On Saturday, 7 November 2020, at 8 PM GMT/3 PM EST, The American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (ASMAC) will welcome Academy and GRAMMY Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino to discuss his first solo LP, ‘Travelogue: Volume 1’, featuring his Nouvelle Modernica Orchestra.

Giacchino will be joined in conversation by Tim Simonec, who arranged the string parts for the album, along with members of his Nouvelle Modernica Orchestra including Mark Gasbarro, Dan Greco, Abe Laboriel, Abe Laboriel Jr, Gayle Levant, and Andrew Synowiec, as well as mixing engineer Warren Brown.

The concept album, which was released on 30 October 2020 on Mondo Records, was recorded during the pandemic and saw Giacchino reunite with a few of his long-time collaborators. The record features spoken-word interludes voiced by actress Janina Gavanka and ‘follows a space traveller seeking solace on a planet that isn’t as broken and lost as her own distant world. Upon discovering earth, the story unfolds throughout its 11 captivating tracks.’

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Michael Giacchino’s credits include some of the most popular and acclaimed film projects in recent history, including ‘The Incredibles’, ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’, ‘Ratatouille’, ‘Star Trek’, ‘Jurassic World’, ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’, ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ and ‘Coco’. Giacchino’s 2009 score for the Pixar hit ‘Up’ earned him an Oscar®, a Golden Globe®, the BAFTA, the Broadcast Film Critics’ Choice Award and two GRAMMY® Awards.

Giacchino studied filmmaking at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. After college, he landed a marketing job at Disney and began studies in music composition, first at Juilliard, and then at UCLA. He moved from marketing to producing in the newly formed Disney Interactive Division where he had the opportunity to write music for video games.

After moving to DreamWorks Interactive, he was asked to score the temp track for the video game adaptation of ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park’. Subsequently, Steven Spielberg hired him as the composer and it became the first PlayStation game to have a live orchestral score, recorded with members of the Seattle Symphony. Giacchino went on to score numerous video games including Spielberg’s ‘Medal of Honor’ series. Giacchino’s work in video games sparked the interest of J.J. Abrams, and thus began their long-standing relationship that would lead to scores for the hit television series ‘Alias’ and ‘Lost’, and the feature films ‘Mission Impossible III’, ‘Star Trek’, ‘Super 8’ and ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’.

PHOTO BY DAN GOLDWASSER

Additional projects include collaborations with Disney Imagineering on music for Space Mountain, Star Tours (with John Williams), the Ratatouille ride in Disneyland Paris, and the Incredicoaster on Pixar Pier at California Adventure. Giacchino was the musical director of the 81st Annual Academy Awards®. His music can be heard in concert halls internationally with all three ‘Star Trek’ films, ‘Ratatouille’, ‘Jurassic World’, ‘Up’ and ‘Coco’ being performed live-to-picture with a full orchestra. In June 2018, Giacchino premiered his first work for symphony orchestra, Voyage. Commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the piece celebrates the 60th anniversary of the founding of NASA. In July 2019, a third movement was added for the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing.

‘Jojo Rabbit’, the critically acclaimed Fox Searchlight film written and directed by Taika Waititi, earned Giacchino a BAFTA nomination this year. His upcoming film projects include Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’.

Giacchino serves as the Governor of the Music Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and sits on the advisory board of Education Through Music Los Angeles.

The American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts of Music Arranging, Composition and Orchestration within the entertainment industry community and the general public. To find out more about ASMAC or to become a member, visit www.asmac.org.

Tickets:

To register for the event, follow this link.

ASMAC Members – $5.00
SCL, Maestra, ASA, AWFC – $8.00
Non Members – $10.00

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To purchase this gorgeous vinyl, visit mondoshop.com, or listen to the album on your music streaming service of choice.

On Saturday, 10 October 2020, The American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (ASMAC) hosted an online event as part of their Master Class Series, featuring a very special guest: the prolific Emmy-winning and Academy Award-nominated composer John Debney.

Moderated by composer, arranger, pianist and ASMAC board member, Sylvester Rivers, the master class was cleverly structured into five main topics:

•  Anatomy of a comedy score

•  Anatomy of a rom-com

•  Anatomy of a big action movie

•  How to get inside a director’s head

•  Surviving post-pandemic Hollywood

Famously charismatic and friendly, Debney began the master class with the cheerful statement, ‘Let’s have fun! Let’s have a look inside my crazy musical brain!’

JOHN DEBNEY

A musical chameleon, John Debney has composed music for over 100 films and shows in a variety of genres during his career that spans over three decades, including ‘The Passion of the Christ’, ‘Iron Man 2’, ‘The Jungle Book’, ‘The Princess Diaries’, ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’, ‘Sea Quest DSV’, ‘A Pup Named Scooby-Doo’, ‘Inspector Gadget’, and ‘The Ant Bully’, to name but a few.

For this class, the composer chose to analyse in detail three big genres: comedy, rom-com, and action. As such, Debney dissected a few of his memorable cues from films like ‘Liar Liar’, ‘Bruce Almighty’, ‘Isn’t It Romantic’, and ‘Iron Man 2’, providing aspiring film composers with advice on how to go about writing music for these genres and important aspects that need to be taken into consideration in each case.

Over the course of three and a half hours, the composer received a plethora of fantastic questions from ASMAC members and attendees alike, graciously answering each and every one of them and offering invaluable advice, as well as words of encouragement to aspiring film composers. He also elaborated on some of the challenges the industry is facing in the time of COVID-19 and how the musicians are adapting.

ASMAC Executive Board President, Gayle Levant, who is also Debney’s long-time friend and harpist on many of his films, joined the composer in reminiscing about their experience of working together. Among other things, she praised Debney for his professionalism, excellent conducting skills, and ability to keep calm in stressful situations.

JOHN DEBNEY PRESENTING DURING THE MASTER CLASS

There were two notable nuggets of wisdom the composer shared with the attendees that are perhaps the most important pieces of advice he has offered during the class. Firstly, Debney encouraged aspiring composers to ‘become the best composer you can become’ by learning all styles of music (even the ones they dislike), studying everything from how to write a melody, to counterpoint, orchestration, conducting and the ranges of each instrument, to work hard, be a good person, treat people well, and to always remain humble.

And secondly, following a question from an attendee regarding the toll that this profession can take on one’s mental health, Debney urged film composers to be disciplined, take care of themselves, make sure they have a great support system and not ‘take it so seriously that it will eat you alive’.

Needless to say, the hours flew by very quickly. The master class was a great opportunity for aspiring composers to get a sneak peek behind the curtain with one of the most successful composers in Hollywood and to learn a few tips and tricks on how to navigate this increasingly competitive landscape.

Now it is perhaps more important than ever to have access to such events, considering the exceptionally challenging times brought about by the pandemic. Not only do they provide attendees with invaluable and entertaining information, but they also help keep the community together and the conversation going on how industry professionals can adapt to the new normal.

To keep up to date with ASMAC future events, visit www.asmac.org, where you can also become a member, or follow their Eventbrite page.