This is just a quick overview of all the great things that have been happening this last year:
Minari was nominated for a number of awards including a BAFTA and an Oscar nomination for Emile Mosseri. We have supported Emile on three big projects now and every time has been better and better. It’s so gratifying to be even a small part of a such a beautiful and lovingly produced project.
Joy Music House is hard at work on a fun Minari side project too. More to come on that later.
Horror in the High Desert is coming out soon! I composed the score for this. It’s an all new super fun and spooky feature from Dutch Marich, which will be coming to streaming very soon. This is just good ol’ pop your popcorn and get ready for scary fun. I got to write in a variety of styles of music for this. I started off all nice and gentle and just turned up the tension from there. Eventually there are some creepy drones, clusters, and orchestral effects. Once the film and soundtrack are out I will post more about that process.
This is a very different style than Reaptown, and I’m particularly excited for people to experience it.
The art exhibit Sanctuary of the Aftermath is opening April 10th at Angel’s Gate Cultural Center. Five Sanctuary songs will play as part of the exhibit. The exhibit itself is about the process of healing in a post-COVID world. The music for me became a way to help in the healing process of my father’s death. So it is a meditation on grief, and features dear friends on bansuri, English horn, and cello.
The museum experience includes a soundscape, wind, rain, birds, ocean waves, and various sounds that create a feeling of a journey through healing. And with vaccinations ramping up, it seems likely people will be able to make appointments to see the show in person!
And last but not least: the soundtrack to the Sundance Documentary Try Harder was just released, and the soundtrack has a couple of cues that I orchestrated and arranged on for composer Diana Salier. It’s a beautiful film and I’m excited for everyone to check it out!
Not that it is all been amazing. It hasn’t. These are the highlights. And they are amazing, and I’m grateful, but there have been lows. This last year has been hard. Between the constant stress of the pandemic, the wondering if we will come together as a civilization, a country, a community, if we will open our eyes and hearts to our fellow Americans amid the ongoing socio-political unrest… it is a lot. Especially when most people are just simply trying to live their lives and better themselves and their situation. But it seems so many are led by fear and misunderstanding. We need to change. I don’t know the right answer but I do know that if you are being led by love for the person before you, you are on the right path, and if you are being led by hate, you are not. That is all the rumination I have for now…