Composers (A to Z)

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ELIA CMIRAL (composer) Elia Cmiral talks about his latest film scores – the historical WWII film Habermann, and the horror thriller Forget Me Not – as well as working in the digital and classical realms.

ELIA CMIRAL (composer) Elia Cmiral (Pulse) discusses his latest film scores for two movies in the latest After Dark Horrorfest film festival, Dario Piana’s The Deaths of Ian Stone, and Mark Young’s Tooth & Nail.

ELIA CMIRAL (composer) Composer Elia Cmiral talks about his latest horror score, Pulse, which fuses electronic and modern orchestral writing. Though best-known for his popular scores for Apartment Zero and Ronin, Cmiral’s horror and suspense work includes Bones, Stigmata, They, and Wrong Turn.

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LISA COLEMAN (composer) With a CD of music from Season 1 just released, fans can finally enjoy some of the most refreshing music in TV, and in our conversation with Lisa Coleman, you’ll get some insight into how the sound of Heroes was created.

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JAMES MICHAEL DOOLEY (composer) Best-known for co-composing the mini-classic horror score for the American remake of The Ring, James Michael Dooley discusses his affinity for minimalism, and three unique films in his ever-growing C.V. of diverse projects as solo composer: the recent remake of When a Stranger Calls, the unique documentary The Mars Underground, and Urmel aus dem Eis (a German production later to be released to English audiences as Impy’s Island).

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JOHN FRIZZEL (composer) Intrigued by the sound of Legion (2010)? Then check out our conversation with composer John Frizzell, who discusses the music as well as scoring aesthetics, and the potential shift in returning to the organic roots of fillm scoring after a good twenty years of sound samples and pre-programmed keyboards.

JOHN FRIZZEL (composer) John Frizzell discusses writing for the horror genre, the use of experimental concepts, and fusing electronic and symphonic elements in works like Thirt3en Ghosts, Ghost Ship, and Stay Alive. Also highlighted is the score for Lucky McKee’s long-delayed The Woods, and Frizzell’s latest work, Primeval.

JOHN FRIZZELL (composer) Unlike John Frizzell’s prior horror scores for Dark Castle’s graphic Thirte3n Ghosts and Ghost Ship, The Reaping is a major shift in pacing and style, and is less overtly infused with experimental concepts and harsh, bristling cues. In our third discussion, we touch upon aspects and conventions of the theological thriller, and the qualities that make the music for The Reaping a noteworthy entry in this oft-visited genre.

JOHN FRIZZELL (composer) Following the completion of the horror film Stay Alive, John Frizzell shifted from that score’s more experimental, aleatoric style to a fusion of more accessible action-suspense music for Primeval. Like his prior scores, however, nothing’s conventional in John Frizzell’s latest score, which incorporates traditional African music supervised & recorded on location by the composer.

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MURRAY GOLD (composer) Murray Gold recently took time out during his intense schedule to chat about his career as a composer and playwright, composing for television, and scoring the subtleties of comedy – the latter perhaps his greatest contribution to the new Doctor Who series, given so much of each episode’s success comes from the exploitation and support of each character’s wry and sometimes daffy eccentricities.

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CHRISTOPHER GORDON (composer) Christopher Gordon discusses writing a massive orchestral score for the Spierig Bros.’ latest film, the vampire shocker Daybreakers.

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JEFF GRACE (composer)  After learning the intricacies of film composing with Howard Shore on the Lord of the Rings films, Jeff Grace has slowly been making a name for himself as a daring new film composer. In 2006, Grace scored a trio of horror flicks: the harsh, brilliant music for The Roost, as performed by the Flux Quartet; the haunting ambiance of Joshua, and co-scoring, with Anton Sanko, the latest shocker from Larry Fessenden, The Last Winter.

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BRANDON HOCURA / VOWLS (composer) Brandon Hocura discusses composing an original score for Kenji Mizoguchi’s The Water Magician / Taki no shiraito (1933), which he performed with his group VOWLS at the Shinsedai Cinema Festival.

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CHRISTOPHER LENNERTZ (composer) Composer Christopher Lennertz discusses his Emmy-nominated score for Supernatural, writing dynamic music within the tight scheduling of a successful TV series, and his completed scores for Tortilla Heaven, and Shark Bait.

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ANTHONY LLEDO (composer) When Sweden’s first vampire film, Frostbite, premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival, audiences also got their first exposure to the film’s versatile composer, Anthony Lledo. Lledo’s music was a wonderful treat for genre aficionados, and film music fans in search of a refreshing voice in symphonic film composition. In our Q&A interview, Lledo describes the uniqueness of his breakthrough score, and his position in being one of the few Scandinavian composers whose work is slowly reaching international audiences.

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ANDREW LOCKINGTON (composer) Way back in 2001, Andrew Lockington was orchestrating Jeff Danna’s exquisite score for The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002), and in the passing years he’s made the transition to composer, scoring a number of TV and theatrical projects, but New Line’s expressive Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (2008) may be his best work – a richly harmonic, classically written fantasy/adventure score that is happily available as a downloadable album in North America, and as a CD and MP3 album via Europe’s Silva Screen. In our follow-up interview, the composer discusses his second big orchestral score of 2008, City of Ember.

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JOSEPH LODUCA (composer) Joseph LoDuca’s current project is writing the funk / jazz music for TNT’s hit caper seriesLeverage, and in our lengthy conversation he describes the intricacies of crafting the show’s addictive, rhythmic sound.

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JAYE BARNES LUCKETT (composer) Canidid, humorous and affable, Jaye Barnes Luckett has the right instincts to compose and perform music that transcends genre limitations, and in the primary works showcased in her CD – May, Sick Girl, The Woods, and Roman – she demonstrates a balanced use of original score and songs, and shows a rare gift in combining two components of a film that, when composed by disparate talent, often battle for dominance in the final mix: the original score, and songs.

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RICHARD MARVIN (composer) Composer Richard Marvin (U-571) discusses his latest film score for director Jonathan Mostow,Surrogates.

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BEAR MCCREARY (composer) Prolific composer Bear McCreary discusses his score for Caprica, the latest (and another addictive) entry in the Battlestar Galactica franchise.

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DON MCDONALD (composer) Perhaps best known for scoring Hiro, Last Wedding, and the cult films Rollercoaster (1999) and Kissed, we interviewed Don Macdonald before the release of Fido, and the composer talks about his witty soundtrack, and some of the diverse projects he’s scored since the 1990s.

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JOHN MURPHY (composer) In our lengthy conversation, John Murphy describes his early years as a composer, his sound, and his craft. In addition to Armored, Murphy also talks about working with Michael Mann onMiami Vice, which alongside Danny Boyle’s 2001: A Space Odyssey riff Sunshine, is among his best work to date.

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D. BRENT NELSON (composer) D. Brent Nelson discusses the nuances of scoring for the iconic daytime soap series Days of Our Lives. Read the interview, and enjoy clips of unreleased music.

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JOHN OTTMAN (composer / editor / director) Composer/editor John Ottman discusses scoring Valkyrie (2008), and influential seventies thrillers.

JOHN OTTMAN (composer / editor / director) “The 3 Faces of John Ottman” – an unpublished interview with the Award-winning editor/composer on his directorial debut, Urban Legends: Final Cut. Discussed are the perils of the slasher genre, the dilemma of tightly budgeted sequels, and juggling a multitude of jobs during all three phases of a film’s production.

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DANIEL PEMBERTON (composer) Witty and BAFTA-nominated composer Daniel Pemberton discusses writing the addictive themes and songs for the TV series Monster Moves (aka Huge Moves, Impossible Moves, and Mega Moves).

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OSCAR PETERSON (composer) Originally published in Music from the Movies, renowned jazz pianist and composer Oscar Peterson discussed his rare foray into feature film scoring, The Silent Partner, and his impressions on writing music for a less than forgiving medium.

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WINIFRED PHILLIPS (composer) Winifred Phillips has built up a solid reputation as a composer comfortable in any media format, particularly interactive videogames, where she’s been nominated for and won a number of awards for her work using orchestral, electronic and digital instruments and materials. In our conversation, Phillips describes the demands of the interactive medium, as well as the creative rewards in scoring narratives with alternate dramatic possibilities.

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DOUGLAS PIPES (composer), MICHAEL DOUGHTERY (writer / director)  A conversation with composer Douglas Pipes and writer/director Michael Dougherty regarding the art of crafting a perennial Halloween mini-classic, Trick ‘R Treat. 

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LALO SCHIFRIN (composer) In Part 1 of our Q&A, veteran composer Lalo Schifrin talks about his music for the comic book series Spooks, and the latest release from Aleph Records: the complete score to Sudden Impact. In Part 2, he discusses writing his new autobiography, Mission Impossible: My Life in Music, and the early years in Argentina.

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CLINTON SHORTER (composer) Canadian composer Clinton Shorter discusses scoring Neill Blomkamp’s intense sci-fi/drama District 9, and working with director Carl Bessai on Cole.

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MARIBETH SOLOMON (composer) A profile of the most experienced composers scoring the world’s biggest film format, Maribeth Solomon and Micky Erbe, during the release of IMAX’ Space Station 3D (2002).

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COLIN TOWNS (composer) Want to know more about Doc Martin series music? Then click and  read how Colin Towns composed the theme and found the right groove befitting a socially challenged soul in need of a good hug.

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JEFF TOYNE (composer) With the release of Jeff Toyne’s soundtrack album for Chris W. Smith’s Shadow in the Trees (2007) as a downloadable album and limited CD, film music fans have another up-and coming composer with a dramatic, refined, and measured style to discover.

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MICHAEL WANDMACHER (composer) Michael Wandmacher discusses crafting the nuances for his latest 3D film, Alexandre Aja’sPiranha 3D.

MICHAEL WANDMACHER (composer) Michael Wandmacher (Cry Wolf) discusses his latest pair of scores, My Bloody Valentine 3-D (2009) and The Punisher: War Zone (2008).

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FREDERIK WIEDMANN (composer) Composer Frederik Wiedmann discusses his entry into film scoring, mentor John Frizzell, and his latest horror score as a solo composer, The Hills Run Red.

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AUSTIN WINTORY (composer) Austin Wintory discusses the unique styles of his latest scores: the Jordanian film Captain Abu Raed (2007), the horror film Grace (2009), and a concert piece inspired by Joss Whedon’s cult TV series, Angel.