http://www.filmmusicsociety.org
FMS FEATURE...February 22, 2007
David Newman Elected President of The Film Music Society
Composer heads organization to preserve one of Hollywood's most essential assets: its music
Newman is one of today's most accomplished creators of music for film. His many box-office hits include such critically acclaimed dramas as Brokedown Palace and Hoffa; top-grossing comedies such as Norbit, Scooby-Doo, Galaxy Quest, The Nutty Professor, The Flintstones, Throw Mama From the Train and War of the Roses; and the animated films Ice Age, The Brave Little Toaster and Anastasia – the latter for which he earned an Academy Award nomination.
As FMS President, Newman succeeds composer Christopher Young (Spider-Man 3, Ghost Rider), who served in the position for the past four years. "The Society maintains a lifelong tradition of electing important film and television composers to its presidency," says the organization's Artistic Director Marilee Bradford. Past presidents include Elmer Bernstein (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Magnificent Seven), David Raksin (Laura, Forever Amber) and Herschel Burke Gilbert (The Rifleman, Burke's Law).
Newman is also active in the concert hall. He is currently composing a six-movement Concerto for Winds for the Long Beach (Calif.) Symphony Orchestra, premiering one movement at a time (spotlighting the flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn) throughout the symphony's 2006-07 season. The complete work, including a sixth movement showcasing all of the soloists, will be performed on June 9.
The son of nine-time Oscar-winning composer Alfred Newman, David Newman inherited his father's passion for conducting. He has conducted symphony orchestras throughout the country, including a significant weekend in May 2005 when he conducted the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Disney Concert Hall in a collection of landmark film scores such as Chinatown, Double Indemnity, Rebel Without a Cause and Sunset Boulevard. He will be leading the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in September for a night of music from the films of Paramount Pictures.
Newman's penchant for film music preservation is well-known and admired throughout the music community. He has spent considerable time unearthing and restoring film music classics for the concert hall, and headed the Sundance Institute's music preservation program in the late 1980s. He accepted the position of FMS President in homage to his father's historical contributions to the artform, and plans to bring to the Society a new emphasis – preserving the legacy of film music through live performance.
The Film Music Society, formed in the early 1970s and incorporated in 1984, works closely with institutions, estates, universities, publishers and composers for the preservation of published and unpublished scores, sketches, orchestrations and recordings; and related materials such as production papers, journalistic writings, photographs, and oral and written chronicles. It is the leading organization for film music preservation in the world with members in more than 20 countries, and is supported by entirely memberships and private donations.
For more information, visit www.filmmusicsociety.org.