The 2012 ASCAP Television and Film Scoring Workshop with Richard Bellis is in full swing. Whenever a new group of fresh-faced composers enters this hallowed workshop for a month’s worth of education and inspiration, we can’t help but think back to all of the alumni that have gone on to great things over the 24 years we’ve been doing this. We asked a few of our past participants to update us on their current activities and let us know how their ASCAP Television and Film Scoring Workshop experience impacted them and their careers.
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Tulio Cremisini (class of 1999)
Tulio Cremisini
I am currently working on fresh original music for the new Telemundo suspense thriller El Rostro de la Venganza, airing very soon. I recently came back from Venezuela where I was conducting the National Venezuelan Symphony Orchestra on my big arrangements for a 200-piece orchestra/choir, for a live recording CD in progress with Latin Grammy-winning artist Ilan Chester. It is based on ancient devotional Vedic poems with Ilan's melodies and my arrangements and orchestrations, to be sung by a mixed choir in Sanskrit tongue. This is Ilan's life's tribute to Krishna. This is in fact an ambitious ongoing project that will take a good year to complete. The CD will eventually be released when the whole process is completed.
As a composer, the ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop has been one of the most exciting experiences. It gave me not only a unique opportunity to write, orchestrate and conduct my own cue with such an amazing group of musicians, but also gave me the privilege of learning from some of the best professionals in the industry. I will always be grateful for such an amazing experience.
Tulio Cremisini is the winner of two El Premio ASCAP awards, and one ASCAP Film & Television Music award.
www.tuliocremisini.com
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Trevor Morris (class of 1999)
Trevor Morris
Two-time Emmy winner Trevor Morris has completed scoring two seasons of the acclaimed series The Borgias, and will be scoring the third season of The Borgias, commencing this fall. In 2011 Morris earned an Emmy for his score to The Borgias’ lauded first season, and was just nominated for his music to the second season. Recently, Morris signed on to provide score for the highly anticipated series 666 Park Avenue for ABC. 2012 also finds him scoring the upcoming film Death Race 3.
Morris was an invited guest composer at the Cordoba Festival of Film Music, where he conducted a suite of his music from Immortals and The Tudors and participated in a workshop, panel and press conference. He was one of several esteemed composers featured on the Behind the Music with CW3PR: Composers and Singers Create the Perfect Sound for TV & Film at this year’s San Diego Comic Con International.
"The ASCAP Scoring workshop was my point of entry into Los Angeles. I was commuting to the workshop and back each week from Canada, and with each visit, became more and more convinced I should move to pursue my dreams. Conducting the L.A. All Stars on a Hollywood scoring stage was a seminal moment for me, and one I held onto all the way until I conducted my own scores here in L.A. and in London. I just finished conducting a live suite of my music in Cordoba, Spain. The mental image of writing for an orchestra in a bona fide way, actually visualizing the players sitting there playing my music, all stemmed from my experience at ASCAP. A moment in my life I am very grateful for. Bravo to ASCAP's Film & TV division for sponsoring such an amazing event.
I welcome the opportunity to be involved in the workshop each year, vis-a-vis judging applicants, giving tours of my studio and talking to the kids and all that. I think of the people who helped give me the confidence to follow my dreams, not the least of which is the team at ASCAP, and it only reinforces upon me how incumbent it is for me to give back whenever I can." - Trevor Morris
Trevor Morris is the recipient of five ASCAP Film & TV Music awards.
www.trevormorris.com
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Julia Newmann (class of 2003)
Julia Newmann
Julia Newmann, along with three-time Emmy award winning composer Sean Callery (24, Medium, Homeland), is scoring her fifth season of Fox's hit TV series Bones. She received a 2012 ASCAP Film & Television Music Award for Bones, for writing some of the most-performed television music of 2011. Additionally, Bones was nominated for Best Television Score by the Hollywood Music in Media Awards in 2011. Julia also recently collaborated with Callery on The Finder, a spinoff series from the producers of Bones.
Before scoring primetime television, Julia worked for widely acclaimed ASCAP film composer James Newton Howard. During her time at JNH Studios, she orchestrated the Oscar-nominated score to Michael Clayton, as well as The Water Horse: Legends of the Deep and The Great Debaters.
"The ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop was beneficial to me and my career by providing incredible contacts and friendships that have helped pave the path to where I am now. It also brought invaluable insight on the music business, and of course the gift of recording my music with a 60 piece A-list orchestra was incredible and unforgettable!" - Julia Newmann
www.julianewmann.com
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Miles Hankins (class of 2009)
Miles Hankins
In 2009-2012 I worked as an orchestrator on many projects, including Cirque du Soleil and the major PBS network rebrand. In 2010 I composed original score for three feature films for SyFy. I recently scored major commercials for Jaguar, Chase and Sargento, and in 2012 was commissioned by world-renowned opera composer Daron Hagen (protégé of Leonard Bernstein and a Guggenheim fellow) to compose an original piece for his Seasons Music Festival this fall, and to lecture on film scoring.
I'm currently scoring my first primetime network series. It's called 3, and it airs on CBS, actually starting at the end of July. It's an unscripted show, produced by Chris Columbus and Magical Elves (Top Chef, Katy Perry: Part of Me, etc). It was the #1 show in Israel last year, so CBS bought a package of eight new episodes to be shot and produced here in the States. It follows three women looking for true love, so naturally I'm doing all Coltrane changes and accordions! Here's a link: www.cbs.com/shows/3
I made so many important connections through the ASCAP Workshop, and continue to build those relationships in my professional career every day. The workshop experience was thrilling, highly informative, and fun - a revelation!
www.mileshankins.com
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Layla Minoui (class of 2010)
Layla Minoui
I am currently working alongside Robert Duncan, who is also an ASCAP Workshop alum. I have been writing additional music for various TV series including Castle, Lie to Me and The Gates. We are currently going on season 5 of Castle, which will be premiering in the fall. What I have found to be most valuable working with Robert over the past few years is learning to be creative by experimenting with different live instruments and sounds, which I find brings an idea to life. I've learned to be creative in ways I never knew existed. It’s amazing how you can sample almost anything and turn it into a musical instrument. It has completely opened up a whole new world of writing music for me. The fast paced work environment of writing music for TV has also been an incredible learning experience. Writing for a TV show like Castle, which has a wide variety of cues (drama, comedy and action), you have to be versatile and think on your feet. It is often a challenge because you are continuously learning how to keep things fresh within the same sound palette with back-to-back episodes. I personally think this challenge has allowed me grow as a composer, and I'm always excited to see what's next.
The ASCAP Television and Film Scoring Workshop provided me the opportunity to explore the different disciplines of the film music industry. This experience answered so many of the questions we all have in the pursuit of this career. Not only were my introductions to all these industry professionals invaluable, but it was also a great experience sharing a sense of camaraderie and learning from other fellow composers in the workshop.
www.laylaminoui.com
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The ASCAP Television and Film Scoring Workshop with Richard Bellis is just one of the many career development opportunities ASCAP offers to help jumpstart your career. Find out more at www.ascap.com/music-career.