Shirley Walker

Shirley Anne Walker (née Rogers; April 10, 1945 – November 30, 2006) was an American film and television composer and conductor. She was one of the few female film score composers working in Hollywood during her career. Walker was one of the first female composers to earn a solo score credit on a major Hollywood motion picture (preceded by Suzanne Ciani for 1981’s The Incredible Shrinking Woman) and according to the Los Angeles Times, is remembered as a pioneer for women in the film industry. Walker often wrote her film scores entirely by hand, and always orchestrated and conducted her own scores herself. She won two Emmy Awards during her career, while the ASCAP Shirley Walker Award was created in her honor in 2014. Early life Walker (née Rogers) was born in Napa, California, on April 10, 1945. Her father was an industrial patternmaker for the U.S. Navy, and her mother gave piano lessons while raising five children. She grew up in Napa Valley and Contra Costa County. She attended Pleasant Hill High School. Walker was a musical prodigy. She had an early start performing as a teenager at various hotels, jazz and art bands in 1964-1967. Walker was also a piano soloist with the San Fr