John Kavanaugh
Emmy® Award winner John Kavanaugh is the songwriter and music director of Disney Junior’s animated series “Alice’s Wonderland Bakery.” Inspired by the world of “Alice in Wonderland,” the series centers on Alice, the great-granddaughter of the original heroine and a budding young baker at the enchanted Wonderland Bakery, where her magical treats help bring a new generation of friends and families together.
A longtime collaborator on many Disney projects, Kavanaugh was also the songwriter/music director for Disney’s “Elena of Avalor,” for which he was nominated for multiple Emmy Awards, as well as “Sofia the First,” for which he won an Emmy Award for writing the series’ theme song. He also wrote the song “My Once Upon a Time” (with lyricist David Goldsmith) from the hit Disney Channel Original Movie “Descendants 3.”
Kavanaugh began his career with Disney performing live as one of the keyboardists in the “Kids of the Kingdom” band outside of Cinderella’s Castle while he was enrolled as a theater major at nearby Rollins College. He then went on to work as a rehearsal pianist, vocal coach and musical director for stage shows at Walt Disney World in Florida, Disneyland Resort in Anaheim and Tokyo Disney.
His additional Disney credits include serving as music director on the first season of Disney Channel’s “The New Mickey Mouse Club” and writing songs for Walt Disney Studios’ direct-to-video animated feature film “Winnie The Pooh: Springtime with Roo.”
Kavanaugh served as composer for the “Curious George Live!” and “Sesame Street Live” touring stage shows and “The Flintstones” live stage show at Universal Studios. He has also written songs for the Special Olympics (“You’re The Dream”), Universal Studios Japan (“Dreams are Universal”) and Sea World (“Side By Side” and “We’re One”).
His additional film and theater credits include “Globe Hunters: An Around the World in Eighty Days Adventure,” the Ovation Award-nominated musical “Having It All,” and the 2012 revival of Barbara Epstein’s “A-5678! A Musical Revue.”
A native of Norfolk, Virginia, Kavanaugh currently resides in Los Angeles.
