The Return of Skywalker Sound Lab with BMI and Sundance

LOS ANGELES, CA, June 25, 2019 – Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), is proud to continue its support of the Sundance Institute Film Music and Sound Design Lab for more than two decades. The Lab returns to the Skywalker Sound legendary facilities for the seventh year from July 9-22. This year’s international group of fellows include Ho-Ling Tan, Jorge Aragón, Brito Gene Back, Ghiya Rushidat, Aska Matsuyami, Ozie Cargile, Sara Broshofske and Emily Rice, who represent a variety of countries from Cuba, Hong Kong, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the UK and the U.S.A.

During the Lab, composers, directors and sound designers will collaborate to develop music and sound for fiction and nonfiction film projects. Workshops and creative exercises, guided by leading film composers and sound designers acting as Creative Advisors, will mentor Fellows to explore sound and music’s crucial role in storytelling. A live chamber orchestra will perform each composer/director team’s original scores as part of the program. The Music and Sound Design Lab will once again run under the supervision of Peter Golub, Director of the Sundance Film Music Program and guidance of Josh Lowden, VP and General Manager of Skywalker Sound as a joint initiative of the Institute’s Film Music Program, Feature Film Program and Documentary Film Program. 

“For more than two decades we have been committed to supporting emerging composers from a wide range of musical, cultural and creative backgrounds through the Lab,” said Doreen Ringer-Ross, BMI Vice President Creative-Film, TV & Visual Media. “Over the years, the Lab has helped diversify the composition of the film composer community, and its alumni represent some of today’s most promising talents in the industry.”

As founding supporters of the Institute’s Film Music Program, BMI has played a critical role in the long-term development of the Lab and through its involvement it has enhanced the careers of many film composers who have participated. Building on its support of the Film Music Program, BMI produces a composer/director roundtable each year at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, highlighting its composers who have scored films in the prestigious festival.

This year’s creative advisors include BMI executive, Doreen Ringer-Ross and a cast of award-wining BMI composers Alan Silvestri, Harry Gregson-Williams, James Newton Howard, Miriam Cutler, Fil Eisler, Tony Morales and music editor Adam Smalley, Ken Kwapis, Marco Beltrami, Brooke Wentz and Christophe Beck. Sound designers Randy Thom, Bob Edwards, Pete Horner, Dennis Leonard, Richard Gould, Baihui Yang, Kim Patrick, Stephen Urata, Alyssa Nevarez and music editor Jonathon Stevens will also be onsite to help mentor the fellows during the two-week program.

Scenes from the projects of filmmakers Ilinca Calugareanu, Tasha Van Zandt, Andres Farías, Jennifer Taylor, Nicole Riegel, Gregory Kershaw, Michael Dweck, Bryan Wizemann and Cedric Cheung-Lau, will be scored by the fellows in this year’s Lab.

Jorge Aragón Brito is a Cuban composer and teacher with more than 15 years of experience composing, producing and arranging. Jorge’s work with Silvio Rodríguez as a classical pianist and programmer has led him to compose more than a hundred live concerts with various international artists. In 2018, Jorge received one of Cuba’s highest honors, winning the Cubadisco Grand Prize with the Libre de Pecado phonogram. Other honors include first place in the Amadeo Roldan Piano Contest (2006) and the Jojazz competition in composition (2008). Jorge currently works with the Lyceum Orchestra of Havana alongside Jose Antonio Méndez, and is working on a concert dedicated to the 500 years of founded Havana.

Gene Back is a Korean American composer and multi-instrumentalist based in Brooklyn, NY. His work includes award winning films such as Dear Angelica and Cake, dozens of international advertising campaigns from Mercedes Benz to Google, and Burning Man: The Musical. A former live member of the electronic/folk band, The Books. Gene has worked with numerous acclaimed artists including Talib Kweli and Gotye. He is currently finishing a series for Netflix.

Sara Broshofske developed a strong love for music while growing up in Ogilvie, Minnesota. She received her bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin- Superior, where she studied composition and clarinet performance. Afterwards, she received a master’s degree in Music Composition from the Screen at Columbia College-Chicago. Since 2015, she has been working as a composer, performer and collaborator in Los Angeles. Recent composing projects include Beloved Beast (2018), When I Leave (2017), and Ready to Mingle (2019).

Ozie Cargile is a Los Angeles-based composer and pianist. Originally from Detroit, Cargile’s works have been performed by orchestras such as the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York. He has more than 15 years of experience as a professional piano and composition instructor for students of all ages. In 2011, his choral orchestral work Song for Humanitywas premiered by the Boulder Symphony of Boulder, Colorado in collaboration with the 120-voice Boulder Chorale as a precursor to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

Aska Matsumiya a musician and composer originally hailing from Japan. She has been creating music for more than 15 years, and in 2010, a song from her first EP was featured as the theme song for the Spike Jonze short film I’m Here and won the award for Best Original Music at the AICP Awards. Since then, she has scored seven films with award winning filmmakers spanning many genres. Her most recent film 37 seconds, directed by Hikari, won the audience award at Berlinale.  Before that, Selah & The Spades, directed by Tayarisha Poe, and This Is Personal, directed by Amy Berg, premiered at Sundance.  Last year she scored the critically acclaimed film Skate Kitchen, directed by Crystal Moselle and starring Jaden Smith.

Emily Rice is a British born composer for film and TV, who started her musical life as a cellist in orchestras and rock bands. Recognized as an emerging talent, she was the first composer to be awarded a scholarship from BAFTA Los Angeles. She has served as assistant to several top Hollywood composers including Brian Tyler, James Newton Howard, Laura Karpman and Junkie XL. Her music can be heard on recent Hollywood blockbusters Tomb Raider and Alita: Battle Angel and is in increasing demand as a composer for indie films. Her latest work includes the documentaries 100 Years from Home and Self-Taught: Life Stories from Self-Directed Learners. She is currently scoring The I-Land for Netflix.

Ghiya Rushidat was born in Saudi Arabia and raised in Jordan.  As one of the few female composers of Arab heritage, Ghiya was mentored by a number of major A-list Hollywood composers and has won multiple awards including BMI Pete Carpenter Fellowship and Global Music Awards. She also counts among her honors the Global Music Awards Silver Medal for outstanding achievement in film and TV scoring and is a jury member of Le Petit Cannes Film Festival 2018.

Ho-Ling Tang is a composer, orchestrator and arranger, currently based in Hong Kong. Her recent works include “Volunteer Stories” for the Radio Television of Hong Kong; the documentary title sequence for SXSW 2019; Willa, the thriller adapted from Stephen King’s novel; Palomitas, the award-winning animation, and others. She works as an orchestrator and has contributed to the following films: La Gran Adventura de Los Lunnis y el Libro Magico, Wu Ling Guai Shou (Kung Fu Monster) and The Accidental Prime Minister. Her music can also be found in production libraries such as Extreme Music.

Celebrating over 78 years of service to songwriters, composers, music publishers and businesses, Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI®) is a global leader in music rights management, serving as an advocate for the value of music. BMI represents the public performance rights in 14 million musical works created and owned by more than 900,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers. The Company negotiates music license agreements and distributes the fees it generates as royalties to its affiliated writers and publishers when their songs are performed in public. In 1939, BMI created a groundbreaking open-door policy becoming the only performing rights organization to welcome and represent the creators of blues, jazz, country, and American roots music. Today, the musical compositions in BMI’s repertoire, from chart toppers to perennial favorites, span all genres of music and are consistently among the most-performed hits of the year. For additional information and the latest BMI news, visit bmi.com, follow us on Twitter @BMI or stay connected through Broadcast Music, Inc.‘s Facebook page. Sign up for BMI’s The Weekly™ and receive our e-newsletter every week to stay up to date on all things music.

ABOUT Sundance Institute:
Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, Sundance Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, and media to create and thrive. The Institute’s signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences to artists in igniting new ideas, discovering original voices, and building a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Sundance Institute has supported such projects as Sorry to Bother You, Eighth Grade, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, RBG, Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Top of the Lake, Winter’s Bone, Dear White People, Brooklyn, Little Miss Sunshine, 20 Feet From Stardom, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, I’m Poppy, America to Me, Leimert Park, Spring Awakening, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Fun Home. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.