BMI honored the composers of music featured in the past year's top-grossing films, top-rated prime-time network television series and highest-ranking cable network programs May 21 at its annual Film & Television Awards. Held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, the black-tie gala was hosted by BMI President & CEO Del Bryant and Film/TV Relations Vice President Doreen Ringer Ross, who handed out more than 80 BMI Crystals throughout the evening.

View Full List of Award Winners

A highlight of the ceremony took the form of the Richard Kirk Award presentation to esteemed composer Christopher Young. Named after late BMI Vice President Richard Kirk, the prestigious award is given annually to a composer who has made significant contributions to film and television music. As the 2008 honoree, Christopher Young joins an elite list of peers that includes George S. Clinton, Harry Gregson-Williams (PRS), Jerry Goldsmith, Thomas Newman, Michael Kamen, Mark Mothersbaugh, Danny Elfman, Alan Menken, Mike Post, Lalo Schifrin and John Williams.

Award-winning composer Christopher Young has carved out an enviable niche in the upper pantheon of Hollywood composers. The UCLA Film School alumnus first turned heads with fiendish scores for horror and science fiction projects, and he proceeded to garner accolades for work on macabre and fantastical films including Hellraiser, its Saturn award-winning sequel and Species, along with BMI award-winners Ghost Rider, The Grudge and The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Young became a master of suspense, composing music for thrillers including Copycat and BMI honoree Entrapment, as well as dramatic and critical tours-de-force including Golden Globe nominee The Shipping News, Wonder Boys, Rounders and BMI award-winner Swordfish. He also fleshed out the haunting nuances and electrifying action sequences of box office gold Spiderman 3. The New Jersey native has also excelled in television composition, earning two Emmy nominations for telefilms Last Flight Out and Norma Jean & Marilyn. A dedicated mentor, Young has taught classes at USC, served as an advisor for the Sundance Institute's Film Composers Lab and created an innovative residential development to house aspiring composers in Los Angeles.

BMI also presented the Classic Contribution Award to Peter Golub in recognition of his progressive direction of the Sundance Institute's Film Composers Lab for the past ten years. An accomplished composer of film, theatre, ballet and concert works, Golub is a natural fit for the lab, which aims to enhance the role of music in independent film. His acute composition work includes scores for documentaries I.O.U.S.A. and Wordplay, along with films including The Great Debaters. Universally acknowledged as an unparalleled apprenticeship for the next generation of composing elite, the workshop has invaluably benefited from Golub's creative intuition and steady guidance.

BMI's Emmy-winning composers were also feted; the accomplished list included George Fenton (PRS) for the awe-inspiring documentary Planet Earth: Pole to Pole; William Ross for the 79th Annual Academy Awards; Lenny Williams for Nature: Christmas in Yellowstone; Yoav Goren for The XX Olympic Winter Games: The Stories of Torino; Katreese Barnes for Saturday Night Live's "Dick in a Box"; Gary Deinstadt, Billy Barber, Ron Komie, Danny Pelfrey and David Traugh for Guiding Light; along with Wes Boatman and John Henry Kreitler for "Love is Ecstasy" from Passions.

Legendary rocker turned lauded composer Pete Townshend (PRS) took home the evening's most awards, with three BMI Crystals for CSI, CSI: Miami and CSI: NY. Composers garnering two awards each were Steve Jablonsky for Transformers and Desperate Housewives; Rupert Gregson-Williams (PRS) for Bee Movie and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry; George Fenton for Fool's Gold and Planet Earth: Pole to Pole; Mychael Danna for Surf's Up and Medium; Aaron Zigman for Step Up 2: The Streets and Why Did I Get Married?; Kevin Kiner for Amazing Race and CSI: Miami; Mike Post for Law & Order and Law & Order SVU; and Matt Koskenmaki for Hell's Kitchen and The Ultimate Fighter.

The night's winning composers for top-grossing films and critically acclaimed gems also included past Richard Kirk Award recipient Harry Gregson-Williams (PRS) for Shrek the Third, Trevor Rabin for National Treasure: Book of Secrets, legendary composer and past Richard Kirk Award recipient Lalo Schifrin for Rush Hour 3, John Ottman for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Mark Mancina for television drama Criminal Minds, Randy Edelman for romantic comedy 27 Dresses, Tyler Bates for horror favorite Halloween and pop music architect Brian Wilson for HBO dramedy series Big Love.

Conductor Lucas Richman (l) and composer Tim Wynn.

This year’s students are an exemplary group of working film and television composers: Kathryn Bostic (Sundance Fellow, Beyond the Ring, Contradictions of the Heart); Kris Carter (Justice League, Teen Titans); Eric Colvin (NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience, Bark!); Claude Foisy (The 4400, White Noise); Corey Jackson (Left in Darkness, Starting Over); Dave Reynolds (Cruel Intentions 3, Tides of War); Craig Richey (Friends with Money, Lovely & Amazing); Tim Wynn (Reflections of Venice, Chasing the Light). The class is coordinated by BMI’s Senior Director of Film/TV Relations, Ray Yee, and BMI’s Film/TV Relations staff.

The whole group pauses for a photo: (l-r, front): BMI's Ray Yee, composer Kathryn Bostic, conductor Lucas Richman and composer Kris Carter; (back) composer Corey Jackson, BMI's Linda Livingston, composers Tim Wynn and Eric Colvin, BMI’s Doreen Ringer Ross, composers Craig Richey, and Dave Reynolds, contractor David Low, composer Claude Foisy, BMI's Anne Cecere and Philip Shrut.

BMI recently recognized accomplished conductor and composer Lucas Richman with the 2007 Classic Contribution Award for 10 years of service leading BMI’s celebrated Conductor’s Workshop. A BMI composer, Richman has led the workshop since its inception. Presently Music Director and Conductor for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Richman is a leading expert in conducting and composing, having fashioned an outstanding career as a conductor with numerous symphonies and orchestras in the U.S. as well as collaborator with numerous film composers as their conductor for such films as the Academy Award-nominated As Good As It Gets, Face/Off, Seven, Breakdown, Anastasia and The Village.

Past participants in the highly touted lab, include composers Cliff Martinez, Stewart Copeland, Camara Kambon, Danny Pelfrey, Richard Gibbs, Bill Brown, Bennett Salvay, Rolfe Kent, Julie and Steve Bernstein, Anthony Marinelli, Alex Wurman, Gary Kuo, Tyler Bates, Nate Barr, James Venable, Mervyn Warren, Chris Lennertz and Laura Karpman.

Photos: Anna Maria DiSanto

Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series:
Guiding Light
Gary Deinstadt, music director
Billy Barber, music director/composer
Ron Komie, composer
Danny Pelfrey, composer
David Traugh, composer

Outstanding Original Song:
Passions
“Love Is Ecstasy”
John Henry Kreitler, composer/lyricist
Wesley B. Boatman, Jr., composer]]> 2007-06-26T12:38:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/334936 Bernstein, Steve, Brown, Bill, Copeland, Stewart, De Gli Antoni, Mark, Gibbs, Richard, Gonzalez, Joseph Julian, Kambon, Camara, Kapsalas, Andreas, Karpman, Laura, Kent, Rolfe, Kuo, Gary, Marinelli, Anthony, Martinez, Cliff, Messenger, Dominic, Muhlfriedal, Mick, Pelfrey, Danny, Pesquira, Walterio, Richman, Lucas, Ridley, Stephen, Salvay, Bennett, Scaturro, Pete, Shaw, George, Venable, James, Vitarelli, Joseph, Warren, Mervyn, Wurman, Alex, Classical The BMI Conducting Workshop recently completed its ninth year at the American Federation of Musicians Local 47 in Hollywood, Calif. "Conducting for the Film Composer" is a two-week course taught by conductor/composer Lucas Richman and coordinated by BMI's Ray Yee, Senior Director of Film/Television Relations.

Front Row (L-R): Composer Andreas Kapsalis, contractor David Low, pianist Alan Steinberger, workshop instructor Lucas Richman, BMI's Ray Yee, concert master Endre Granat, BMI's Anne Cecere, and composers Walterio Pesqueira, Joseph Julian Gonzalez and James Venable. Back Row (L-R): Editor Chris Ledesma, cellist Victor Lawrence, composers George Shaw and Mervyn Warren, violinist Mark Robertson, and composers Stephen Ridley, Joseph Vitarelli and Phil Shrut. Photo by Annamaria DiSanto

Designed for composers who wish to refine their conducting skills, the free annual workshop is limited to eight BMI-affiliated professional film and television composers. This year's students included Joseph Julian Gonzalez (Resurrection Blvd., Price of Glory), James Venable (Powerpuff Girls, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks 2), Joseph Vitarelli (Revelations, Last Seduction), Andreas Kapsalas (Black Gold, Sundance Composer Lab fellow), Mervyn Warren (Honey, The Wedding Planner, A Walk to Remember), Walterio Pesquira (Mujeres Insumisas, La Usurpadora, Plaza Sesamo [Sesame Street]), Stephen Ridley (The Sharktank Redemption) and George Shaw (Purity, Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt).

A highly touted lab, past participants include composers Cliff Martinez, Stewart Copeland, Camara Kambon, Danny Pelfrey, Richard Gibbs, Bill Brown, Bennett Salvay, Rolfe Kent, Julie and Steve Bernstein, Mark De Gli Antoni, Anthony Marinelli, Alex Wurman, Pete Scaturro, Mick Muhlfriedal, Dominic Messenger, Gary Kuo and Laura Karpman.

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 Joseph Julian Gonzalez (Resurrection Blvd., Price of Glory), James Venable (Powerpuff Girls, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks 2), Joseph Vitarelli (Revelations, Last Seduction), Andreas Kapsalas (Black Gold, Sundance Composer Lab fellow), Mervyn Warren (Honey, The Wedding Planner, A Walk to Remember), Walterio Pesquira (Mujeres Insumisas, La Usurpadora, Plaza Sesamo [Sesame Street]), Stephen Ridley (The Sharktank Redemption) and George Shaw (Purity, Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt).

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, Camara Kambon, Danny Pelfrey, Richard Gibbs, Bill Brown, Bennett Salvay, Rolfe Kent, Julie and Steve Bernstein, Mark De Gli Antoni, Anthony Marinelli, Alex Wurman, Pete Scaturro, Mick Muhlfriedal, Dominic Messenger, 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, Film/TV Relations. "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 composers' repertoires."

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.

Mr. 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, Richman 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 their 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 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, André Previn, Herbert Blomstedt and Kurt Sanderling.

A limited amount of class auditors will be welcomed on an advanced approval basis. Requests for auditors should be sent to Yee at RYee@bmi.com.]]> 2006-07-27T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234505 Bernstein, Julie, Bernstein, Steve, Brown, Bill, Cavit, Stephen Thomas, Copeland, Stewart, De Gli Antoni, Mark, Gibbs, Richard, Kambon, Camara, Karpman, Laura, Kent, Rolfe, Kuo, Gary, Langsbard, Brian, Marinelli, Anthony, Martinez, Cliff, Messenger, Dominic, Muhlfriedel, Mick, Pelfrey, Danny, Richman, Lucas, Salvay, Bennett, Scaturro, Pete, Speier, Eric, Tin, Christopher, Wurman, Alex, Classical, Film-TV Lucas Richman
Photo: Pittsburgh Symphony

The BMI Conducting Workshop will kick off its eighth year on August 5 at the American Federation of Musicians Local 47 in Hollywood, Ca. "Conducting for the Film Composer" is a two-week course taught by conductor/composer Lucas Richman and coordinated by BMI's Ray Yee, Director of Film/Television Relations.

Designed for composers who wish to refine their conducting skills, the Workshop is free and limited to eight BMI-affiliated professional film and television composers. This year's students include Bill Brown (CSI: NY, Trapped), Stephen Cavit (Blue Vinyl, Chuck & Buck), Mark De Gli Antoni (Cherish, member of Soul Coughing), Camara Kambon (Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Biker Boyz, theme for Girlfriends), Brian Langsbard (Johnny Skidmarks, City Confidential), Mick Muhlfriedel (Animalicious, Adventures of ARK), Eric Speier (Complete Savages, Mission Hill, Mullets) and Christopher Tin (Jacob's Gift, Babysitting).

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, Dominic Messenger, 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. "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 composer's repertoire."

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.

Mr. 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, Richman 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 their 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 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, André Previn, Herbert Blomstedt and Kurt Sanderling.

A limited number of class auditors will be welcomed on an advanced approval basis. Email Ray Yee to request approval.]]> 2005-07-28T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/podcasts/container/135892 Danny Pelfrey discusses Gives advice for aspiring writers Pelfrey, Danny, Film-TV, In Their Own Words, Video, 2005, BMI Film TV Awards 2005-05-17T18:00:00-05:00