Chris Anderson

BMI Sponsors 7th Annual Film Conducting Workshop

2004-08-03T18:00:01-05:00

The BMI Film Conducting Workshop recently wrapped up its seventh year with eight BMI-affiliated professional film and television composers completing the two-week course. "Conducting for the Film Composer" is an annual workshop sponsored by BMI and taught by conductor/composer Lucas Richman at the American Federation of Musicians Local 47 in Hollywood, CA.

Front Row: BMI's Ray Yee, Lucas Richman, BMI's Ivanne Deneroff, Middle: David Low (Contractor), Jennie Muskett, BMI's Linda Livingston, Scooter Pietsch, Penka Kuneva, Middle Back: Ronit Kirchman, Anne Cecere, Emilio Kauderer, Mark Robertson (Concert Master), Dominic Messinger, BMI's Doreen Ringer Ross, Chris Ledesma (Editor), Back: Steve Frangadakis, Chris Anderson-Bazzoli, Charles Sydnor

This year's students included Dominic Messinger (multiple Daytime Emmy winner of "All My Children," "Days of Our Lives," "As the World Turns"), Jennie Muskett ("The Prince and Me," "B Monkey"), Scooter Pietsch ("Extreme Makeover," "All American Girl," "Meet My Folks"), Penka Kouneva (Sundance Composers Lab Fellow, "The Picture of Dorian Gray," "Shadows"), Ronit Kirchman (Sundance Composers Lab Fellow), Chris Anderson-Bazzoli (Sundance Composers Lab Fellow, "Revolution OS," "Shooting Creek") and Charles Sydnor ("Malcolm in the Middle").

Charles Sydnor gets some pointers from the Maestro

The course focused on developing conducting technique and participants worked with live players ranging from piano duets to a full chamber orchestra. The musical repertoire for the workshop ranged from classical selections to music from commercial films.

Class is in session

Ronit Kirchman conducts the orchestra

Composers Refine Skills at 7th Annual BMI Conducting Workshop

2004-07-06T18:00:00-05:00

The BMI Conducting Workshop will kick off its seventh year on July 8. "Conducting for the Film Composer" is a two-week course taught by conductor and composer Lucas Richman and is coordinated by BMI's Director of Film/TV Relations Ray Yee. The class will be taught at the American Federation of Musicians Local 47 in Hollywood, Calif.

The Workshop is designed for BMI composers who wish to refine their conducting skills. The annual workshop is free and is limited to eight participants who are BMI-affiliated professional film and television composers. This year's students are composers Dominic Messinger (multiple Daytime Emmy winner for "All My Children," "Days of Our Lives," "As the World Turns"), Jennie Muskett ("The Prince and Me," "B Monkey"), Scooter Pietsch ("Extreme Makeover," "All American Girl," "Meet My Folks"), Penka Kouneva (Sundance Composers Lab Fellow, "The Picture of Dorian Gray," "Shadows"), Ronit Kirchman (Sundance Composers Lab Fellow), Chris Anderson-Bazzoli (Sundance Composers Lab Fellow, "Revolution OS," "Shooting Creek") and Charles Sydnor ("Malcolm in the Middle").

The course will focus on developing conducting technique and participants will be working with live players ranging from piano duet to a full chamber orchestra. Curriculum will include conducting free form as well as to click track, both with and without picture. The musical repertoire for the workshop will range from classical selections to music from commercial films. Each session will be videotaped and critiqued.

A highly touted lab, past participants include composers Cliff Martinez, Stewart Copeland, Danny Pelfrey, Richard Gibbs, Bennett Salvay, Rolfe Kent, Julie and Steve Bernstein, Anthony Marinelli, Alex Wurman, Pete Scaturro, Gary Kuo and Laura Karpman.

"The conductor's workshop is an incredible experience for composers partially because of the brilliance that Lucas brings with him as a teacher, performer and creator," said BMI's Doreen Ringer Ross, Vice President of Film/TV Relations in Los Angeles. "The participants get the opportunity to work with some of the top musicians in the world while they're conducting, and the actual hands-on experience is one that cannot be duplicated in such a condensed period of time. We've heard time and time again how instrumental this workshop has been in adding skill sets to the composer's repertoire."

Lucas Richman is an accomplished conductor and composer of music ranging from classical concert music and opera to musical theatre and film. He is presently Music Director and Conductor for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. He served as the Pittsburgh Symphony's Assistant Conductor from 1998-2002, during which time he was also a Cover Conductor for the New York Philharmonic. From 1988 to 1991 he was the Assistant Conductor for the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. Richman has appeared as guest conductor with numerous orchestras throughout the United States including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Antonio Symphony and New Haven Symphony; in Canada with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and in Germany with the SWR Radio Orchestra of Kaiserslautern. As a composer, he has had his music performed by over 100 orchestras across the United States in the last five years alone. The Pittsburgh Symphony most recently premiered his one-act musical, A Christmas Wish, with the participation of the Mendelssohn Choir, the Children's Festival Chorus and the Pittsburgh Youth Ballet.

In 2002-2003, Richman made his conducting debuts with the New York Philharmonic and the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Knoxville, and Wheeling. He has received numerous awards including the Geraldine C. & Emory M. Ford Award Guest Conductor, Catherine Filene Shouse Foundation Conduct and the Dramalogue Award for his musical direction of the revival of Leonard Bernstein's Candide, directed by Gordon Davidson at Los Angeles' Ahmanson Theatre. In recent years, he collaborated with numerous film composers as conductor, recording scores for such films as the Academy Award-nominated As Good As It Gets, Face/Off, Seven, Breakdown, Anastasia and The Village. He received a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from the University of Southern California, where he was a student of Daniel Lewis. He studied privately with Fritz Zweig and Victor Yampolsky, and worked with Leonard Bernstein and Michael Tilson Thomas at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute. He was also selected as a conducting fellow in master classes with Pierre Boulez, Andr� Previn, Herbert Blomstedt and Kurt Sanderling.

BMI Songwriter Wins Grammy Demo Contest

2003-12-04T17:00:01-05:00

BMI songwriter E. Christine (Chris) Anderson (seated center) was the winner of the 2003 Baltimore Grammy Demo Contest presented by the DC Chapter of the Recording Academy and sponsored by BMI. The demo panel discussion and contest were part of a series of events held this spring during Grammy in the Streets, an outreach program for those currently in the music industry or seeking to enter the industry. This year's event consisted of mentoring sessions, a panel on distribution, and the 2003 Baltimore Grammy Demo Panel Discussion and Contest.

Panelists/demo contest judges gather to congratulate Chris Anderson on winning the 2003 Baltimore Grammy Demo Contest. Pictured are (seated) Billy Zero, Program Director, XM Satellite Radio; Anderson; Phil Tan, Engineer; (standing) Rashod Ollison, Music Critic, Baltimore Sun; Songwriter/Producer Skip Scarborough; Sharron Jackson, Vice President, Promotions, Platinum Hill Entertainment; Richard Burgess, Smithsonian Folkways Recording/Fowl Records; E. Scott Johnson, Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver; Songwriter Ernesto Phillips, Longevity Records; and Dave Sherbow, Whitewall Entertainment. Photo: SteadyQuill Photography

Anderson's winning song, "Their Leader" is from her Christian pop/rock release WAIT - it's a musical!, a biblical musical based on the key figures in Luke and Matthew's birth narratives. It features a variety of musical styles, from Latin to blues to pop and was written specifically for performance by bands and singers.

Panelists for the demo discussion spoke about what should be included in a good demo and served as judges for the critique contest. Anderson's prize package included 10 hours of studio time at co-sponsor Omega Recording Studio, a gift certificate from Guitar Center, consulting time with an entertainment attorney and two artists managers, an on-air interview with Billy Zero on XM Radio's Unsigned Station (including airplay), and various Grammy merchandise.

Hailing from the Washington, DC metro area, Anderson started writing WAIT - it's a musical! while a student at Wesley Theological Seminary. A member of the Recording Academy and the Dramatists Guild of America, she has been playing electric guitar and harmonica in a church band for the past five years. She is a former worship leader, and has also been a player/singer in secular bands, including Metro West, Newtown Hope and Fable Fountain. In addition to songwriting and sitting in with DC area church and secular bands, she is currently acting as a consultant for smaller churches that want to start contemporary services.