Lessons from Sedona

Those following my blog know that the short film I scored in 2010, The Visitation, has been getting some attention at festivals. In January it won best score and best screenplay from the Idyllwild Festival in California. This past week I followed it to the Sedona International Film Festival where it showed on a program of short films under the theme of "The Macabre." Not quite sure I would call it that, but hey, a festival is a festival. I was joined in the copper state by my director Cameron Young, and the film's producers Curt Fleming and Caroline Scott.

In true Dave fashion, I didn't officially decide to go until the day before I left. Honestly I wasn't convinced that I should spend the time or money to venture out to a place I knew relatively little about. But in the end, the opportunity both to travel and to schmooze won out and I decided that I would much rather regret going than not. So, I bought my ticket and within twelve hours was on a plane. I have to admit I've grown quite fond of spontaneous travel. There's no time to fret or overthink, you just get up and go - it's exhilarating, not to mention ripe for adventure.

Within two hours of boarding a plane at LAX I was landing in the small city of Flagstaff, AZ, about 20 minutes north of Sedona sitting at a mind-swirling 7500 feet. It was by far the smallest airport I've ever seen. Only one airline. It was like flying into a strip mall. As I waited at this quaint little airport for my shuttle, I befriended the lady who runs the food counter; she knew all of the employees and what they wanted for lunch. It wasn't long before I found myself appreciating the relaxed, quiet, small town vibe.

As you can see from my photos, Sedona is visually stunning - surrounded on all sides by towering red rocks. Unfortunately natural beauty is all Sedona really has going for it. I went in film festival mode - ready for a few days of wining, dining, and connecting. What I got was a small, sleepy town that happened to host a film festival. You know you're in trouble when see signs everywhere telling you where you CAN'T park for the festival. Odd. I was astonished to discover just how important having a V.I.P. pass was. Being used to a bustling festival like Sundance, I thought there would be plenty to do outside the realm of the pass - not so much. They had one activity per night and I was literally not let in the door because I didn't have a pass. Not cool.

But now for the good news. The upside to a small festival with not a lot going on is all the time one has to see films (something I did not do at Sundance). All the shows were sold out, but rush tickets were easily attainable (again not so in Sundance). The films I saw were tremendously amazing, which I will link at the bottom of this post. I got to spend some good quality time with Caroline, Curt, and Cam, which really made the whole trip worth while for me. And in lieu of the nightly festival activities that I wasn't allowed into, I went to the martini bar, befriended a table of locals, and had a terrific evening both there and at a local dive. Not bad. Honestly if you're looking to visit Sedona for a vacation, I think during the film festival is the prime time to go. Drop some money on one of the resorts, go hiking, get spa treatments, see films - really has the makings of a good vacation spot if you have the budget for it.

When engaging in spontaneous travel, one must be prepared to adapt, go with the flow, and make the best of any situation. Mission accomplished... though I may exercise a bit more prudence before undertaking a big travel for a small festival. Or not. ;-)

See all my photos from Sedona by clicking here.

Films you must see:

Waste Land (Documentary)
Desert Flower (Drama, True story based on the best selling book)
Bill Cunningham's New York (Documentary)

Watch The Visitation trailer:

Failing History with Subway

Today was a screening at USC for a student web series project done in conjunction with Subway. Numerous student groups pitched ideas for a series and ultimately two were chosen to receive funding to produce three episodes that would subsequently be posted on the internet. I had the fortune of being involved with one of the two, entitled "Jeff and Ravi Fail History" directed by the wonderful and incredibly talented Dan Hanna. This is the first web series I've done and I must say it was a lot of fun.

The compositional process is different with every director. For this project, since there was no budget and little time, we opted to stick to just synth instruments. This is something I rarely do these days, but being that it was intended for the web, I was ok with it. Dan and I took a very collaborative approach in that he came to my studio on two different occasions and we went through the music together, making adjustments, trying news sounds, etc. It was actually quite a lot of fun - both efficient and harmonious. Dan trusted my judgement as a composer and I respected his wishes as a director. An ideal pairing for any composer.

Overall I'm very pleased with the outcome. You can view the first of three episodes below. Follow the link to find the other two. Enjoy!

Music in a Mansion

One of my favorite past times as a musician is to attend one of the many amazing concerts that the greater Los Angeles area has to offer. I am lucky to have many well connected friends here in the city who not only invite me, but often get me in for free. Tonight my dear friend Byron Adams, a musicologist and professor of music at UC Riverside, invited me to a concert of the Vienna Trio at the historic Doheny Mansion near USC. I knew nothing about the group nor the venue, but agreed to go and was delighted that I did so. Being the resident musicologist of the Da Camera Society (the group organizing the concert), Dr. Adams gave a fantastic pre-concert talk on the history of and relationship between the three pieces on the program. The concert took place in the Pompeian Room, where chairs were arranged concentrically around the performers in a setting that harkened to the music salons of old. I imagine that the composers on the program (Mozart, Schumann, and Schubert) experienced many of their premieres in a similar setting. The performance, which was flawless, was followed by a very classy reception of exquisite German food to honor the nationality of the three composers on the program.

Some of you may question why I would blog about such a thing as a chamber music concert. I think most composers will agree with me that getting out of one's studio, hearing the music of others, and socializing are all vital to the creative process. For me, such activities prove inspiring and give me something to juxtapose the solitude that comes with composing. And besides, it's fun! :-)

HOPping Along

Life as a composer often takes utilizing a variety of skills to make a living. I am blessed to have worked at C. F. Peters Corporation for nearly three years where I acquired many many useful skills, including the art of music engraving and copying. For those who might not know what this is, basically it's the art of creating/formatting scores and parts for performance - musicians do after all need something to play from, yes?

I've brought this skills set with me to Los Angeles where I not only do freelance engraving gigs, but have the fortune of working for a copying firm as a proofreader. This week we are working on the motion picture HOP, an animated film from Universal scheduled for release in April. The office is a team setting, which I have to say is a welcome change from the solitude that is so often necessary for the work of a composer. It also happens to be a delightfully fun group of people, which makes it all the more enjoyable. This is the kind of job that will take over one's life for up to 5 days with potentially grueling hours, but once it's done, it's done, and I am then able to go back to my own work. A truly ideal situation for a creative professional.

Publicity for Mad Dance

Over the past several months I've undertaken a moderately rigorous internet campaign to promote my piano trio, Mad Dance, to garner more performances. Last week I was delighted to get a response from the manager of the Erato Piano Trio, a group based in the UK, who liked my piece so much that they not only want to perform it, but potentially take it on their tour of the US next summer. Today I had a meeting in Santa Monica with the manager and am feeling very excited for what this connection will bring.

Mad Dance was the first piece I wrote and had performed in graduate school in NYC and remains one of my favorites. Despite my efforts it has only been given two performances since its creation in 2006. I am hoping that between this connection and my continuing efforts that it will finally receive its break.

For those who haven't heard the piece, you can listen below to the fantastic premiere performance by the Second Instrumental Unit.

  Mad Dance by Dave Volpe