Category: Concerts

The Lord of the Rings: Appendices Part 4

SCORING “THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER”
THE APPENDICES: PART 4
THERE AND BACK AGAIN

This is the fourth of four blog entries chronicling my personal experience scoring the first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The first, “Journey to Middle-earth,” can be found here. The second, “Themes of Middle-earth,” can be found here. The third, “Forming a Fellowship,” can be found here.

(Photo Credit: Monica D Photography)

CONDUCTING THE FINALE

Composing the score for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was my primary focus in my early months on the project, but I soon realized there were other ways in which I could contribute to the show.

I was excited to create soundtrack albums, compose material for trailers, do press events, travel to premieres, and – best of all – perform the music live!

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Incantation

Despite the brutal schedule of working in the scoring profession, I always look for other creative avenues. Last spring, I composed “Incantation” for flautist Jenni Olson, and it is now available on her second studio album, “The Dreams of Birds,” from Delos Music (on CD or digitally from iTunes or Amazon MP3).

Jenni is a remarkable musician and our collaborations go back more than a decade, to when we met at the USC Thornton School of Music.  She was a featured performer in my earliest orchestras, assembled in college to record film scores for directors I still collaborate with today. Fans of mine will recognize her haunting flute tone from evocative solos on my scores to “Human Target” and “The Cape,” among others. (more…)

String Quartet Premiere at The Getty, 10/5/12

On Friday, October 5th, the Calder Quartet will perform a special concert at The Getty Center in Los Angeles, commemorating the work of sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt.  The program will feature the world-premiere performance of “A Hypocrite and Slandererer,” a blistering scherzo for string quartet I wrote specifically for the event. The concert will also feature original commissions from Mark Mothersbaugh and Don Davis: a great night for film music fans!

The Calder Quartet and I go way back. All five of us went to school together at USC. Violinists Ben Jacobson and Andrew Bulbrook, violist Jonathan Moerschel and cellist Eric Byers performed many of my concerts and recordings during our time at USC. After graduation, they formed the remarkably successful Calder Quartet, and I did my thing. October 5th marks the first time the five of us will have collaborated in over a decade.

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Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert Nov 9th!

This November will mark the twentieth anniversary of the tragic passing of Freddie Mercury.  As the lead singer and frontman of Queen, his music has inspired generations of fans and musicians alike.  Approaching this historic milestone, I wanted to create an event where anyone who has ever loved the music of Queen could come together and celebrate the life and music of Freddie Mercury, and raise money for a worthy cause.

I joined forces with Brendon Small and Brendan McCreary to produce The Show Must Go On: A Tribute to Freddie Mercury, a one-night concert of the music of Queen, performed by some of the most talented and in-demand musicians in Los Angeles.  All proceeds benefit AIDS Project Los Angeles, to help combat the deadly disease which took Freddie from this world.

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Úbeda Film Music Festival Highlights 2011

I was honored this summer to take part in the 7th International Film Music Festival in Úbeda, Spain and to accept the Jerry Goldsmith Award for Best Television Score for my work on “Human Target.”  The journey was an incredible experience for me, both as a film score composer and film score geek.  An event like this presents a rare opportunity to escape the studio, see the world and get to know fellow soundtrack fans and fellow composers.  I tried to capture the spirit of this adventure in my poorly-filmed travelogue, “A Bear in Spain.” Enjoy…

CHAPTER 1 – Málaga

My story begins not in Spain, but in the LAX airport at 6:00 am.  I brought my scores with me, to study on the plane, but forgot colored pencils to mark them with.  Minutes before boarding the plane, I managed to find a Spiderman activity book in the gift shop!  Thanks to this stroke of luck, I had markers with me to prepare my scores during the long, 18 hour flight.  Plus a sweet coloring book!  🙂

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