Previewing the BSFO's new score for Harold Lloyd's 'The Freshman'

Jobyna Ralston and Harold Lloyd in The Freshman
courtesy IMDb

Silent comedian Harold Lloyd had a huge hit in 1925 with The Freshman  (d. Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor).  I've not seen it, and cannot wait for my first viewing tomorrow, on the big screen at the Coolidge, accompanied by the world premiere score from the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra (BSFO).  I've written here before about the process by which selected elite students of Berklee College film scoring department compose a new silent film score under the direction of Prof. Sheldon Mirowitz, and then premiere it at the Coolidge Corner Cinema, as part of the 'The Sounds of Silents' film series.  (It was one of these performances, six plus years ago, solidified my emerging obsession with all things classic film.)  The reputation of the BSFO has grown to the extent that, on opening night of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival in June, they'll be there to repeat this performance.  Yes, opening night of the SFSFF.  And so far no one outside of Berklee has yet to hear the score.

Well, that is almost no one -- last Tuesday I had the good fortune to attend a 'Master Class' from Prof. Mirowitz sponsored by the Coolidge, during which he previewed some of the highlights of the score, and revealed some other interesting tidbits.  Bonus for me- I got to hold in my hands, albeit briefly, the complete published BSFO score for Variété, from 2016.

Sheldon Mirowitz, from SheldonMirowitz.com

A few highlights:

• The new score to The Freshman has seven separate student composer-a feat of collaboration perhaps unique at an undergraduate college, but not so unique in the long history of film scoring, said Prof. Mirowitz.  The great film composers almost always have significant support along the way, directing other, unbilled musicians to produce a final score.  
• Selected to perform the score in live performance, the BSFO musicians are 'the best players in the Boston area.'  Whoa.  
• The score will be a blend of musical themes that conjure up the past, but are infused with decidedly contemporary sensibilities.  Prof. Mirowitz described that The Freshman, while being 'of its time', is also 'about its time'-and the music needs to reflect that.  A short clip of the 'college theme' was an example, a nostalgic, tuneful march-time 'fight song'.  As a 'sweet' persona, Harold Lloyd's college freshman Harold Lamb, who works hard to achieve status on campus, deserves a bit of 'old timey' flavor to enhance the comedic elements in the film.  
• The individual student composers will conduct the reels for which they composed the music, but will also take part in the orchestra, responsible for the various sound effects written into the score.  
• While the release dates haven't been announced, Prof. Mirowitz reminded us that the BSFO was engaged by Kino Lorber to accompany the restorations of The Last Laugh and Variété, both German silent films starring the great Emil Jannings.  
• Even more exciting, they have been commissioned to compose a score for a new restoration of The Man Who Laughs (1928).  Keeping my fingers crossed for a Coolidge premiere.  
• New York City cinephiles note -- the BSFO will make their NYC debut on May 20th with a screening of The Freshman, at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, Tony Bennett concert hall.
• Prof. Mirowitz recently presented a TED Talk, 'What does music DO?' that illuminates his view of the role of music in film and beyond -- check it out below.  To boil it down, the music helps us understand our emotions, which enables us to make sense of the world. 

Per www.silentfilm.org, here are this year's BSFO contributors:

Composers: Vincent Isler (Switzerland), Esin Aydingoz (Turkey), Bernard Duc (Switzerland), Victoria Ruggiero (USA), Andres Gutierrez (Mexico), Jeffrey Gaiser (USA), and Vinicius Pippa (Brazil)

Players: Gabriela Sofia Gomez Estevez (flute/piccolo), Lindsey Stein (oboe/English horn), Stephanie Clark (clarinet/bass clarinet), Dan Pfeiffer (horn), Joey Epstein (trumpet), Ethan Santos (trombone/bass trombone), Kino Lee (keyboard), Eren Başbuğ (keyboard), Tania Mesa (violin), Nathaniel Taylor (cello), Michael Simon (bass), Patrick Hanafin (percussion)

Special recognition to the Coolidge Corner Theatre and Becki and Dr. Martin Norman, founders of 'The Sounds of Silents' film series.

Classic Film Obsessions 2016-- The One Year Blog Anniversary Post

First, excuse me while I congratulate myself 😊. I started this blog exactly one year ago, and 12 months and 44 posts later, it's still going! I had a lot of fun with it, and extended my connections into the fantastic community of classic cinephiles and bloggers, which was my hope, as stated in my very first post.  I was thrilled and humbled to join the Classic Movie Blog Association, enhance my relationship with Turner Classic Movies through participation in the annual film festival, and membership in the Backlot fan club, and have made many friendships in the community, connecting in person as well as online.

I'm establishing a tradition of posting a look back at my 'obsessions' over the course of the last year, and sharing my blog resolutions for the next year.  In 2016 I watched 162 new-to-me movies, slightly under my 2015 total of 178.

Classic Film Obsessions for 2016

Heflin won his only Oscar for his
supporting role in the gangster drama
  Johnny Eager (1941).  Here he shows
off his unique way of holding a cigarette

Van Heflin
Singling out Heflin likely doesn't surprise those who a) know me in person or on social media, or b) who've looked at my blog label list and see his name at the top in large font.  My obsession with the Oklahoma-born Heflin grew from my 2015 obsession with Alan Ladd, as they starred together in the classic Western Shane.  I wrote about Shane for my first ever blogathon, and while I didn't focus on Heflin there, over the course of the year I watched more and more of his films until my love was in full bloom.  I marveled at his versatility and talent, admired his intellectual approach to his craft, and found him a magnetic screen presence.  Also this year, his first-ever biography was published, which I reviewed here, and I featured and/or reviewed five of his films.   I did however, watch a great deal more from his filmography that I didn't write about, and of those, I'll recommend a few, in chronological order:  A Woman Rebels (1936)--this one's an interesting melodrama and vehicle mainly for Katharine Hepburn, who was a friend of Heflin's and helped get him his role.  He really isn't entirely recognizable here and doesn't register strongly, but it's his first role, and one of only six he made in the 1930s.  In the 1940s there are so many good ones, including Johnny Eager, but for a change of pace he is a riot in the comedies Presenting Lily Mars (1943) with Judy Garland, and The Feminine Touch (1941), with Kay Francis, Don Ameche, and Rosalind Russell, proving that this "craggy-faced" Western and Noir star could hold his own in light comedy.  In the 1950s, his best performance for my money may be in The Prowler (1951), where he is a seriously flawed protagonist.  I loved him also in the Rod Serling drama Patterns (1956), and for an all-around fantastic film, check out 3:10 to Yuma (1957), in which Heflin stars alongside a terrific Glenn Ford in this psychological Western.  There are many in his filmography still waiting for me, assuming this obsession continues in 2017.

I was delighted to listen to a recent interview with his daughter, actress Vana O'Brien here, in which, among other things, she commented that her father hated 'over-acting.'  For the most part I found his performances appropriately understated, which adds to the enjoyment of his work.  I hope that someday soon Ms. O'Brien will come to a film festival (TCM??) to share her remembrances of her father and his life and career -- she would receive a tremendous and appreciative reception.

The Western, and John Ford
Following the fun that was the 2015 'Summer of Darkness' dedicated to film noir, I dedicated myself to learning more about the Western in the summer of 2016 -- a vast film genre to be sure, but one most certainly under-represented in my film log. I listened to a recorded online course on the subject, and watched a number of films spanning eight decades, and dipped into several books on the subject. Check my posts from June-August for my thoughts on several of these films.

The genesis of this idea flowed from the delight I took in my first viewing of John Ford's She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949) at the 2016 Turner Classic Festival with a crowd of appreciative fans.   I grew to better know and appreciate much of Ford's work this past year, and began to internalize his style and approach.  What a phenomenal treasure he left us in the 140 films he directed.  Additionally, through Ford, I was introduced to the father and son acting duo of Harry Carey and Harry Carey Jr., who devoted their lives to giving us great entertainment in this great American film tradition.  I wrote about them here.

John Wayne, Harry Carey Jr., and Pedro Armendariz
star in Ford's 3 Godfathers from 1948.

New to me this year were the classic Westerns High Noon, My Darling Clementine, Destry Rides Again, and one of the earliest Westerns ever, The Great Train Robbery (1903).  I came to appreciate the acting talent of Dean Martin by watching Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo (1959); in fact, to me, Martin is the main reason to watch this film.  Lesser-known but interesting Westerns I caught this year include The Spoilers (1942) with Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott, and John Wayne, and The Texan (1930), starring a young Gary Cooper, previewing how he would come to dominate the genre!

Dean Martin as the alcoholic lawman 'Dude' in Rio Bravo

Berklee Silent Film Orchestra

Prof. Sheldon Mirowitz
 Of  Film Scoring
@ Berklee School
(photo from Berklee School)

Since I'm a fan of music as well as film, attending a screening of a silent film with live musical accompaniment claims a spot in the top five of my favorite things.  When the accompaniment is a local orchestra premiering their own student-composed score, it's a treat that is absolutely unique to the Boston area.  I wrote about the unique process of the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra, a group of top students from Berklee School of Music Film Scoring Department, here.  Well, actually, the secret has gotten out and the reputation of the BSFO has taken them to the prestigious San Francisco Silent Film Festival for two years now, where they've gotten rave reviews.

This year, I saw the world premiere of their score to Variete (1925), at one of our local art houses -- The Coolidge Corner Theatre, which is the BSFO's local partner and features them regularly through their 'Sounds of Silents' rep program.  It's been announced that Kino-Lorber is producing a new DVD of this film featuring the BSFO score; I hope it's available soon!  I also made it to the Coolidge the week of Halloween for their encore performance of their original score to Phantom of the Opera, the Lon Chaney classic.  I don't know what original film score the 2017 students are working on, but I will be sure to feature it here, as I don't miss these live premieres.

The magnificent 'Theatre 1' at the Coolidge 

My 2017 Blog Resolutions
Like most humans, I don't have much luck with annual resolutions (!), but here goes, anyway:

1. Find ways to make my blog more interactive -- with quizzes, Twitter polls, or the like.
2. Continue to use the blog as a way to learn more about film history, by exploring genres, actors, and/or directors that deserve more of my attention.
3. Submit at least one post in the annual CMBA awards process. 
4. Find and comment on more of my fellow bloggers' work.  There is no lack of great writing and interesting classic film commentary out there, and we are all enriched by reading one another.

Wishing all of my readers a healthy and properous 2017!

Spooooky October Classic Film Screenings in Greater Boston

Now that we're well into fall, it's time to think about seeing some scary movies on the big screen, classic style.  Luckily, if you live in Boston you have many options to get your fright fix.  Get out your calendar and mark it up with these:

Coolidge Corner Theater
Thurs Oct 27:  Two years ago, I had the privilege of seeing the classic silent film Phantom of the Opera with Lon Chaney in the title role, at the Coolidge, with the world premier score composed and performed live by the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra based at Boston's Berklee School of Music.  I've written before about the special one-of-a-kind relationship between the Berklee School of Music film scoring department and the Coolidge.    On October 27th is a repeat performance of this film with the live Berklee score -- if you haven't seen it you absolutely must.  A special part of the score is an actual soprano vocalizing as part of the orchestration, to create an eerie experience, almost if you're in the audience at the opera!

Lon Chaney & Mary Philbin star (from www.coolidge.org)

Mon Oct 31: Jumping ahead several decades, the Coolidge is presenting, on Halloween night, a double feature of Hitchcock's horror/thriller Psycho (1960) in 35 mm, followed by The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), "perhaps the most frightening film ever made."  These special screenings are part of the "Big Screen Classics" series.

Mon Oct 10:  This one is a don't miss, The Manchurian Candidate, directed by John Frankenheimer, released in 1962.  It's a powerful surrealist and darkly comedic trip through international political intrigue and dysfunctional family dynamics, and with its study of subversive forces in politics, it's speaks to our time in some ways.  Terrifically acted by Laurence Harvey, Angela Lansbury, Frank Sinatra and others.  It was a thrill for me to see this for the first time at the 2016 TCM Film Festival with Angela Lansbury present to share her experiences making the film.

Angela Lansbury & Laurence Harvey

Brattle Theatre
Not to be outdone, the Brattle is presenting must-see classics of spooky cinema on Halloween weekend:

Sun Oct 30: Nosferatu (1922) tells the Dracula legend in FW Murnau's classic silent film, and will be screened along with live music by the Andrew Alden Ensemble.  I'm not familiar with this group, but they have ties to the Berklee School of Music Film scoring department, as Mr. Alden himself is a graduate.  He lives now in Rochester, NY, and his group of professional musicians performs in New England and New York to silent films, among other gigs.  Their new score for Nosferatu sounds like it shares more modern, electronic elements that we are familiar with from the Alloy Orchestra, which is also originally from Boston.

Max Schreck as the 'undead' in Nosferatu

Mon Oct 31: The Bride of Frankenstein (1933) this 35mm screening is free! Director James Whale reunited Colin Clive and Boris Karloff from his Frankenstein (1931) and brings in Elsa Lanchester to be the 'bride.'  This is highly satisfying and entertaining film, which served as an inspiration to the parody Young Frankenstein from director Mel Brooks starring the late Gene Wilder.

While not specifically spooky-themed films, some of the programming of the Harvard Film Archive and the Somerville Theatre deserves mention:

Harvard Film Archive

Marlen Khutsiev

The HFA is running special retrospective series with films from Russian director Marlen Khutsiev, the "unsung master of the modern cinema."  I will admit to being completing unfamiliar with his films, but with him appearing in person, at age 91, at the HFA for screenings on October 9 and 10, this might be really cool.

Continuing the theme of Russian cinema, several offerings in the HFA series on Russian and Soviet Film "Beyond Potemkin" look intriguing.  This series provides an opportunity to see some films on the big screen that may never come around again.  Included are:

Sun, Oct 16: Bed and Sofa (1927, Dir Abram Room).
Sun Oct 23, 5 PM: The House on Trubnaya Square (1928, Dir. Boris Barnet), with live piano accompaniment by Donald Sosin.
Sun Oct 23, 7PM Outskirts (1933, Dir Boris Barnet), an acclaimed WWI film.

Virginia Mayo

Somerville Theatre
The Somerville's classic big screen offerings in October are a pleasing blend of silent adventure, drama, comedy, mystery and noir.
Sun Oct 2:  Silents Please The Mark of Zorro (1920, Dir. Fred Niblo), with Douglas Fairbanks at his peak.
Wed Oct 5:  I love the combination here: a special double feature of The Thin Man (1934, Dir. W.S. Van Dyke) and Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962, Dir. Fred Nelson, written by Rod Serling).
Sun Oct 23:  A Virginia Mayo Double feature of White Heat (1949, Dir. Raoul Walsh) and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947, Dir. Norman Z. McLeod).

One Week, Two Coasts, Two Extraordinary Silent Film Experiences

I don't know what I did to deserve such good fortune. In the course of one week--over one long weekend, to be exact--I was in the audience for two spectacular screenings of brilliant silent films, accompanied by live orchestral music composed recently, with the composers in attendance. One was on the west coast in Los Angeles at the Turner Classic Film Festival, Friday April 29, and the other on the east coast, here in Brookline, MA, at the Coolidge Corner Cinema, on Monday, May 2nd. The liberal use of superlatives in this post must be excused, as they are completely warranted; anyone in either audience will attest.

The TCM Film Festival screening: THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1928), Fri. April 29th I'll be publishing another post shortly about some of my experiences at the festival, but this film was a highlight.  The film was made in Germany, directed by Carl Dreyer, and considered one of the masterpieces of the silent cinema, if not all cinema.  Its iconic star is French-born Maria Falconetti,

who is little known outside this film, but who gave one of the most stunning performances of all time.  This was my first ever viewing of the film, and it was unlike anything I'd seen. A dramatization of the final trial of St. Joan before her famous burning at the stake, it was not unlike one imagines the biblical Christ on trial by Pilate, with hypocritical judges manipulating the saintly Joan, both physically and psychologically, slowly toward her doom. The camera style was beyond expressionistic, mostly in either projecting disjointed close-ups of Joan and her accusers in a parade of faces, or capturing the environment with odd angles. Purportedly the actors used no makeup, leading to a raw, emotion-packed drama of personality, wits, and will.  It was somewhat of a miracle that the film survived, as it had been lost for many years until an original print was found in 1981 in a Norwegian insane asylum (!)
Enhancing the drama with astounding beauty was the live musical accompaniment -- festival attendees were witnessing a live performance of the 1994 score, the oratorio "Voices of Light" composed by Richard Einhorn.  Einhorn composed the piece at least in part, for the film, appropriately using medieval texts from mostly female mystics such as St. Hildegard of Bingen.  The soloists and U.C. Berkeley alumni chorus added a medieval other-worldliness to the proceedings.  Einhorn was present at the screening, and was interviewed beforehand by film critic Leonard Maltin, and shared how the film inspired him.  In a move unusual for film screenings, attendees were given a program for the performance with detailed notes and text of the oratorio.  Imagines of the cover and  inside pages of the program are here:

The audience held its collective breath until the final credits, when the chorus, who had been seated stealthily in black in the first several rows of the theater, stood up, turned and faced the audience, and delivered the Epilogue "Letter from Joan of Arc" --  So God King of Heaven, wills it; and so it has been revealed by the Maid".

The orchestra warming up before the screening

I hope to revisit the film soon, as I was so caught up in the emotion and thrill of the performances, both cinematic and musical, that I'm sure I missed so much detail of the drama taking place.  Many thanks to TCM for adding this event to the 2016 festival schedule.

For those interested, the complete oratorio can be heard on YouTube:

The film itself can also be found on YouTube.

The Coolidge Corner/Berklee Screening: VARIETÉ (1925) Mon., May 2  Readers of this blog know I previewed this theatrical event in my post here last month.  The experience did not disappoint.  The digitally restored film, directed by E.A. Dupont, and starring Emil Jannings, was an operatic melodrama of the highest order, with stunning visuals by cinematographer Karl Freund.  Accompanying it was a world premiere score, as written by Berklee College of Music film scoring students, conducted by the student composers, and performed by the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra.  The music did, as film scoring Professor Sheldon Mirowitz said, enhance the drama.  It was clearly a modern piece but with tunes that evoked early 20th century culture.  What struck me the most was the brilliant acting of Emil Jannings.  Using only his face, he could convince you that he was a mild-mannered man in love, or an angry, menacing murderer. The confrontation scene between Janning's character and antagonist 'Artinelli' is one of the most beautifully choreographed and chilling scenes I've witnessed.

The contrasting faces of Emil Jannings:

I've now seen Jannings in five films, and my opinion of him as an actor has grown in each.  This performance may be his finest, although I loved him in THE LAST COMMAND, a role for which he won the first best actor Oscar even given.

The gorgeous art deco Coolidge cinema

The audience at the screening, similar to that for THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, gave the performers, both from 1925 and today, a standing ovation.  The deserving six student composers are Mateo Rodo (Argentina), Larry Hong (USA), Austin Matthews (USA), Hyunju Yun (Korea), Kanako Hashiyama (Japan), and Nathan Drube (USA). The audiences in Martha's Vineyard, San Francisco, and Beverly, MA, who will have the opportunity to catch the encore performances in the next couple of months, will be no doubt tremendously moved and satisfied, as will audiences who purchase the upcoming release of the film and score by Kino Lorber later this year.

A thorough and scholarly review and appreciation of the score to the film is provided here, in the Boston Music Intelligencer.

VARIETÉ: The Berklee Silent Film Orchestra & Coolidge Corner Theatre World Premiere Partnership

From the final scene of SUNRISE

On a Monday night in 2010, this budding classic film fan showed up at the Coolidge Corner Theatre for a screening in The Sounds of Silents ® program. I didn't know what I was in for, but the buzz in the sold-out crowd was energizing.  The film was SUNRISE, and the music consisted of a brand new score commissioned by the theatre, and composed, conducted, and performed by students from the Berklee School of Music Film Scoring program.  At the end of the film the crowd leapt to itscollective feet and cheered wildly; my heart was still pounding with the emotion of the final scene of the film. The theatrical experience I had at this screening is in my top five of all time, and I've attended most of the films in the program since.  As the latest Coolidge-Berklee commission is getting ready for its world premiere on May 2, I had the opportunity to speak with the program's co-founder, Dr. Martin (Marty) Norman, as well as attend a fascinating in-person 'master class' by Berklee's Prof. Sheldon Mirowitz, both of which illuminated the fascinating process of scoring and screening silent film for a modern cinema audience.

While 'The Sounds of Silents®' program was started in 2007 by Coolidge board member Dr. Norman, and Becki Norman, the collaboration with the the Berklee school started a few years later.  In our conversation, Dr. Norman first explained that the goal of the program for the Coolidge was simple: to present classic silent films in the way they were meant to be seen.  As a silent film aficionado for many years, Dr. Norman said "while there are great single musicians out there accompanying silent films, I've always felt that having an ensemble or orchestra, provided they have the right talent, enriches the theatrical experience of the film, and I make that a priority for the Coolidge."  He reached out to the Berklee school because, he said, it's a local university and just happens to possess the only undergraduate program in film scoring, with exceptional students from all over the world.  He found a willing partner in Emmy-nominated Mirowitz (go here for his website and bio).

To date, I believe I've only missed one of the so-far nine screenings with scores that have had their world premieres at the Coolidge from the now-named Berklee Silent Film Orchestra (BSFO).  They are branching out -- just last year they performed their score for F.W. Murnau's THE LAST LAUGH at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, and performed their new score for NOSFERATU with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on Halloween night.  Fortunately for those of us in the area, they continue their partnership with the Coolidge, at least in part because of the historic nature of the theatre, the educational experience for the students, and the educated and appreciative hometown audiences.

Prof. Mirowitz from
Berklee School of MusicWebsite

That brings us to May 2, 2016, when the BSFO will premiere at the Coolidge their new score for VARIETÉ (1925), recently restored by the F.W. Murnau Foundation. (I'm taking a red-eye flight back from the TCM Film Festival just to get back to Boston in time to attend).  This film was directed by E.A. Dupont, and stars Emil Jannings as a former trapeze artist turned carnival barker,who gets in trouble after falling for a much younger exotic dancer.  (Jannings was a celebrated silent film actor, who also is the star of THE LAST LAUGH, from FW Murnau, and THE LAST COMMAND by Von Sternberg, among others.)   In June, the BSFO will go on the road to perform their score for the 7:15 PM Friday evening (June 3) screening of the film at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.

VARIETÉ

On the evening of April 21st, Professor Mirowitz came to the Coolidge to deliver a 'master class' in silent film scoring, and shared fascinating insights about Berklee's process.  First, he explained that scoring a silent film requires so much work that he engages a team of six students each semester for the task.  The six students are chosen as the top student composers from over 400 film scoring majors at the Berklee.  The students meet for 15 weeks, and each student is assigned what roughly corresponds to a 'reel' of film.  Often Prof. Mirowitz develops the initial musical themes for the main characters or situations that occur in the film, and then students then compose with and around those themes to bring out the 'story' of the film.  As Prof. Mirowitz explained, he "knows the music works if it makes the story better.  We don't decorate the picture."  He shared his musical themes associated with the characters in the VARIETÉ:  Boss, the girl, the family, and the villain, which all were compelling to listen to on their own, but when combined in unique ways to bring out the drama, the result was sublime.  The students learn in class by critiquing each other's work during the semester, and create up to 12 revisions of each section before the score is finalized.  The process then of syncing the music with the film can be complicated, and a set of cuing techniques is used for the conductors.  In performance, each composer will conduct the orchestra for their composed segments and seamlessly transition the baton to the next composer.  [Watch the 12-minute fascinating documentary "Punches and Streamers", showing the technical challenges tackled by the BSFO in its collaboration with the Coolidge, for SAFETY LAST:]

Prof. Mirowitz mentioned that, when needed, sound effects to accompany the action (a salute, for example, with a whistle) are scored directly.  He mentioned that he learned from Carl Davis that Davis's orchestra usually just performs the effect live rather than writing it into the score.  "Why didn't I think of that?" he quipped.  At the end of this fascinating evening came a stunning piece of news: Kino Lorber has contracted with the BSFO to record their score for an upcoming DVD release of VARIETÉ, and has also bought the rights to their score for THE LAST LAUGH.  There is no other example known of a group of university students composing, performing, and recording scores to silent film.  But this is no ordinary group of college musicians -- elite, indeed.

BSFO rehearsing for SAFETY LAST
at the Coolidge (from the Emerson
College doumentary "Punches & Streamers")

I can't overstate the thrill of attending one of these screenings in my own neighborhood.  It's a true two-fer: you get a brilliant piece of new music in its first public performance along with classic work of cinema that is nearly 100 years old. I asked Dr. Norman the best way of supporting the program, and he encouraged communicating directly with the Coolidge with statements of appreciation, and any other way of spreading the word to build audiences for these screenings.

When comparing writing a score for a silent film vs. a modern one, Prof. Mirowitz said the bar is low for the former -- "anyone can use a movie to make music, but we aim to create the music to make the movie."  I expect on May 2nd the audience will understand exactly what Prof. Mirowitz meant.