Peter Schwartz
Composer l Orchestrator l Arranger
l MD
History: In 2001, John Williams accepted Peter's orchestral
arrangement for Enya's song, "May It Be" for her performance
at the 2001 Academy Awards, where she would vie for an Oscar for
Best Song in a Feature Film, "The Lord of the Rings."
His first chance to score for picture came at age 14, for a WTTW
television production showcasing successful multi-cultural integration
in various high schools around the US.
Years later on the session scene, Peter gained invaluable experience
participating in scoring sessions as a programmer, orchestrator,
and keyboard player.
An incessant improviser at the piano from an early age, Peter's
music never fails to elicit comments about his music's story-telling
and visually suggestive qualities.
When Peter
was 4 years old, his mother would practice piano in the living room
after she put him to bed. But after hearing her repeat the same
mistake repeatedly as she tried to get a handle on Minuet in G,
Peter felt compelled to get out of bed, toddle into the living room,
and correct her mistake. In an attempt to put an end to this recurring
habit, or perhaps for revenge, Peter was given a choice: he could
himself begin to study either violin or piano. Choosing the heavier
of the two and moving ahead many years in the story, Peter graduated
from Manhattan School of Music in 1983 with a degree in Piano Performance.
And it wouldn't
be long before he found his way into the NYC session scene, eventually
amassing a dizzying number of credits as session keyboardist, orchestrator,
and arranger for countless household-name artists and producers.
Peter also enjoyed commissions to compose concert music, getting
calls as musical director for David Bowie, Madonna, Pet Shop Boys,
and Enya to name but a few, and opportunities to write orchestral
and choral arrangements for a diverse range of artists.
Then, in the
mid-90's and fresh off David Bowie's "Outside" tour, Peter
landed a role as a ghost writer for the FOX series, "New York
Undercover". Under the encouragement and mentorship of James
Mtume (the show's de facto composer) Peter's musical lexicon blossomed
and underwent a radical change. He now embraced a more atonal voice
which melded most naturally with his classical and pop background.
Energized from
that experience, Peter's instincts told him to pursue scoring, but
it was difficult to turn down continual offers of session work and
touring. But in 2000, at the conclusion of the Pet Shop Boys "Nightlife"
tour, Peter decided to leave the congestion and noise of New York
City and buy house in the quiet confines of rural upstate NY. There
he would garret himself to further develop his musical style and
hone his film scoring skills.
Fortunately
there was no lack of independent filmmaking going on in the sticks,
and Peter soon began writing scores for indy films. As you might
expect, some of these films were better than others. But one of
them proved pivotal...
Current Credits:
In 2006, Peter was introduced to (the late) Paul Beard, animator
for Blues Clues and other popular children's animated TV shows.
Paul was producing his first independent animation and needed a
score. And as it happened, Peter's orchestral score for Paul's 6-minute
short garnered interest at DisneyToons and thus began Peter's entrée
into professional film work.
Since then,
Peter has been privileged to add DisneyToons, Mattel, and Warner
Bros. to his list of film clients. And when between projects, Peter
continues to score select, quality independent films, orchestrate
and arrange, craft highly realistic sounding MIDI mockups, and sweeten
album tracks.
Why, then, having
established himself in NY and with plenty of work to choose from,
did Peter pack up and move to Los Angeles in 2010? To pursue what
he always felt was his true calling: film scoring.
Peter Schwartz,
his wife Sharon, and their beloved dogs Boing and Loosi reside in
Los Angeles, along with an assortment of woodwind instruments.
Listen to Schwatz
music here at PeterSchwartzMusic.com
Contact: Claris
Dodge
[email protected]
818-990-3031
copyright
2011 studioexpresso
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