CSO film music symposium
In a bid to launch what it hopes will become an annual event, the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera will present the first Southeast Film Music Symposium, featuring artistic advisor George S. Clinton, from March 1 to 3 at the Tivoli Theatre and the Read House.
Participants will be immersed in presentations by other notable film composers, a movie screening, plus concert rehearsals and performances that bring together the world of composing music specifically for film.
The symposium opens with a screening of “These Amazing Shadows,” an award-winning documentary about the history of the National Film Registry, which aired on PBS and was an official selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in the Documentary Premieres category. The film’s directors, Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton, and the film’s composer, Peter Golub, will give a brief introduction.
Clinton, recently named chair of the film scoring department at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, will also present a session that walks participants through his process of composing for film, using examples of his own work. Clinton, who developed his craft scoring “ninja” movies for Cannon Films, is also known for his scores for such movies as “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,” “Mortal Kombat,” “The Santa Clause” sequels and the Emmy Award-winning “Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee.”
Other programs and presenters include Edmund Stone, host of the syndicated public radio program “The Score,” who will give an overview of film music history; Doreen Ringer Ross, vice president of film and television for BMI in Los Angeles, who will moderate a panel discussion and Q&A session with the symposium attendees covering topics dealing with the art of composing for film; and Don Davis, composer of the music for “The Matrix” trilogy, who will serve as guest conductor of the CSO for “The Matrix Live” perfomance, which will close the symposium on March 3 at the Tivoli.
Complete details, a downloadable brochure and registration information for the symposium can be found at southeastfilmmusic.org. For more information, call the CSO office at (423) 267-8583.