The Composer's Life – Details, episodes & analysis

Erich Stem is a composer of stunning music for orchestras and ensembles, as well as a professor of music composition at Indiana University. 

Join us today as we discuss how he goes about writing music, his balance between composing, teaching and family life, and his advice for composers on things like putting your focus in the right places and different avenues you can take to make money.

Erich's Website: https://www.erichstem.net/

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Richard Carrick is the chair of the Composition Department at Berklee College of Music. 

He has a versatile background both in the countries he's lived in and the career he's had as a composer. Listen to find out where music has taken him and how he's created opportunities for himself!

Check out his website and music: https://www.richardcarrick.com/

Berklee Interviews is a series of interviews with professors, chairs, and professionals from Berklee College of Music.

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An interview with  award winning film composer and TV composer Blair Mowat, recently nominated for a BAFTA for his score for ITV's Nolly.

Blair Mowat has composed over 200 scores for films, theater, and television, with clients ranging from The English National Ballet and The Royal Shakespeare Company to the likes of BBC, SKY, and ITV. He is a BAFTA-nominated, award winning composer with over 15 years’ experience and is considered a fast-rising star in the industry. His work includes Class, an acclaimed 8-part Doctor Who spin-off series on BBC One, ITV’s international hit show McDonalds & Dodds, and SKY’s The Amazing Mr. Blunden, written and directed by Mark Gatiss.

Join us as we discuss his history in composition, what led him to pursue film scoring, and his thoughts on the industry.

Website: https://www.blairmowat.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blair.mowat?igsh=aXM5NTB3ZjY0MWM=

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7yh4xXxKH517m2tqUkoXGc

Watch Nolly Here: https://www.itv.com/watch/nolly/10a1369?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwuJ2xBhA3EiwAMVjkVF1k2NCd1_SY_U4oX_zcsWuvRrsj6_IC9NwpVpJq2ddGfgIGryxOcxoC7IgQAvD_BwE

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An interview with Emmy award winning film composers Robert Lydecker and Kevin Lax, who recently co-scored the new film Orion and the Dark out on Netflix.

Join us as we discuss what drove them to pursue film scoring, behind the scenes on working with directors, and their thoughts on the industry. They also give plenty advice for people interested in pursuing film scoring.
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Robert Lydecker is an Emmy-winning, classically-trained composer who grew up playing drums in punk bands.  

Credits include Orion and the Dark, Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight, xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Iron Fist season two,  Lethal Weapon seasons two and three, ABC’s Designated Survivor (co-scored with Sean Callery), and the Fox series Sleepy Hollow (co-scored with Brian Tyler).

Outside of film music, he’s been involved with work in food justice, guerilla gardening, and habitat restoration.

Website: lydeckermusic.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertlydeckermusic/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRblrdflh6DIXvionKRdtBQ
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1BxHOWQjjyVa9gLFZn3AfT?si=hL3i6gVlRTGPAi4zB3rmIw

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Kevin Lax is also an Emmy award winning composer, rapidly emerging for his compelling, versatile, and skillfully written music. He started his music journey studying piano, voice and music composition, and attended USC's Thornton School of Music for undergraduate and graduate studies in composing.

Having scored 2018's summer blockbuster The First Purge, he recently wrapped up work on Dreamworks' feature film Orion and the Dark (written by Charlie Kaufman) and TV series Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight. Other notable credits include work on Apple TV's See and Foundation, Netflix's The Witcher: Blood Origin,  ABC's Agents of Shield, as well as AMC's Walking Dead.

Outside of music, Kevin enjoys exploring the great outdoors, teaching, soccer, and environmentalism.

Website: https://kevinlax.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevinlaxcomposer/?igsh=NmtidDVqMWhuZjBp
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0vkpJcFIeZZEITGmRyh2US?si=gFS1TlzKRj6y-uq8zctkrA&nd=1&dlsi=78bed91d26be4c1d

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Today's episode is allll about the seventh mode, Locrian. Listen to hear how to construct it, songs based in this mode, and a composition created live.

For more help to understand Locrian, you can visit this page:

https://www.nadiamair.com/post/using-modes-to-compose-locrian

This link will take you to video examples, the songs mentioned in the episode, and a pdf of the Locrian scale in every key and starting on every note.

IN OTHER NEWS...

Here's the new website for the podcast!!!!

www.nadiamair.com/the-composers-life

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You can click on the link to learn more about me, join an email list to be notified of episodes and behind the scenes content, and access all of the resources in one place!

Thank you so much for listening. Make sure to follow and review if you enjoy the podcast :)

P.S. Apologies for sound quality and the dog crying in the background. I didn’t notice him until I was done recording, but that’s life, haha.

Hi there,
 
Thank you so much for your support and for listening to today's episode. It is  sixth in a mini-series about modes, where I break them down and then compose with them!
 
 This one is all about Aeolian.
 
To get more help with it, here's a written article that contains visuals, music examples, video explanations, and a pdf of all the Aeolian scales:
 
https://www.nadiamair.com/post/using-modes-to-compose-aeolian
 
There's only one more episode left in this series about the mode Locrian coming out soon! Make sure to subscribe so you can be notified when it's published.

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Hi there,
 
Thank you so much for your support and for listening to today's episode. It is  fifth in a mini-series about modes, where I break them down and then compose with them!
 
 This one is all about Mixolydian.
 
To get more help with it, here's a written article that contains visuals, music examples, video explanations, and a pdf of all the Mixolydian scales:
 
https://www.nadiamair.com/post/using-modes-to-compose-mixolydian
 
Hope you got something out of the episode, and thank you for your continued support!

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Hello everyone!

Thanks for listening to today's episode. It is  fourth in a mini-series about modes, where I break them down and then compose with them!

This one is all about Lydian.

To get more help with it, here's a written article that contains visuals, music examples, video explanations, and a pdf of all the Lydian scales:

https://www.nadiamair.com/post/composing-with-modes-lydian

Hope you got something out of the episode, and thank you for your continued support!

Sign up for the newsletter: Click Here

Hello everyone! 

Thanks for listening to today's episode. It is the third of a mini-series, in which I talk about each mode, how to build their scales, and how to use them when composing!

To get more help with the concept, here's a written article that contains visuals, music examples, video explanations, and a pdf of all the Dorian scales: 

https://www.nadiamair.com/post/composing-with-modes-phrygian

You are welcome to email your composition to me, using my email address:
nadiammair@gmail.com

OR using my website:
https://www.nadiamair.com/contact

Hope you got something out of the episode, and thank you for your continued support!

Sign up for the newsletter: Click Here

Hello everyone! 

Thanks for listening to todays episode. It is the second of a mini-series, in which I talk about each mode, how to build their scales, and how to use them when composing!

To get more help with the concept, here's a written article that contains visuals, music examples, video explanations, and a pdf of all the Dorian scales: 

https://www.nadiamair.com/post/composing-with-modes-dorian 

You are welcome to email your composition to me, using my email address:
nadiammair@gmail.com

OR using my website:
https://www.nadiamair.com/contact

Hope you got something out of the episode, and thank you for your continued support!

Sign up for the newsletter: Click Here