Cinemusic
Interview by Martin Provost

What are your first memories of music in your household?

There was always a piano at home. Since I was very young the piano was available to play on. As a young boy, I wanted to learn to play the drums. My parents said that would be fine after I learned to play the piano. Piano started at age 8 with percussion beginning at age 13. I remember many evenings laying on the living room floor as my father played classical recordings of the great symphonies. I would close my eyes and be swept up in the music. I did not realize that this would be the beginning of my love for orchestral music.

What kind of music did you listen to growing up?

When I was young, most of the music I listened to was what my parents would play on the record player. Besides classical music, I do remember listening to Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. We had a few recordings of the pops orchestras. I loved hearing the great movie themes played by the orchestra. even though I didn’t know what the movies were about. I distinctly remember loving that music very much.

What are your first memories of movies?

I don’t know if I recall the first movie I saw but I have always loved movies. I love great stories told through film.

When did you become aware of and started listening to film music?

The Boston Pops recordings of film music was my first exposure to film music. Ever since that time I have been listening to film music.

Why did you study film music?

I didn’ t begin studying film music. I started playing piano since 8. Since 13, I played percussion in the middle of orchestras. By 16 I knew I wanted to study composition and write music for films. I began by getting my Bachelor's of Music degree in composition. For me it was important to learn about composition, orchestration and counterpoint first. Then I did graduate work specifically in film and television music composition from the University of Southern California to apply the compositional techniques to film.

How did you get into the film music world (business)?

Getting into the business is a process. It is about getting or making opportunities and building upon them. As a student at USC, I wrote more music for student films than I did for my course study. I used that time as a training ground and as a chance to meet young filmmakers. This gave me a chance to record a lot of orchestral music for those films. Those films created my first demos that I could then pass around to other directors which led to my first real films. Since then, each project seems to lead to something else.

Since you started in the film music world, do you think it has changed?

Yes things have changed a lot. I used to need a video player, a piano, a lot of score paper and a pencil. Now an entire electronic studio is needed to demo the scores before recording. Schedules have become shorter and budgets seem to be shrinking.

As a composer, you seem to reach and touch people when they are watching the movie in the theatres. There seems to be a limited of number of people buying the score CDs. What do you think about it as a stand-alone listening experience? Do you buy scores yourself?

I think many scores can be a stand-alone listening experience. However, you have to realize that the music was not written for that medium. Film music is written to accompany visual images. Some scores work better than others as stand-alone CDs. You have to be true to the film first. Hopefully it translates to a soundtrack as well.

Do you think that classical music is more art than film music? Have you ever considered writing something else outside of the film industry?

The debate about the validity of film music continues to go on. I believe that film music is art. It is the opera and program music of today. If Mozart, Beethoven or Wagner were alive today I’m sure that they would be writing for films. For me, I care about dramatic music. Drama and emotion are the most important elements of music. This can be achieved in the concert hall, however contemporary concert music is more about atonality. Melody is such a big part of music that I find much of today’s current concert music lacking melody. I would consider writing something outside of the film industry but I would want it to be accessible to the general public.

What struck you when you first saw Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa?

It is a beautifully filmed movie. I knew that music would play a large role. I also immediately knew that it was not just an African score but that there would be many layers and elements to the score.

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