Inside the new ‘Today’ theme music

When NBC’s “Today Show” rolled out a new theme in March it marked a major change for the program, leaving long time composing legend John Williams.

The new theme, which features a faster paced beat and regal feel, was composed by Adam Gubman of Warner Chappell/Non-Stop Music.

“When the opportunity arose to demo for the new Today Show theme, I jumped at it. They asked for something new and fresh, and I was a bit concerned because I knew I could never replace the John Williams’ iconic ‘Mission Theme’, but we really didn’t set out to do that,” said Gubman to FutureComposer.com.

The new theme built upon earlier work Gubman completed for NBC, including the Royal Wedding coverage theme and themes for the election coverage on “Today.”

“With a natural change in the show’s demographics, style, and presentation, they needed something that was a bit more ‘newsy’ and less cinematic. I still approached it lyrically, but needed to bring out some of the urgency and energy of the news format.”