The 80-year-old was also awarded a best composer prize recognising his scores for the Steven Spielberg films War Horse and The Adventures of Tintin.

BBC: Military Wives win Classic Brit Award

Lalo Schifrin is best known as a composer of film and TV scores.

NPR: Lalo Schifrin, from 'Mission Impossible' to Jazz

His versatility as a composer is perhaps best captured by those who have performed his music, including everyone from country crooners Kenny Rogers and Trisha Yearwood to Patti LaBelle and Natalie Cole.

WSJ: Composer Frank Wildhorn bridges pop and Broadway

Composer Thomas Newman, best known for dramatic, dark film music was a bold choice for the animated Finding Nemo, Trudeau says.

NPR: Listening to the Academy Awards: Part Two

Late composer John Barry, best known for his contributions to the James Bond films, was honoured posthumously with an outstanding contribution to music award.

BBC: Composer John Williams to receive Classic Brit award

Celebrated composer John Adams says that some of his best ideas for pieces come out of his dreams.

NPR: John Adams: 'Grand' And 'Gnarly' In Concert

The challenge of writing for the much-younger set appealed to the composer: "It's almost the best audience to be aiming for, " he said.

WSJ: Metropolis Ensemble Offers an Opera for the Elementary Set

When she was still in her teens, the bossa nova composer Antonio Carlos Jobim recognized her talent, and she in turn became one of the best performers of his music.

NPR: Kenny Barron And Eliane Elias In Concert

Green, the Tony-nominated lyricist and composer, says pop song writers who come to Broadway quickly find it's not the best place to dabble since it takes years for a musical to get up and running.

WSJ: Pop songwriters find excitement in stage musicals