Emmy-Winning Composer of The Simpsons Is Fired After 27 Years

This will not be music to Simpsons fans’ ears: The show has jettisoned its Emmy-winning composer Alf Clausen, EW has confirmed.

It’s a surprising move: Clausen came aboard the animated Fox comedy in 1990’s season 2, and has scored the show ever since, earning a whopping 23 Emmy nominations for his joyful songs and soundscapes along the way, including a pair of wins in 1997 and 1998. The 76-year-old Clausen told Variety, which first reported the news, that a Simpsons producer informed him that he would not be scoring the show moving forward, and that a “different kind of music” would be used.

It is unclear at this point if the 35-piece orchestra that Clausen used for each episode will be retained. The Simpsons theme music, which was created by Danny Elfman, is likely to remain in place.

Clausen has also served as the composer of such shows as Moonlighting and ALF.

A spokesperson for The Simpsons declined to comment on Clausen. The show’s 29th season begins Oct. 1.

More to come…

This article originally appeared on EW.com