Noted composer and conductor Gene Forrell, a native of Pittsburgh, died last Wednesday at his home in New York City. He was 90.

Mr. Forrell was an accomplished orchestral conductor and composer for dance, theater, television and films. He wrote the soundtrack for the 1964 Academy Award-winning documentary "To Be Alive." He also composed soundtracks for other award-winning films, including 1957's "N.Y., N.Y.," "Boundary Lines" and "Picture in Your Mind."

In the mid-'60s, he turned to conducting, serving as musical director of the Master Virtuosi of New York. He also served as musical director of the Mozart Festival in Ibiza, Spain.

Mr. Forrell lived for a number of years in England, where he conducted the English National Orchestra, the English Sinfonia, the Enfield Grand Opera and the Alexandra Choral Society.

He also conducted the Vienna Philharmonic, the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra in Syracuse, N.Y., the Haifa Symphony Orchestra in Israel and the CBC Vancouver Orchestra.

Born Eugene Finkelhor in Pittsburgh, Mr. Forrell graduated from Allderdice High School and attended Duquesne University. He left Duquesne to accept a scholarship to the Dalcroze School in New York City.

He was one of six Finkelhor brothers who found success in various fields. His brother Howard was a noted psychiatrist in Pittsburgh. Brother L. Herbert and his wife, Dorothy, co-founded a business school that was the precursor to Point Park University. Brother Nathan was known for his involvement in sports, once owning a professional football team.

"They were just unusually wonderful people, every single man," said Mary Louise Weisberg of Squirrel Hill, who is related to the family through marriage. "They were all successful in what they did and they all got along. I just admired them so much."

When Mr. Forrell returned to the United States from England in the mid-'80s, he formed the Vivaldi Traveling Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, a touring group that went into communities that did not have symphonies or orchestras.

"Every concert that they gave, they had a talented person from the community join the orchestra so people had an opportunity to play with a professional orchestra," said Mildred Forrell, Mr. Forrell's wife of 60 years.

"He's a person who was completely accepting of everybody," she said. "He had humor, he had sensitivity, he had compassion, he had generosity."

In 1991, Mr. Forrell returned to Pittsburgh to give a concert in honor of his brother, Howard, who died that year.

In addition to his orchestra and film work, Mr. Forrell composed commercial jingles and conducted and recorded the Firestone Christmas albums for many years. He also was a longtime board member of the Musicians Foundation of New York, which assists indigent musicians and their families.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Forrell is survived by three daughters, Bess Steiger of Westchester, N.Y.; Lisa Forrell of London, England; and Gaby Forrell of Cape Town, South Africa; and five grandchildren.