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Fired Simpsons composer says all of his musicians were also let go

It sounds like the musical shakeup on The SImpsons was even bigger than we realized.

Longtime composer Alf Clausen, who was fired from the show this week after 27 years, revealed on Twitter that all the members of his 35-piece orchestra have also been removed from the production. Responding to a fan's question about the musicians, Clausen said, "They have sadly been let go as well."

To make matters worse, Clausen also said that he didn't receive a phone call about his firing; he was notified in an e-mail.

The producers of The Simpsons released a statement indicating that Clausen will still have an "ongoing role" with the show, but details are still unclear. "We remain committed to the finest in music for The Simpsons, absolutely including orchestral. This is the part where we would make a joke but neither Alf's work nor the music of The Simpsons is treated as anything but seriously by us."

Clausen scored more than 560 episodes of the series beginning early in the 1990 season. It's believed that he's the most-nominated musician in Emmy history with 30 nominations, 21 of which came for The Simpsons. He won two in 1997 and 1998.

He used a 35-piece orchestra to create the score for each episode, which is something that Simpsons creator Matt Groening insisted upon from the beginning. But that can be expensive: with the cost of musicians, recording studios, and orchestration, the music could cost millions of dollars each year.

Clausen's last complete score for the series was the season 28 finale, which aired for May. The season 29 premiere is scheduled for Oct. 1, but it's not clear who will score that episode or what Clausen's new role will be.

Until we hear more, take a look back at the untold truth of The Simpsons.