As one of the co-founders of the Alliance for Women Film Composers, can you take us back to its beginnings? What inspired you to help create this organization, and what did those early days look like? Looking at the past decade, what meaningful changes have you witnessed within the industry and the community—both the progress worth celebrating and the challenges that still remain?

I first entered the world of film/TV scoring in the late 1980s.  I started out as a songwriter-performer, and at some point I was approached about making music for a very low-budget film.  I had never considered film scoring as a possible profession; I don’t have a formal music education but have always played instruments and written songs since I was a child.  From what I could see, there was no path from where I was to scoring films.  Bernard Herrmann, Elmer Bernstein, Nino Rota, George Gershwin, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry…those were film composers.  I’d never heard of or seen a woman film composer.  Nonetheless, I was really intrigued and thought if I used my imagination, I may be able to pull this off.  Turns out, I found it quite exciting, from the first moment I hit play on the video (no sync yet) and put my hands on the keyboard.  I had been creating complicated demos via overdubbing, and progressed to an 8-track system to continue exploring my musical ideas.  Once I had a few films under my belt, I decided to create a home studio.  Most of my friends thought I was crazy, but this allowed me to work on low-budget projects which otherwise would have cost a fortune to record and produce, given the high cost of studio time and tape.  After about 10 years, I was able to quit my day job (my working swing band) and make a living as a composer.

In 1997, by chance, I met a documentary filmmaker who was very highly regarded in that world.  When he told me about his film project, I felt so connected to the work.  Lightning struck, and I realized what was missing in my career: the fact that I had no idea what I was trying to achieve.  Working on Licensed to Kill with Arthur Dong was the turning point I had been waiting for.  He took me to Sundance, introduced me to a whole world of doc filmmakers, we won awards, and when I got home, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life.  I had found a filmmaking community who shared my values and whose work inspired me!  From that point on, I understood what I needed to keep going and was able to make informed decisions.  As my career progressed, I developed a real sense of purpose and direction; I finally understood my own goals and was able to really pursue them in a conscious way.  For almost 30 years, I have continued to work in the documentary community, finding inspiration, growth, community, and professional acknowledgment.

The support for artistic integrity in filmmaking and scoring has created an international community that has permeated the film industry, offering an alternative to the Hollywood mainstream.  The wonderful composer, Richard Bellis, calls it the “community gene”.  An understanding that we are stronger as a community than as competitors, and a desire to be part of making that happen.  When I first joined the board of the Society of Composers and Lyricists in the early 2000s, the only other woman on the board was Lori Barth, editor of The Score.  I knew there were many indie composers working outside the Hollywood system who could use the protection and support of our organization.  The whole business model for our profession was changing, and the SCL had to evolve to remain relevant.  Little by little, the organization began to reflect these changes and has become a behemoth, internationally recognized as representing our profession, lobbying for our interests, influencing the state of our art, creating the SCL Awards (which have become a mainstay of awards season and an influence on the Oscars), and more.  The SCL also continues to provide education and mentoring opportunities for career growth.

But even with all this progress, there was something blatantly missing.  I’ve been attending the BMI Film Music Awards since the late 1990s.  Sometimes one or two women received songwriter awards.  But year after year, it was terribly frustrating to wait the entire evening with bated breath, only to leave disappointed by the end of the night.  Where were our role models?  At a certain point, I became aware of Laura Karpman and Lolita Ritmanis.  We would wave to each other across the crowded room and commiserate about this over the dessert table at the end of the event.  It’s true that British composers Rachel Portman and Anne Dudley had won Academy Awards.  But that still didn’t account for the lack of women recognized over many years and hundreds of TV programs and films.

In 2013, I was invited to the Film Music Festival in Cordoba and asked to do an afternoon workshop in addition to my concert piece.  BMI’s wonderful Doreen Ringer Ross also asked me to be on a panel she was moderating with Rachel Portman and Beth Krakower.  The subject: Women in Film Music.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked what it’s like to be a woman composer.  I discovered the best answer to that question was another question: “Have you asked James Horner or Jerry Goldsmith what it’s like to be a male composer?”  That usually got a self-conscious laugh, but I think it made my point.  The panel turned out to be a huge success.  Doreen Ringer Ross from BMI committed to doing a smaller follow-up luncheon soon after that.  That was the first meeting of what was to become The Alliance for Women Film Composers.

I think there were about 25 attendees.  In this smaller group, we planned follow-up meetings and strategies.  We created a directory for women composers and organized an orchestral concert to shine a light on our work.  We had support from the PROs and some music executives – particularly Tony Scudellari, head of Sony TV Music – who reached out to some other studios on our behalf.  Chandler Poling and Thomas Mikusz of White Bear PR became consistent supporters of our cause and were instrumental in not only setting up our new organization but helping to run it and strategizing our public persona and outreach.  And much gratitude to Jon Burlingame and other journalists who shared our story and our accomplishments.  To this day, all of them and many other colleagues have been part of the success of the AWFC.  We collaborate with the SCL and other film music organizations to support and improve conditions.  For us founding members, it has been a joy to witness the organization continue to flourish and grow, with an international membership and so many programs for adapting to rapidly changing business and technologies.  And seeing more women represented in our profession!   When we started the organization, our goal was for it to be obsolete in 5 years.  Now we see there is still so much work to do in terms of opening doors, equalizing pay, and eliminating abuse.  But witnessing young generations of women composers stepping into leadership to continue this progress with new ideas is thrilling.  And as the industry faces media consolidation, AI, and collapsing budgets, AWFC is there to make sure our voices are part of the conversation.

Your work focuses largely on documentaries. What draws you to this form of storytelling, and why does it feel especially important or meaningful to you?

There has always been a duality in my life – music and activism.  I thought I had to choose one or the other.  Once I went to Sundance and discovered a global documentary community with whom I shared interests and values, I realized I could pursue my passion for writing music while working on projects that I resonate deeply with and want to support.  I feel so fortunate to have discovered a way to forge a career that reflects who I am and what matters to me. When teaching or mentoring, I try to emphasize the importance of respecting and nurturing creativity.  We deserve to have a career that fulfills us and makes us proud.

In addition to scoring several documentaries recently, you are also co-producing a film about singer-songwriter Laura Nyro. Can you share more about this project and what makes it particularly personal or significant for you?

When I was in college in the early 1970s, the artist who most captured my soul was the incomparable Laura Nyro. I must have listened to her records a million times over many years.  The lyrics were so intimate and authentically expressed what being a female in the world meant.  She was like an older sister, a guide to becoming a woman.  She maintained a very private life both during her stardom at age 19, and after leaving the mainstream record business by choice some years later.  When she died at 49 in 1997, it felt like the world was grieving.  There were radio show tributes all day long.  We realized we knew so little about her; she had maintained her mystique and privacy over many years.  A group of my fellow avid fans were together and my partner, journalist Michele Kort, said: “I wish someone had written a book about Laura.”  Another dear friend, music photographer Sherry Rayn Barnett said: “Why don’t YOU write the book”.  And so began Michele’s journey into what she called “Laura Land”.  Soul Picnic: The Music and Passion of Laura Nyro was published in 2002, and to this day is the definitive biography of the late singer-songwriter.  Michele passed away in 2015 and I was now the owner of this fabulous book.

A few years ago, I received a call from Michele’s agent about a film producer interested in optioning the book for a scripted film.  After many conversations, I convinced him that a documentary would better serve this subject.  And so, we began to put together a fantastic team led by director Lisa D’Apolito (Love Gilda, Shari Lewis & Lambchop).  We’ve been filming over the past year and are beginning to edit.  From Clive Davis, to Elton John and Bernie Taupin, to Alice Cooper, to Patti Labelle, and many producers and musicians who worked with her: everyone we talk to is thrilled to be part of telling Laura’s story and how she influenced so many of the music industry’s greatest artists.  Stay tuned!

You are deeply involved in education, teaching internationally at programs such as FMF Krakow and the VIFF Accelerator. What motivates your commitment to mentoring emerging composers and giving back to the community?

I never expected that I would go into teaching; I don’t have a formal music education. But as I got further along in my career, I was invited to be on film festival juries and panels, and eventually to give masterclasses.  Filmmaker colleagues who also teach at film schools started including me as a guest speaker.  They welcomed my perspective as an experienced film composer, and spread the word among their colleagues.  I was invited to give notes for many in-progress projects and I continue that to this day.  I learned how to talk about music and film in ways that resonate with filmmakers and started applying that to projects I was scoring.

Around 2006, I was invited to participate in the first Documentary Composers Lab for the Sundance Institute.  The whole concept of Sundance Programs was to build artist-to-artist communities that would provide support throughout their careers.  I saw how amazing it was to put filmmakers together with composers and have them learn by doing – together – with the benefit of feedback from advisors and their peers.  I continued with that program until it ended in 2022 due to funding issues after Covid.  This program had an immense positive global effect on independent film scoring, and its discontinuation leaves a huge void.  In my own small way, I hope to carry on its spirit.

In 2014, I became a “Film Expert” for the American Film Showcase, a collaboration between the US State Department and USC School of Cinema.  When World War II ended, this soft diplomacy program was created to spread democratic values via culture and arts programs hosted by American Embassies all over the world.  So far, I’ve been programmed in Borneo, Faroe Islands, Denmark, Czech Republic, Jordan, Georgia (the country), and Trinidad Tobago.  This is what got me started as a global educator.

In 2021, Richard Bellis recommended me to take over his Young Talent Award and Workshop that are part of the annual Krakow International Film Music Festival.  This gave me the opportunity to create a program based on all my experiences.  I developed an immersive masterclass exploring the filmmaker/composer creative collaboration, which currently is 5 weeks online and 1 week in-person during the festival.  That’s when we record an orchestra, mix the cues, and present either scored clips, or a live-to-picture concert to festivalgoers.  We invite four filmmakers: each provides one clip and is assigned three composers to score it.  It’s jam-packed with guided exercises to practice all aspects of this collaboration: productive communication, the role of music in the film, understanding each other’s process, and more.

Currently, I also run the VIFF Composer/Filmmaker Accelerator Program.  It’s been incredible to witness the effects of this in the enthusiasm of all the participants.  The workshop realizes some important goals: enhancing the ability of directors to choose and direct their score composers, and to understand music production and budgeting.  The composers learn how to get the information they need to accomplish this complex task, and develop a process to reduce the frustration and stress of misunderstanding the director’s vision.  I’ve discovered as much inspiration and joy doing these workshops as I have scoring films.

When working with young composers in these programs, what qualities or instincts stand out to you? What do you look for in the next generation of talent?

I get ample opportunities to interact with aspiring and upcoming talent, both filmmakers and composers.  I find that I can recognize those with the drive, resourcefulness, ingenuity, and commitment it takes to succeed in either of these careers.  In this tough and highly competitive world, that’s what breaks through the clutter.  In relation to composers, given the available technologies, good production skills and ability to “sound like” some genre can be confused with talent for film scoring by the uninformed.  So, I’m especially on the lookout for musical storytelling acumen and originality (most often called “a voice” or unique approach) rather than slick production that sounds like I’ve heard it before.  The best way to nurture new talent is for more experienced professionals to generously share all the things we’ve learned on our own journeys.  And to learn from them, as well: artist to artist.

As a composer, what brings you the greatest sense of joy or fulfillment in your work?

I absolutely love the process of discovering the “voice” of a film – putting my hands on the keyboard and emotionally responding to how I feel watching the footage. Developing a concept for a cohesive score. And then sharing these possibilities with my collaborators. I love making something with other talented artists: my filmmaker, the musicians, the editor, the mixers. Establishing successful collaborations is a real highlight of film scoring for me; together we bring the film to life. And experiencing the film with an audience: this is what keeps me coming back for more. Now I get to experience this vicariously via my workshops, but without the deadline pressure – for me!

Interview by Thomas Mikusz

Edited by Carolyn Koch

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