Author
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Topic: anyone ever written to their favorite composer?
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dantoris
Oscar® Winner
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Or any composer you like?Just wondering what the chances are of getting a response. I've been wanting to write to Elia Cmiral lately. (I've gotten responses from other people I've written to before, so I guess the chances of Elia writing back would be somewhat good? I take it I would address it to him, c/o his agency? (I already have the address). Thanks for any help you guys can give. NP: Battlefield Earth - "Trench Attack" ****/***** (Best track of the score) [This message has been edited by dantoris (edited 28 May 2000).]
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posted 05-28-2000 03:17 PM PT (US) ip
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Howard L
Oscar® Winner
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Well, just yesterday I decided our meeting was too short and so I typed out a letter, sneaked down to the concert hall and got a pinky-swear guarantee from a sweet young lady that she would deliver it to Mr. Jarre personally.
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posted 05-28-2000 03:26 PM PT (US) ip
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Scott
Oscar® Winner
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I handed John Williams a letter after a rehearsal. Don't know if he ever read, he surely never responded...then again I told him he didn't really have to. Just wanted to let him know how much his music has meant to me.
Scott
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posted 05-28-2000 04:29 PM PT (US) ip
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Marc Flake
Oscar® Winner
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I haven't, but I'm seriously considering sending Carter Burwell a note to ask him to burn a CD of his tracks to MYSTERY ALASKA for me. Heck, I'd PAY him to do it. Name your price Mr. Burwell!Marc
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posted 05-28-2000 04:33 PM PT (US) ip
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Howard L
Oscar® Winner
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Attn: ScottWe are on the same page.
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posted 05-28-2000 04:36 PM PT (US) ip
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JJH
Oscar® Winner
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Marc,
I was thinking the same thing about his Two Bits score.I rented the movie today. First off, it's a pretty darn good movie [from Miramax I think]. It is a SHAME they did not release a score. They I can see a little why they. It is a tad repeptitive, yet the most beautiful of Burwell's scores.
[This message has been edited by JJH (edited 28 May 2000).]
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posted 05-28-2000 04:37 PM PT (US) ip
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logied
Oscar® Winner
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Back when John Williams was conductor of the
Boston Pops he was going to leave after about 3 years or so. I wrote to him via the
Pops telling him I hope he stays and the differences between him and the orchestra
could be ironed out. I also expressed my
love of his score to Jane Eyre and how much
difficulty I had in getting the LP. I got back a typed form letter signed by a someone
thanking me about my wishs for him to stay.
Hand written on the bottom of the paper was
a note giving me the day that the pops would
play a couple of cues from Jane Eyre in concert for the 1st time. It also said, "Its one of my favorites also" signed JW
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posted 05-28-2000 04:42 PM PT (US) ip
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James
Oscar® Winner
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Right before I started my Richard Band fan page, I wrote to his agency asking for info (I was humble enough to not even mention promos), but they never responded.As far as writing to a composer, no I have never done this (excepting, of course, our good friend Aaron Collins). James
NP - Dinosaur (*****)
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posted 05-28-2000 07:22 PM PT (US) ip
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JJH
Oscar® Winner
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I did write to John Ottman once about Incognito, and he wrote me a nice long letter of thanks.
Cool guy that Ottman fellow.
John Beal also thanked me once for mentioning his name on the rec.music.movies newsgroup.
NP -- Rautavaara, Angel of Light
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posted 05-28-2000 08:21 PM PT (US) ip
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Scott
Oscar® Winner
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Howard L,and what a page it is...
Scotty
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posted 05-28-2000 09:31 PM PT (US) ip
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DjC
Oscar® Winner
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I argued with John Beal over his crappy cd, the Trailer Project filth thingy, since i posted a negative review on amazon.com, with my e-mail, John Beal e-mailed me wondering why i posted so negatively. We bitched at each other over around 5 or 6 e-mails, it was highly entertaining, and i realized he is a snob/////lol This really happened by the way, and he really is a snob...Adios
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posted 05-28-2000 09:34 PM PT (US) ip
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H Rocco
Oscar® Winner
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I believe that Marc Shaiman has communicated with one of our Board members (no, not me). And Jonathan Sheffer (better known for conducting for Elfman and Goldenthal) wrote ME a letter once, after reading a glowing review I wrote of his first official score release, IN A SHALLOW GRAVE. It was a thrill and a half. (I bought the thing because Varese was touting it as the finest album by an unknown composer that they'd ever issued. It's one of the best such issues *I* know of.) And I used to exchange New Year's cards with Masaru Sato, if that counts.
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posted 05-28-2000 10:01 PM PT (US) ip
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Aaron Collins
Oscar® Winner
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Well, I have had the fortune to work with the following composers:-John Williams(Tanglewood)
-Ron Nelson(band composer, some film) I have had long chats with: -JNH(Very Cool Guy) -John Ottman(he has helped immensly and as JJH said very cool guy) -Alf Clausen(Simpsons) -Mark Isham(Very odd person, but helpful also) -John Debney(really did not talk much, except for 15 mins) -Alan Williams(Might intern with him) -John Powell, Harry G-W, and Jeff Rona -Lee Holdridge -and finally Joel Goldsmith Some people might be envious, but I am part of the SCL(filmscore.org) and it has been helpful to me. Also, being an established young composer, composers are very helpful with picking one or two up and putting them in the business. Thanks,
Aaron Collins NP: ID4
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posted 05-28-2000 10:07 PM PT (US) ip
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John C Winfrey
Oscar® Winner
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I corresponded with Goldsmith some in the early and mid-'80s. I just wrote him a letter telling him how much I had enjoyed his music over his career and a few months later I got a nice response. He said he had been overseas and had not intentionally ignored the letter. A few years later I got a letter from him telling me about his trials on Legend. It was very interesting. I think I received four from him altogether and a couple of other information mailings from his secretary. Very courteous. Best, John.
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posted 05-29-2000 06:22 AM PT (US) ip
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Greg Bryant
Oscar® Winner
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In 1978, I wrote to John Williams congratulating him on his Oscar win for Star Wars; I also did a short review of his other scores that year (Black Sunday and CE3K). He wrote a nice letter in response praising me on my analysis of the scores mentioned and also sent me a sort of vita of his previous and current work. I think at the time he was just becoming the fan icon that he is; his reply made it seem like he was a little unaccustomed to getting fan mail. Obviously, that has since changed.[This message has been edited by Greg Bryant (edited 29 May 2000).]
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posted 05-29-2000 10:18 AM PT (US) ip
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Lou Goldberg
Oscar® Winner
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I wrote to Miklos Rozsa and received a few letters in reply (one from Italy!) and received Xmas cards from him every year.I wrote to Georges Delerue and he gave me his phone number and invited me to visit him but he died before I ever could. A number of letters passed between me and Francoise Jaubert, the daughter of 30s French composer, Maurice Jaubert. Now, sadly, all three of these people are dead (although I did meet Francoise before she died). I have met other film composers. I once wrote to Elmer Bernstein and got a note from his secretary that he got my letter but didn't reply to letters personally. Yeah, right, whatever--I still love your music Elmer so it's cool. I'm really unsure whether composers like the positive feedback their fans give them or whether they look on facing their fans as another chore. These days I've lost the need to get in the face of artists I love---leave these people alone, they don't know you. It's enough for me to have their work without an additional contact.
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posted 05-29-2000 09:42 PM PT (US) ip
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AaronR1074
Oscar® Winner
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I just wrote a letter to Hans Zimmer this evening, and am now waiting a reply ( but I won't hold my breath). It was basicaly an appraisal and request of his release of lost cues. I'll let everyone know if I hear anything!NP - The Last Starfighter (Craig Safan) *****/***** Stunning fanfare! Great action cues! One of the coolest scifi scores that I've purchased. A must have!
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posted 05-29-2000 10:22 PM PT (US) ip
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S Smith
unregistered
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O.K. This didn't happen to me, but...I met a guy once who's pretty busy as an orchestrator in Hollywood (although not really well known). Anyway, he wrote a letter to Patrick Doyle telling him who he was and that he really liked his stuff. He didn't send this letter to hit him up for work; he just sent it like you or I would send a fan letter. So Patrick Doyle CALLED him from England, they talked a bit, and P.D. invited him to a recording session he was doing in L.A. Seems like a nice chap. NP: David Newman: "Heathers"
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posted 05-29-2000 10:58 PM PT (US) ip
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dantoris
Oscar® Winner
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Boy - All this talk is making me feel a little bit better about sending one off to Mr. Cmiral. I think I'll get something type up this week and mail if off. I'll let you all know if I hear anything (I assume it could be awhile, though).NP: Raiders of the Lost - "The Miracle of the Ark" *****/***** (God! This is without a doubt my all-time favorite score. It's simply amazing--no, astounding! I spent five minutes looking through my Thesaurus and couldn't find a word grandiose enough to identify this piece of work. Williams' masterpiece - IMHO.)
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posted 05-29-2000 11:25 PM PT (US) ip
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debi
Oscar® Winner
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I'm thinking it's a likelier shot if a composer is just starting out. It's the sheer volume of mail, I think, that may prevent established composers from responding. It's not that they don't WANT to respond to every letter, but that they just CAN'T or they'd be doing nothing else. I think you can be fairly certain your letter will be READ, even if not responded to.Don't know if this is true of all composers, but there are composer fan sites with message boards on the Net--do composers generally respond there?
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posted 05-31-2000 10:33 AM PT (US) ip
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MagnumPI99
Oscar® Nominee
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This didn't happen to me, but I heard another nice story about Patrick Doyle. A fan met him at a premiere, mentioned she'd written him a letter (at the time he was sick, I think). He asked if he'd written back, she said no (she hadn't been expecting a reply), and so he said, "Write me again." Which she did, and something like 3 days later she got a reply.But I agree I think most composers are really really busy. As far as message boards... I hope film composers have a life and stay off the time wasting internet!!!
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posted 06-01-2000 03:44 AM PT (US) ip
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Marian Schedenig
Oscar® Winner
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This is a good opportunity to finally ask what's been on my mind for some time: When exactly (more or less exactly) was Doyle sick? Just curious.NP: The Omen: The Essential Jerry Goldsmith Film Music Collection (A shorter title would have been a good idea)
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posted 06-01-2000 05:16 PM PT (US) ip
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dantoris
Oscar® Winner
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Marian - How about The Omen: The Essential Jerry Goldsmith Film Music Collection, as Conducted by Nic Raine and Performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic and the Crouch End Festival Chorus?Say that title three times fast! 
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posted 06-01-2000 05:26 PM PT (US) ip
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MagnumPI99
Oscar® Nominee
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quote:
Originally posted by Marian Schedenig:
This is a good opportunity to finally ask what's been on my mind for some time: When exactly (more or less exactly) was Doyle sick? Just curious.
If I m not mistaken, he was diagnosed with leukemia in October 1997 and had chemotherapy treatment until the following spring at which time he went into remission. During that time he was writing the music for Quest For Camelot.
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posted 06-01-2000 06:23 PM PT (US) ip
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Marian Schedenig
Oscar® Winner
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Haven't heard Quest for Camelot so far. But what a luck he recovered again!NP: The album with that looong title 
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posted 06-02-2000 09:14 AM PT (US) ip
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debi
Oscar® Winner
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MagnumPI99--Actually a lot of creative people are GREAT procrastinators, composers included. And surfing is a terrific way to procrastinate! I know of at least two composers who post under their own names on fan sites, so who knows how many at least read if not post under assumed names.Oh, and hi to Marian!
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posted 06-02-2000 09:17 AM PT (US) ip
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Thor
Oscar® Winner
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I have exchanged some e-mails with Richard Elfman's (Danny's brother) girlfriend, and she was so nice as to send me a signed poster of MODERN VAMPIRES (both Rick's and Danny's autograph) among other things.I know that Danny is not too keen on his rabid following (there was once a fan hiding in the back seat of his car. He was furious about that) - both in terms of Boingo and film music. But I don't know how he is when it comes to letter-writing. Judging from his personality, I'd say he's not a big fan of it, but who knows?
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posted 06-02-2000 10:08 AM PT (US) ip
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