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

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 Senior Director of Film/Television Relations Ray Yee and BMI’s Film/TV Relations staff.

Highly specialized, coursework will include developing conducting technique, working with live players ranging from piano duet to full chamber orchestra; 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.

Workshop alumni include composers Cliff Martinez, Stewart Copeland, Rolfe Kent, Camara Kambon, Richard Gibbs, Bennett Salvay, Julie and Steve Bernstein, Anthony Marinelli, Alex Wurman, Jeff Beal, Mervyn Warren, Joseph Vitarelli, Tyler Bates, Gary Kuo and Laura Karpman.

A limited number of class auditors will be welcomed on an advanced approval basis. Requests for auditors should be sent to Yee at ryee@bmi.com.

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/334745 Artists, Franklin, Aretha, Gibbs, Richard, Korn, Lim, Hanna, Musical Styles, Film-TV Hanna Lim has been named the 2006 BMI Film Scoring Scholarship recipient at Berklee College of Music, it was announced today. Lim, a double major in Film Scoring and Contemporary Writing & Production, received the scholarship at the Boston, Mass., school during a presentation by BMI composer and 1977 Berklee graduate Richard Gibbs, in whose name this year's scholarship is given; Doreen Ringer-Ross, BMI Vice President, Film/TV Relations; Berklee President Roger Brown; and Berklee Film Scoring Department Chair Don Wilkins.

From left: Berklee President Roger Brown, Film Scoring Assistant Chair Michael Rendish, 2006 BMI Film Scoring Scholarship recipient Hanna Lim, BMI's Doreen Ringer-Ross, film composer and Berklee alumnus Richard Gibbs and Film Scoring Chair Don Wilkins. Photo by Nick Balkin

The BMI Film Scoring Scholarship is a yearly tuition scholarship chosen on the basis of compositional maturity and talent, as well as financial need. Each year, the scholarship is given in the name of a noted BMI composer. Gibbs, this year's honored composer, taught a master class on film scoring as part of the ceremony.

Gibbs' film scoring credits include Dr. Doolittle, Say Anything, Fatal Instinct, Ten Things I Hate About You, 28 Days and many others. He has also scored many television shows, including the first season of The Simpsons, and was musical director for The Tracey Ullman Show. His performing credits include several years as keyboard player with rock band Oingo Boingo and tours with Chaka Khan and Robert Palmer; he subsequently became music director for Chaka Khan. He has also worked with such diverse artists as Korn, Melissa Etheridge, Aretha Franklin, the Staples, Tom Waits and Tom Jones.

Originally from Seoul, Korea, Hanna Lim moved to Oklahoma at age 17 and earned a degree in Economics and Chinese at the University of Michigan. After four years working at a venture capital firm in Calif., she decided to pursue music full time, enrolling at Berklee to study film scoring. Currently, she works as the U.S. representative/writer for B.I.G. Entertainment, an entertainment company she founded with two other Berklee alumni that specializes in pop music production, recording and artist management in Korea. Lim plans to graduate in the fall and move to Los Angeles to start a career in the film and television music business.

"This scholarship continues our mission of supporting young and emerging composers at the college level," stated BMI's Ringer-Ross. "We support Berklee's commitment to excellence in music and film scoring and their determination to further the growth of talented, trained and educated composers."

Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music was through the study and practice of contemporary music. For over half a century, the college has evolved constantly to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. With over a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing more than 70 countries, and a music industry "who's who" of alumni, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today - and tomorrow.]]> 2006-03-29T17:00:01-05:00 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/news/entry/234263 Artists, Gibbs, Richard, Musical Styles, Film-TV, Musicworld, Feature Richard Gibbs celebrates in the studio as he puts the finishing touches on his score to the upcoming feature film Fat Albert. In theaters on Christmas Day, the live-action comedy features all the lovable characters from Bill Cosby's hit animated TV series stepping out of their inner-city Philadelphia world from the 70s onto the big screen in 2004.

Pictured in the studio are producer John Davis, composer Richard Gibbs, Fox's Danielle Diego, director Joel Zwick, music supervisor Dave Jordan, Soundtrack Music Associates' John Tempereau and BMI's Ray Yee.

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.]]> 2004-07-06T18:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/podcasts/container/133434 Richard Gibbs discusses Working on Fat Albert, Battlestar Galactica, and a project with Clive Barker. Gibbs, Richard, Film-TV, In Their Own Words, Video, 2004, BMI Film TV Awards 2004-05-11T18:00:00-05:00