Recent Projects | The Visitation

In the summer of 2009 I had the splendid fortune of being connected with writer/director Cameron Young through a chance connection at ASCAP (thanks, Charlyn!). Cam is the kind of guy who exudes passion and warmth, so I knew immediately that I would be thrilled to work for him no matter what the project. It turns out that his film, The Visitation, which came together through many of the same sentiments about him, was not only right up my alley, but it was one of the best projects I had the opportunity to work on to date on all levels - writing, acting, directing, production, everything. Behind it was a production company of equal warmth and welcome, Merit/Andrew, who proved to be incredibly supportive of what I wanted to do.

As a film composer I like to create a sound palette for whatever project I'm working on, that is, I like to establish a set of instruments, effects, ambiences, sounds, etc, before I begin writing anything. Often the palette will grow as I progress through the film, but I'm always thinking in a particular world. Without giving any of the story away, the bell you see pictured above is a central symbol in the film, which came to me as a fantastically obvious device to use in composition. Cam agreed with me that the score should be centered around bells. With this in mind I decided that I needed to start with one particular bell sound that the rest of the score would grow from. It turns out that that perfect, warm, resonant bell came from the bowl to my kitchen aide stand mixer. Yes, really.

From this bell grew all the other sounds used in the movie. I laid out all the cues in my sequencer, then I recruited friends to record some of the smaller parts. For example, I took my laptop to the home of my friend Alison Bjorkedal, an excellent harpist, and recorded her playing some cues to click. Thanks to a fantastic flute player friend of mine, Jenni Olson, who I recorded both in my apartment and hers, I was able to get both live alto and bass flute in my score with minimal effort. I also sang some vocal lines and mixed in various ambience effects from my own libraries. Last but not least was the string session, which happened on September 9 at Entourage Studios and was funded generously by Merit/Andrew (along with small contributions from myself and the director). All of the previously recorded effects and instruments were used as prelays for the string session. From there I had the whole thing professionally mixed and boom: a live score professionally produced and sounding wonderful.  

Overall I was really thrilled with the way it came out and what's better is the both the director and the producers were even more thrilled than I. I think that I speak for all film composers when I say that we live for projects where not only we are respected/appreciated, but are connected with people we want to work hard for and be connected with for the duration of our careers. I can't wait to see what's in store for The Visitation and what is next for Cam. 

Though I cannot post an actual clip from the film, I can share a few of the audio tracks, which you can listen to below. My custom bell opens the "End Credits" track. Hope you enjoy. 

Coward by Dave Volpe

  End Credits by Dave Volpe

News | The Visitation in Two Festivals

Hello faithful readers. Thank you for sticking through my hiatus. I hope everyone is fairing well in this new year. Much is happening in January and you are going to hear all about it right here.

Up first, The Visitation, a short film I scored back in September written and directed by the exemplary Cameron Young and produced by Merit/Andrew of Irvine, has received its first two festival admissions. It will be making its debut at the Idyllwild Cinema Festival near Palm Springs, CA on Friday, January 14th at 6:10pm and again on Saturday at 2:45. I also received word from Cameron that it will be showing at the Sedona International Film Festival, which takes place in Sedona, Arizona from Feb 20-27. Very exciting times for everyone involved.

Look for an upcoming blog entry all about The Visitation and how it came to be.

A Fairly Modern Nativity

Thanks to the hospitality of some close friends, I'm enjoying a breif stay in San Francisco, a place I only wish I had an excuse to live. The scope of my hosts' generosity expanded across vast regions including a ticket to a San Francisco Symphony Orchestra performance of John Adams' El Niño, the composer's interpretation of the nativity. Taken from various perspectives, including the work of several Latina poets and the New Testament Apocrypha (a collection of books/letters in the same vein as the New Testament but have been rejected from Canon by the church), and inspired ultimately by the birth of the composer's daughter in 1984, the piece is an achievement of orchestrational breadth spanning two-hours. Performing forces included full orchestra, chorus, female chorus, and 6 soloists, including soprano Dawn Upshaw. For those interested, you can view the program notes by clicking here.

The piece is undeniably impressive not just because of its length and size, but because of the inventive orchestral colors and textures for which the composer is so well known. There were some parts I absolutely loved, including the choir of three countertenor angels who created stunning harmony and tone. While I can appreciate and respect El Niño from a composer's perspective, even that side of me grew bored by the end of the first act. Mr. Adams' bag of compositional tricks is a small one, as I seemed to have them all figured out within 15 minutes and then had to endure as they were used over and over again. He is, after all, a minimalist.

As the piece chugged along I found myself thinking of the bigger picture: what place does a semi-staged, partially dramatized, 2-hour oratorio have in the modern music arena? As a composer I find myself always erring on the side of brevity. Perhaps it is the film composer in me forced to eliminate ego and retain the need for the hyper concise. Or, perhaps I have had to suffer through one-too-many over-programmed new music concerts consisting of hours upon hours of performers growling into their bass clarinets in displaced 32nd-note septuplets while someone dressed in a red canvas bag lowers a radio into a bathtub full of water. Either way, I think that the attention span of the average concert goer has been streamlined along with the rest of our society. Let's face it, most of us can't bear the thought of sitting through a red light without being able to check our email or take our turn on that game of iphone Scrabble. Part of me even wonders if you the reader will actually get this far into a blog entry...

While I may not have been particularly enthralled in Mr. Adams' music, what matters the most to me is heart. The composer spent years (years!) toiling on this work, took inspiration from the birth of his daughter, and incorporated the Latin American culture native to his Los Angeles residence - who am I to judge such a personal quest?

In truth there is always so much to be taken away from live performances, regardless of how one feels about what one is hearing. For me, just seeing a living composer conducting such incredible forces in a piece that he has written is inspiration in itself. Though I may have drifted off, my mind was filled with the warm, incomparable sound of a live orchestra. Creative juices stirring, I began to imagine my next work...

Q&A with Alexandre Desplat

This evening I attended a screening of the movie The King's Speech, an exquisite film starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. Firth plays King George V, Rush plays his speech therapist. Easily one of the best movies Ive seen in a long time. One falls in love with the characters almost immediately. A brilliant balance of struggle, family, and humor. This was a particularly special event in that the movie was followed by a Q&A with composer Alexandre Desplat and director Tom Hooper. Unfortunately the session was ill-planned with hardly any time to get anything from the panelists. But, we were able to hear Desplat comment on how it was to work with and around source music. The composer showed true humility in his welcome approach to having several significant cues of classical music, including an exquisitely done sequence with the second movement of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto. From where I sat, Desplat was so gracious of such music that while watching the film it often took me a few moments to realize I was listening to music not written by Desplat. To me, such an approach is a venerable one; it shows the utmost respect for director and film. Moreso the ability to recognize the quality of art one is dealing with and the merit in their decision to use such an appropriate piece of music for their sequence. Mr. Desplat certainly has my respect and even moreso since I've seen how he has graced the most recent Potter film. Here's hoping The King's Speech walks away with all the oscars.

At the Scoring Stage with Blake Neely

Tim Davies conducting

This week I had the incredible pleasure of being invited to a session of composer Blake Neely at Warner Brothers studios. Blake is fantastic composer who has made a niche in TV, currently scoring three hit TV shows: The Mentalist, Brothers and Sisters, and, the session I was attending, No Ordinary Family. The show has a budget for a weekly session of about 50 players (strings, woodwinds, brass, timpani, and harp) - a dream gig for any composer. Blake's session was everything I like about Blake - organized, calm, and a total blast. Everyone was at ease, laughing, having a good time, and reveling in the music-making process. My kind of session.

I can't tell you how inspiring it is to see working composers using live musicians on a weekly basis. It is a rare treat that I hope is on its way back to becoming the standard in our business. TV is a serious test in speed and organization for composers, particularly when sessions are involved. Typically one has a week or less between when one gets the final cut of the show and when one gets on the scoring stage. It is nuts - there is no room for sloppiness. Sessions move lightning fast in order to get what needs to be done done. Blake's session went off without a hitch - utterly professional, no messing around. Definitely something to admire and to strive for.

An Evening with Seth MacFarlane

Ok, it's not quite what you think. This evening was the RMALA's annual benefit auction and dinner. Normally the event costs a small fortune to attend, but I was very lucky to be able to partake for free thanks to a few very generous friends. I was also able to take my dear friend and esteemed counterpart Sherri Chung, who made a fantastic date. The draw of this year's benefit was, you guessed it, Seth MacFarlane performing with his jazz big band. The event was held at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles - an incredibly ornate and luxurious venue reminiscent of the Plaza Hotel in NYC. Needless to say it was a very memorable evening. All of LA's best players, contractors, and composers were in attendance. Much socialization occurred, business cards given out, and of course hearing Seth perform is such a treat. I even got to reconnect with a composer friend, Blake Neely, who treated me and Sherri to a fabulous night out after the event.

For those of you who might not be aware, Seth MacFarlane is very highly regarded in the Los Angeles music scene because he is such a huge proponent of live music. All three of his animated sitcoms have live union sessions for every episode, not to mention all the performances and things he does with his own big band. Because of Seth, many musicians are working and feeding their families. He was given an award at the end of the night for the support he gives to the musicians of LA.

My one regret? I didn't get a chance to tell Seth I have a crush on him. Such a pity. ;-) Many thanks to Rob Brophy and Peter Rotter for making the evening possible for me.

Putting it Together

Once upon a time I was a pianist. Long before I ever started composing, I played (and long before I played, I sang, but that's another entry).  In my senior year of college I got on board as accompanist for the student-run theatre production of Into the Woods by Steven Sondheim. The show was produced and run by my classmates, many of whom were good friends, so of course I wanted to be involved. Having never heard of Sondheim, I thought nothing of it.... After several months of rehearsal and the news that I would be the sole member of the pit, I raised my white flag and checked into the looney bin. I could barely comprehend the rhythms, never mind carry the entire show. I learned my lesson: I am not an accompanist. It stressed me out. I would much rather be the one writing the shows than playing them.

Fast forward five years later to last week in LA when I got a call from an actor friend of mine telling me the second keyboard player for the show he was in dropped out at the last minute and they needed someone to step in. The show? Putting it Together by, you guessed it, Stephen Sondheim. I thought, well, I could certainly use the paycheck, and since the job was only playing random filler parts, it seemed like it would be doable. The first rehearsal was this past Monday and immediately I felt defeated. The majority of the run through I sat with mouth agape as the music flew by me in an incomprehensible Sondheim-grooving tempo.  I remembered why I hadn't done any performing for so many years. What the hell was I thinking?

Despite my reservations (I won't lie, I called a bunch of my pianist friends to see if they wanted the gig) I felt in my gut that this was a job I needed to stick with. Every day I rehearsed with the accompanist and thanks to his coaching (and patience!), we put it together, bit by bit. Last night we opened and I felt totally comfortable. No jitters. Now I know a collection of Sondheim tunes very well, have kicked up my performing chops, and am getting paid for it. Not a bad deal.

You might be wondering how this entry fits into a composer blog. One of the biggest lessons I've learned since moving to LA is that you never know what opportunities might lead you to bigger and better places, no matter how seemingly random and irrelevant they may appear.  The term I often hear is "planting seeds" - you make as many connections as you can, and you wait and see which ones actually take. Of course one must use one's judgment and know the difference between being part of a worthwhile gig versus being taken advantage of. Right now I have no idea what significance this show has, and it may turn out to not have any, but I do know that I'm learning, it's something I feel good about, it's giving me a paycheck, and it could just lead to an unexpected connection.

If you'd like to come and check out the show, visit the theatre's website: TheatrePalisades.org