Overview

• Multiple arts outlets confirmed that Sharifi died on August 15 after a long battle with cancer, with Echoes first reporting the news.
• He won a 2018 Tony Award for orchestrating The Band's Visit, collaborating with composer David Yazbek to create a distinctive small-ensemble palette.
• A Berklee College of Music graduate, he taught there for seven years and led the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble from 1985 to 1992 before relocating to New York.
• Beyond Broadway, he composed scores for films including Muppets From Space, Down to Earth, Harriet the Spy, and Clockstoppers, and contributed to The Thomas Crown Affair and The Rugrats Movie.
• His arrangements were featured at President Barack Obama's 2009 inauguration, and he is survived by his wife, Miyuki Sakamoto, and their children, Layla and Kai.