Winter 2009
New production company!
I'm very excited to announce that I just formed a production company, Overtone Films, LLC. All the forms are now in, and we're in business! Right now, the company's main focus is producing The Music-Cinema Project (see below for more about that). More news (and a company website) coming soon!
Added February 27, 2009
Book review in The Wagner Journal, and lecture at Hofstra
I will be reviewing Wagner and Cinema, a new anthology from Indiana University Press, in the November issue of The Wagner Journal. I am also lecturing next month at Hofstra University about Wagner and film. This is a rich and sometimes contentious subject matter which has always been a particular interest of mine. It seems like the topic of Wagner and film will be even more in the air next year, with the premiere of Robert Lepage's new multimedia "Ring" cycle at The Met.
Added February 20, 2009
Scene from The Laborer (2009).
The Music-Cinema Project
I recently started working on MUSIC-CINEMA- a project that I am producing, directing and editing. MUSIC-CINEMA is an ongoing series of short films inspired by pieces of great classical music. Each one of these "classical music videos" tells a story set to a classical soundtrack, without any dialogue.
The first film in the series, The Laborer, is now finished. It's an original story of a young peasant in 19th-century Russia, set to music by Modest Mussorgsky. I am currently shooting a new Music-Cinema film: a modern romance set to Debussy's Clair de Lune. You can watch an excerpt from The Laborer here.
The original idea for these films stems from my days as an orchestral conductor and violinist. As much as I loved being a musical performer, I also began looking for other ways to communicate the impact that music has on me, imaginatively and emotionally speaking.
Eventually, through screenings/concerts in diverse venues, I hope that these Music-Cinema films will bring classical music to new audiences-- highlighting the dramatic and imaginative power of great music, through the universal language of cinema.
THE MUSIC-CINEMA PROJECT is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. If you are interested in donating to the project, or know someone who might be, contributions in behalf of THE MUSIC-CINEMA PROJECT may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. You can donate to the project here. For more info about what Fractured Atlas does, take a look at their home page.
I look forward to bringing you more Music-Cinema films, and I appreciate your support!
Added December 19, 2009
Autumn 2009
Wagner Outside the "Ring" published by McFarland Press
A research article that I wrote about film and opera has just been published in a new book, Wagner Outside the "Ring": Essays on the Operas, Their Performance and Their Connections with Other Arts. The book contains original essays as well as interviews with the great singers Ben Heppner and Michelle DeYoung. My article examines the impact that Wagner's "music dramas" had on the development of the film industry. To find out more about the book, or to order a copy, please follow this link. The book will also be available soon in selected bookstores and libraries.
Added September 15, 2009
Summer 2009
Rethink Autism on CBS News
This year, I worked as video editor for Rethink Autism, a new Web-based program that provides training and support for caregivers of autistic children. On July 22, CBS News aired a piece about Rethink Autism, which you can watch here. The news story features clips from some of the videos that I edited for the company. (Click here to watch several of the videos in their entirety.)
Added July 26, 2009
Teaching at the Usdan Center
On weekdays, I’m teaching film production classes at the Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, an arts camp in Long Island. I teach two classes (separated by age) of students in grades 5—12. I’ve been a faculty member at Usdan since 2007, and as always, teaching these summer classes is a very inspiring part of my year.
Added July 11, 2009
Spring 2009
Screenings at the Van Cliburn Festival
The Reel Rosen film festival, part of this year’s Van Cliburn International Piano Festival in Fort Worth, included screenings of several PBS documentaries that I worked on: Shadows in Paradise (co-editor and researcher), A Workshop for Peace (co-writer and researcher), and In the Key of G: The Gilmore International Keyboard Festival (co-editor). All of these films were produced and directed by Peter Rosen.
Added July 11, 2009