trek” and “Action Scenes.” He also offers classes on Composition and Orchestration for very affordable prices.
- His YouTube channel, with 10,000+ followers, provides his fans with free online masterclasses, live performances, podcasts, reviews and a few videos with his lovely son Draco.
- Verta is also the mind behind the Star Wars Legacy project, which is meant to preserve and restore the movie’s most memorable scenes, with the goal of presenting each frame in the best possible light without altering them, internally. He is also doing CGI work and musical composition for the Pink Five movies, which are Star Wars fan films, written and directed by Trey Stokes.
- As a logo artist, his most notable work is on the new Superman logo for Superman Returns.
Interesting Facts, Height and Trivia :
- For the 2015’s Halloween, he made a Jawa costume for his son Draco and took him to the Death Valley to take photos of him in the same places they filmed the original Jawa pickups for Star Wars in 1976.
- On his Twitter (now called X) account he refers to himself as an “Autodidactasaurus Rex.”
- Star Wars was the first movie Mike had ever seen. He was five years old back then and also credits the movie for learning how to swim. In an old interview, he told a story about his mom promising him to buy him the X-Wing and TIE Fighter Toys if he managed to pass the test from his swimming course.
- He declared that he is building his own life-sized R2-D2 at home.