“It takes two flints to make a fire.”
– Louisa May AlcottThe theater can be a magical place. A mini world of its own. Some of the most incredible moments I’ve ever had in my life were experienced here, as an audience member and as a performer. I cherish these moments and this is what seems to drive me to be a creator. To try and create these experiences for others.
What I want to do for other creators is down to a simple word. Collaborate. It takes two flints to make a fire. Absolutely there is tons of amazing music on Spotify or Youtube. But what I think is special about hiring a sound collaborator is not just the music they create for you. It is having another critical eye during your process. It is having someone to bounce ideas off of. Someone to propose new approaches to you that you may not have thought of. Maybe even to occasionally challenge you and make you rethink one or two of your own choices. It is having a collaborator. And being someone who knows theater and having danced for many years, I can hopefully bring more than just sound to your process.
My job isn’t just to make music. My job is to create a cohesive work of theater from beginning to end. A few of the methods I use to achieve this and some demos can be found below. Click to find out more.
Sound Design and Manipulation:
One of the main focuses is to always start with simplicity and then build from there. The theater has many elements that need to work together. Choreography, staging, lights, costumes, video, sets and sound all come together to create our world in the theater. Sometimes all it needs is simple sound. A soundscape, a drone, a bell, a voice. Sometimes it needs a 100 person orchestra. But the simple should not be forgotten or overlooked. Also, there is obviously a clear distinction between sound and music. Both can be used to create the world inside the theater.
New Compositions:
There are many benefits of having new music and sound created especially for your ideas. In most cases giving a piece a unique identity and a sound world to live in are important. A beginning, a middle, an end. The pacing of the piece. These things can all be controlled and tweaked to fit a work. Many choreographers want to integrate music they already know and love into their pieces also which has worked very well. But integrating it as a piece of the puzzle into the larger idea of a work is also important.
If budget permits I always come to the company or city and work in the studio with the creators so the piece can evolve and change as it progresses. Working in the studio with the dancers is part of the joy of my work.
I’m not only your composer but also your sound engineer. Fine-tuning the sound in the theater and making sure everything has a professional and powerful sound. If it serves to enhance the work I also create surround sound works to bring the audience even closer to the world.
Find and adapt existing music/sound to fit your project:
A lot of times there is already a great piece of music or sound that would fit a project existing but either the choreographer doesn’t have time to find it or has already found it but needs to adapt it to their particular needs. This can include anything from changing the tempo, lengthening/shortening, creating transitions, mixing it into surround sound, adding additional sounds etc. I have the tools and know-how to adapt almost any sound to your specifications.