July 30, 2007

What we have cooking....

by Rolin R Mains

The NCA is off to a rockin' fall. During the weekend of July 21st, many composers were involved in scoring competitive films for the 48 Hour Film Project. This weekend always stretches your nerves and your resourcefulness as teams deliver the films to composers late, or in very rough form, or gear stops working, or your great aunt decides to visit on that weekend at the last minute, or...well, you get the idea. Kudos to all who participated and lived to tell the tale. Screenings for the films will begin the first week in August at the Belcourt Theater.

July 23rd a group of musicians met to screen a movie (Star Trek 1, music by Jerry Goldsmith) and talk about the music. It was a great opportunity to hear what others thought of the music and how it affected them. Along with Goldsmith, other composers mentioned and talked about were: Danny Elfman, John Williams, James Horner, and a few others. This event will definitely be held again with a whole new film.

We cruise into August with some exciting events too, and I encourage you to check out our events page for updates.

We have added two new board members, Derek Young and Jan Austin. Derek is an educator with a heart for kids and music. He is the Head Master at Bridges Academy, a school for inner city boys. The NCA is priveledged to have such a dynamic community leader on our board, and we are excited to work with Bridges and other educational organizations, sharing the gift of music with students. We will be forming an educational committee soon, and will be asking all of you to participate at whatever level you feel comfortable.

Jan Austin is local public relations guru-ette who recently worked side by side with David Bennet in the Film, Music and Entertainment Commission office. We are excited about Jan, not only because of her drive and charisma, but also because she believes in the NCA and wants to get the word out to the community and beyond.

I would invite all of you to include your friends on our emails and invite them to our events. There is much more we will be planning in the future and your involvement is critical to its success. Success means that the community of Nashville benefits by hearing your music and getting to know you as a contributor to the arts life of Nashville.

I would also invite you to check out my blog. I don't update it as often as I should, but you can easily subscribe to it and be notified when it is updated.

Thanks for playing...and have a great fall!

Rolin Mains is President and Founder of the NCA.

Look for monthly articles in this spot by different folks about all things composing.