Join us for a detailed exploration of John Williams' action music with film music scholar and educator, Mark Richards. Through several decades of study and published research Dr. Richards has uncovered an array of harmonic techniques Williams utilizes for his action writing, including the employment of more exotic scales such octatonic, hexatonic, an Hungarian minor […]
We had a blast at our event on September 23rd at Laemmle Theater in North Hollywood! A huge thank you to Thomas Goss for his valuable insight, the musicians for playing beautifully, and all of the composers for completing the challenge. We had several composers who submitted pieces and the quality of work was incredibly […]
Join us as we take a close look at Joe Hisaishi's remarkable score for "Howl's Moving Castle.” As the iconic musical voice behind almost every film to come out of Japan’s famed Studio Ghibli, Hisaishi's collaboration with legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki has birthed some of the most evocative soundtracks in animated film history. We will […]
Join us for the first ASA event of 2024, as we open the pages of Michael Kamen’s masterful 1999 score for The Iron Giant. This animated sci-fi film was based on a novel from 1968 and was brilliantly brought to life by Brad Bird (in his directorial debut) and Michael Kamen (in his first score […]
Join us on Zoom for our Annual meeting! We'll be discussing this past year and planning for upcoming events. Anyone is invited to join our meeting! We'd love your input. Zoom link will be posted here the day before the meeting.
On Saturday, February 17th, we’ll be continuing our journey into one of the 20th century’s greatest works, Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite. This upcoming study will focus on the Infernal Dance in Movement V. Written for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes company in 1910, it was the first of several momentous collaborations between the two men, and […]
Embark on an exploration of Leith Stevens' remarkable score to the 1953 science fiction classic, "War of the Worlds." Despite not being widely recognized now, Stevens was a towering figure in his day. In the 1930s he worked at CBS radio, alongside Bernard Herrmann, before moving on to compose for Hollywood films in the 1940s. […]
On Sunday, June 2nd, we’ll be continuing our journey into one of the 20th century’s greatest works, Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite. Written for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes company in 1910, Firebird was the first of several momentous collaborations between the two men, and interestingly, was before Stravinsky rose to fame. This will be the penultimate […]
Saturday, July 27th will be our last installment of our Firebird Score study series! Written for Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes company in 1910, Firebird was the first of several momentous collaborations between the two men, and interestingly, was before Stravinsky rose to fame. This final study will focus on the Berceuse and the Finale. We […]
Join us on Zoom on September 14th 10am for Adventures in Listening! We'll be listening to music by YOU and giving constructive feedback as a group. As before, we’ll keep the tracks anonymous, so you don’t need to take credit (or blame) if you choose not to. This is a casual event for all levels […]