ASCAP/NYU Buddy Baker Film Scoring Workshop
In May, the sixth Buddy Baker NYU/ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop continued to
offer training in the rich tradition of classical Hollywood film scoring. The
workshop was originally designed and taught by Disney legend Buddy Baker. This
year’s faculty was represented by an eclectic mix of respected composers:
Mark Snow (X-Files, Smallville), Ira Newborn (Naked Gun, Blues
Brothers), USC film scoring faculty member David Spear, and NYU film
scoring faculty members Sonny Kompanek, Deniz Hughes, and orchestrator David
Matthews. Expanding the workshop's perspective, and new to the faculty this
year, was film director and music supervisor Alex Steyermark, whose film Prey
for Rock and Roll, was critically acclaimed.
The 20 participants underwent rigorous daily sessions that covered the range
of film scoring techniques: timings, spotting, composing, MIDI-mockups,
orchestration, conducting, and recording. Under the artistic direction of
Ron Sadoff, NYU's
Director of Film Scoring in the Steinhardt School, and in close collaboration
with ASCAP film music's Sue Devine, the intense nine-day workshop was
held in the Frederick Loewe Theatre. Two days of orchestration sessions
featured NYU faculty Sonny Kompanek, whose book, From Score to Screen,
will be released by Schirmer books in the Fall. ASCAP presented an additional
session, “The
Art of Film Scoring,” which featured Mark Snow in an exposé of his works.
The recording sessions featured an orchestra of top-tier NYC musicians, including
players from the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. The Director of String Performance
Studies at NYU, Stephanie Baer, was the contractor through the local 802 AF
of M. The recording engineer was Jim Anderson, Clive Davis Chair in the Tisch
School of the Arts. The final critique session was presented by a panel, which
included Mark Snow, David Spear, James Anderson, and Ron Sadoff. The workshop
closed with a gala cocktail party, presented in the lobby of NYU's Pless Hall.
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