Web: tylerstrickland.com 

Contact: Emma Rose Rowell, emma. rowell@impact24pr.com 

Most Recent: Sly, Class 57: Navajo Police, Thriller 40 

Touring guitarist-turned-composer Tyler Strickland’s credits include Sly, a documentary on the life and career of Sylvester Stallone, Class 57: Navajo Police, a three-part docuseries centered on the class training of the Navajo Police’s 57th task force, and Thriller 40, a documentary celebrating the 40th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s iconic album. 

“Composing for documentaries absolutely has its own set of challenges separate from, say, drama or comedy. The filmmakers had to earn the trust of the subjects in the film, and there is a sense of responsibility on the post-production team to do right by that,” Strickland says. “I do love that layer of responsibility in scoring for documentaries; it feels like we’re contributing to real stories and making a tangible change in the world. I would say that often one of the biggest hurdles in composing for docs is remembering to practice restraint with the music.” 

Strickland says he approaches a new project by having long conversations with the directors about their vision. “I prefer when the filmmakers are vague about what specific instruments they want or don’t want. Some might say, for instance, that clarinet is a silly instrument that should only be in comedy, but it can be incredibly haunting and mysterious if you treat it with the right effects.” he says. 

“I can’t stress enough how important it is to record audio,” Strickland advises aspiring composers. “It’s so easy today to get caught up in only using sample libraries. While many of them are amazing, unfortunately everyone’s using the same sounds. Make your own.” This practice also helps kickstart new projects: “I usually start a film by spending a week creating loops, textures and drones, so when going into the project, I have a bunch of sounds to mess around with.” 

Website: markortonmusic.com

Contact: Sarah Roche, 

Most recent: The Holdovers

Mark Orton got into composing at a young age under the mentorship of a high school teacher, afterward working his way into film composing when the music from his acoustic chamber music group – Tin Hat Trio – began getting licensed in film. “I was also doing commissions for dance companies, narrative podcasts, music with This American Life, and I had engineering chops, so when film offers started coming my way, I had a sound that I was associated with,” Orton says.

Most recently, Orton again teamed with director Alexander Payne, with whom he collaborated on 2013’s Nebraska, on the new film The Holdovers, producing a ’70s-theme score with vintage recording techniques and instruments. “[The ’70s] is a great era to channel. I’m a bit young for it, but I had a brother 10 years older, and like a lot of younger brothers, I coveted his record collection. When I was a kid in the late ’70s, he was bringing me to concerts like Elton John, Billy Joel, so it’s a sound I grew up listening to. I’m also into vintage gear and collect instruments from that era, so the sound was kind of already in my wheelhouse,” Orton says. “I always hope to connect to a project on some level, whether it’s a character or the story’s arc or a subject I care about.” 

Orton’s advice to aspiring composers: learn the technical side of music. “There is a practical reality to the fact that, in the early stages of composing, unless the Cohen brothers are your uncles, you’re going to have to demo things and put reels together, and if you don’t have your tech act together, you’re asking a lot of your potential director to listen past those tech deficiencies,” he says. “Secondly, you can’t have your own musical agenda. You’re trying to realize the vision of someone else. It’s not your solo album. That’s not what this career is. It’s a collaborative work, and the best collaborators will allow for a degree of artistic freedom, but in the end, you’re answering a question for them.”

Web: linkedin.com/in/ericfosterwhite

Contact: Mike Jones, mjones@shorefire.com

Most Recent: MusicClubKids

Eric Foster White credits his alma mater, the University of Miami, for drastically raising the bar for his musical standards and setting him on the path to becoming the Grammy-nominated songwriter, producer, musician and screenwriter he is today. A trombone player who once toured with Frank Sinatra, Foster White traded the horn for a career in producing and songwriting after his demo recordings led to a contract with Jive Records. He then went on to write several hit records for the likes of Whitney Houston, Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys.

These days, White is working on MusicClubKids!, a YouTube musical show for kids in which White—with the permission of the original artists and songwriters—has transformed some of the day’s biggest pop hits into kid-friendly songs and narratives. The idea sprang from a car ride with his three-year-old niece. 

“Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’ came on the radio, her mom clicked it off because of the lyrics, and my niece was perturbed, because she loves that song,” he says. On the spot, White came up with the idea for the more age-appropriate “I’m in Love with My Doggy”—an adaptation of Sheeran’s song.

“It’s like Weird Al-meets-KIDZ BOP,” White says. “And we don’t want to denigrate the original artists’ songs; the idea is just to introduce these pop songs to the next generation.” MusicClubKids! has just released a holiday album, which adapts OneRepublic’s “Runaway” to the new “Holidays,” and Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” into “Ask Santa.” White says that industry opportunities are actually better for aspiring songwriters today. 

“Music is less a monoculture; there are more niche markets and niche styles,” he says. “It’s still competitive, but now there are lots of other artists, maybe of lesser stature, that you can start out writing for."

Web: mariusdevries.com 

Contact: Jen Appel - jen@theoriel.co

Most Recent: Dicks: The Musical

Songs for A24’s first-ever movie musical, Dicks: The Musical, were created by composers Marius de Vries (Moulin Rouge!, La La Land) and Karl Saint Lucy. Though a newcomer to film scoring, Saint Lucy wrote the music (with the film’s directors and stars Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp) for the original stage play Fucking Identical Twins, on which the movie is based.  

De Vries, who met the film’s directors years ago, says Dicks was one of the most fun projects he has ever worked on. In contrast to the absurdist plot and song lyrics, the musical score is classically orchestrated and true to what one would expect from an off-Broadway musical. “I think in the music department, Karl and I felt a quiet responsibility to be the grownups in the room. We felt the compositional arrangement and execution had to have a real sincerity and act as the skeletal support for all the craziness of the film. We wanted to play it straight with the music,” de Vries says. 

Saint Lucy says the biggest challenge of co-writing the music was that the experience was a first for him. “I’d done limited symphonic arranging, but this was a very hands-on experience and Marius was gracious in giving me a chance at orchestrating songs,” he says. “We can feel starved for opportunities that fit, and I’m so grateful my first piece gets to be something that’s so ‘me.’” 

De Vries’ advice to aspiring composers is not to enter a project with lukewarm feelings: “Only do it if you must. It should be an inescapable imperative in your life, where the alternative is so terrible to contemplate, you have no choice. Then you’re qualified. You need that level of obsession to drive you through the times when it’s not working.”   

Saint Lucy says: “When I first signed on to Fucking Identical Twins, I was just working with my friends who I was doing comedy with. If I did something right, it’s that I said ‘yes’ at a time when I was very broke and in no position to take on a creative investment. Really think about who you can see yourself working with in the long run, and make your career about developing those relationships.” •

Web: heavyhittersmusic.com, mimecorp.com

Contact: Bill Greenwood, bill@jaybirdcom.com

Tim Burnett is the VP of Business and Publishing Administration at Heavy Hitters Music, a boutique song catalog and music publisher that pitches for sync placements in film, television, games and more. It’s part of the Made in Memphis Entertainment family of companies, where Burnett is also VP of Music Publishing Administration. “This job requires a love of music, obviously, but going beyond that, you have to have a knowledge of a diversity of music. Everyone has styles they gravitate to, but in the sync world, we’re looking for everything. We say that when we pitch clients. Pop may be a 10-lane highway, metal might be a dirt road, but all music has a lane. You have to be able to listen to all those styles of music and find out where they fit,” Burnett says. 

Heavy Hitters and MIME offer regular “sync camps,” during which their writers, artists and producers collaborate with other companies to create music licensing opportunities, which most recently resulted in a placement in Season 2 of the Showtime series Your Honor starring Bryan Cranston. 

“In the sync world, you don’t know what you’re going to get from day to day, which makes it exciting,” Burnett says. “Any given day we could get a brief asking for anything―something that sounds similar to Drake, or something that has a ‘60s Motown sound. We never know what someone is going to be asking for, so it’s always interesting.”  

But the amount of content available through streaming platforms is also the most challenging part of the job, Burnett says. “We’re constantly trying to identify and fill gaps in the catalog, and we also know that it is a very competitive space. Everything we’re pitching for―other companies are pitching for the same thing. That’s why it’s so rewarding when we land a placement.” 

Burnett says being a good student is one of the most valuable skills someone aspiring to work in the sync licensing world can have. “When I look to acquire talent, a willingness to learn and just being open to the possibilities is the most valuable,” he says. •

Composer

Website: joyngiaw.com

Contact: kate.twilley@impact24pr.com

Most Recent: Glamorous

Award-winning composer Joy Ngiaw’s music can be heard in Blush, Short Circuit: Jing Hua, Rescued by Ruby, and now, Netflix’s Glamorous, starring Kim Cattrall and non-binary performer Miss Benny. For the latter, Ngiaw forewent her usual orchestral style for more contemporary, pop influences and experimenting with plug-ins. 

Drawn to projects that prompt nostalgia and connection with characters, the classically trained Ngiaw said Glamorous is a “very special show” that focuses on a wide range of LGBTQ+ experiences and pushed her out of her musical comfort zone. “I’m deeply fascinated by the complexity of human emotions and the range of experiences we can have. It’s beautiful to remember something, whether it’s good or bad, because that shapes who we are. I want my scores to represent a very diverse range of human experiences,” Ngiaw says. 

“In Glamorous there’s lots of light-hearted and comedic moments, but also emotional and tender moments. What drew me to the show was each character has their own storyline, and so often LGBTQ+ characters are side characters or fit a certain mold. This show is really unashamed of showcasing their wide range of experiences: finding their identity, exploring work relationships, family dynamics, love interests. I got excited to write music that humanizes those experiences.” 

Glamorous was also Ngiaw’s first foray into composing for television, which introduced her to a more fast-paced environment. “I think a piece of music is done when I watch the scene, and I’m not noticing my music―only the storyline or characters. When I can just watch it and am completely engrossed.” 

Ngiaw says it’s important for aspiring composers to find films, shows and other projects that speak to them. “Remember, it’s something you’ll work on for a while, so find the project you’re passionate about,” she says. “At that point, let your passion and inspiration take over. And make sure you have a good team―I’ve realized the importance of having a music editor, assistant and additional writers you can count on. They’ll be there when the deadlines are coming close.” •

Composer

Web: sandromorales.com

Contact: kate.twilley@impact24pr.com

Most Recent: Kold x Windy, Restaurants at the Edge of the World

Sandro Morales-Santoro is an award-winning composer as well as a part of the executive committee of the Composers Diversity Collective to help connect composers of color with opportunities to advance their careers. He recently worked on WeTV’s Kold x Windy, pulling inspiration from hip-hop and drill music, and National Geographic/Disney+’s Restaurants at the Edge of The World, his second collaboration with co-composer David Benjamin Steinberg and director Jeremy Simmons.

His musical background includes popular and folk influences from his native Venezuela, an education in classical music, as well as interests in jazz and electronic music. “When I started as a composer in L.A., I was afraid of bringing too much of my cultural background into my music,” he says. “There have been a few times when I was interviewing for a composing job, and they said, ‘So all you can write is Latin music?’ I wanted to prove I could do music that wasn’t necessarily representative of where I come from, and when you start out, you’re trying to just imitate what the greats are doing. With time, I’ve learned to accept and embrace who I am, not care so much and try to bring those elements into my music.” 

Morales-Santoro says he loves the challenge of working on a variety of different projects, from animated film to documentaries. “The work is unexpected. I constantly need to evolve my sound, learn new instruments, new sound libraries. Having to face that and figuring out how to define a project’s concept through music, work with the director―I love those challenges.” 

Morales-Santoro advises aspiring composers to remember the old adage: “It’s a marathon, not a sprint. In the beginning, I always felt in a rush, worried about things happening fast enough, but you have to take it one step at a time,” he says. “You have to network, you have to work on your craft, and then you have to work on your voice, which is what sets you apart from the rest and makes people interested in hiring you over someone else.” 

Web: instagram.com/thedamonelliottshow

Contact: Maureen O’Connor, moconnor.priest@yahoo.com

Most Recent: Hits! the Musical

Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated Damon Elliott has decades of credits as a producer, composer and music video director, including with his mom—world-renowned hitmaking vocalist Dionne Warwick, for whom he’s manager and producer. Earlier this year, Elliott produced and directed a video for “Peace Like a River,” a gospel duet between Warwick and Dolly Parton. Now, Elliott and Warwick are co-executive producing Hits! The Musical, a 50-city national tour of 29 young artists, ages 10-22, singing and performing 80 of America’s most iconic songs, spanning five decades. 

“My manager connected me with Bob Gries, the main producer, and Mom and I went to check out the show in Florida. We were floored by it, and every time we see it, it keeps getting better,” Elliott says. “I was brought on to raise awareness, give advice, mentor these kids. My goal is to see the show all the way to Broadway, eventually. And my way of getting there is by starting with a residency in Vegas, let people enjoy it, and then, hopefully, end up in New York. The rest is history.” 

Elliott’s career has included directing a lot of music videos and working on music that’s coupled with visual media. He said he loves manipulating picture with music, and figuring out how to enhance a visual message through music. “I’ve always enjoyed turning the volume off on movies to see the different emotions you can evoke through music. I can take a funny scene and maybe evoke an emotion of sadness with the right music. I can take a sad scene and evoke an emotion of laughter.”  

Elliott advises aspiring producers to learn their craft. “I got into the business at a very early age, but my mom didn’t let me produce or direct her until she knew I had the experience,” he says. “And you have to stay persistent and honest with who you are. Never let anything sway you. Sometimes, when you think you just had your big breakthrough, it turns out to just be a stepping stone. But you have to stay persistent.” •

Director

Web: instagram.com/officialthomasmignone

Contact: Camille Espada, camille@espadapr.com

Most Recent: The Latin from Manhattan 

At a time when music videos for heavy bands tended to embrace a darker aesthetic, director Thomas Mignone was at the forefront of a new trend when he created Mudvayne’s “Dig” video in 2001, which won the first MTV M2 Video Music Award and featured the heavy metal artists against a bright and colorful backdrop. “We lit the band with flashlights, and pulled the shutter out of the camera,” Mignone says of directing the video. “That was a unique way to shoot, and it allowed the video to be super vibrant. It kind of went against the grain and established a new look for metal videos—they didn’t have to be dark and gloomy.”

    Drawn to the art form as it married his two passions of music and video, Mignone got his start by chasing down indie punk and metal bands and offering to create their music videos, and he credits MTV for pushing the art form of visual music forward. “Artists want a director who understands how much passion and work they pour into their music and will give that same level of detail and originality when it comes to their videos. That’s what I try to bring to those music video projects,” says Mignone, who directed the No. 1 MTV Buzz Clip for The Dirty Heads’ “Lay Me Down.”

    Eventually, Mignone transitioned to       directing feature films, often collaborating on scores and soundtracks with some of the musical artists for whom he created videos. Most recently, he directed The Latin From Manhattan, based on the life of adult film star Vanessa Del Rio.

    Mignone says those aspiring to create have so many tools and resources at their fingertips today, there’s no excuse for a mediocre product. “When I listen to a piece of music or hear a song that inspires me, I immediately think about how I could visualize that in an exciting way. That synergy is something that you should take seriously,” he says. “Something I’ve always heard from artists: ‘You really brought out what we were trying to say musically.’ If you’re an unknown music video director, you have to ask yourself how can you create something that will represent what the artist wants reflected?” •

    “One of the first conversations the director and I had was about what technology means in terms of how it changes communication from human to human. What is lost, what is distorted?” Scherle says. “From there, I found a study on audio compression and how it’s perceived by regular people listening to music. The common finding was that compressed audio files are more anxiety-provoking than real instruments, and I wanted to see what the emotional effect would be if I compressed files over and over.” The result was Missing’s techy, unnerving score, with Scherle’s experimentation with A.I. to resynthesize audio material.

    “A.I. is a huge topic right now in so many different areas of life, and there’s a question of how you can incorporate that in the creative process and not be fearful of being replaced by it,” Scherle says. “I learned a lot about machine-learning and how to incorporate that into my work. It’s evolving so quickly, and there are so many new ways to implement it.”

    With so much possibility now in the music composition world thanks to technology, Scherle says there is still a very human element in eliciting an emotional response through music, and developing your voice as a composer. “When I listen to something, I ask myself, ‘Do I have a reaction to this? Does my gut say this music means something?’ I think that’s where your personality and your unique voice comes in.”