What, in general, is expected of an orchestrator? An orchestrator is basically responsible for creating a detailed orchestral score that specifies exactly which instrument is supposed to do what in order to be able to perform the composer’s music. This involves many aspects: copying detailed written sketches into a score, transcribing detailed orchestral sketches done with MIDI, transcribing/arranging an orchestral “mockup” in order to realize the composer’s specific intentions, filling out a composer’s sketch that doesn’t necessarily specify orchestration but nevertheless makes it clear exactly what the music is supposed to sound like, creating an arrangement/orchestration based on what the composer hums into a tape recorder. Obviously the amount of skill and creativity that is required of the orchestrator ranges hugely, depending on the requirements of the particular project. How does one develop a relationship with a composer or a project? What is it that a composer will look for in terms of qualities or strengths? My experience is that the most important aspect of a successful collaboration between a composer and an orchestrator is a basic compatibility that is both musical and personal. Orchestrating is a super-elite field that is narrowed to a handful or professionals in the business. How did you become an orchestrator? What inspired you to walk down this road to begin with? Well, throughout my training as a classical composer, I was always drawn to the art of orchestration, but never thought of doing it at the film-scoring level until my collaboration with Elliot Goldenthal. I began assisting him on theater and concert projects, and this extended into film-scoring. Why not be a composer yourself? I am a composer. My interest as a composer is in the world of theater and concert music. You have worked on many large projects and developed relationships with, most notably, Elliot Goldenthal and Brian Tyler. You began with Goldenthal. When did Tyler enter the picture? I was introduced to Brian by Sam Schwartz, the famous super-agent, who represents both Elliot and Brian as well as the late, great Michael Kamen, with whom I also had a lengthy, enjoyable, energizing, and much-missed collaboration. When Brian was hired to score “The Hunted”, his first major orchestral score to be recorded in Los Angeles, Sam thought that I could be a great help to Brian during the process of producing this score. Does your involvement with these two composers differ from one to the other? My collaboration proceeds along pretty much the same lines with both composers. Both are classically trained, have very clear ideas of what they want orchestrally, and create sketches that are quite detailed – not just orchestrally, but also dramatically and compositionally – by which I mean that there is an abundance of textural, dynamic, contrapuntal, et cetera detail as well. From the detail in their sketches and the close collaboration that I enjoy with them, what I need to do in order to accurately realize their intentions is pretty clear. As I listen to Goldenthal’s “Final Fantasy” and Tyler’s “Timeline” I am overwhelmed with the intensity and grandeur of the orchestra. On projects such as these, versus projects of smaller scope, what sort of special challenges present themselves to you? The challenge that you speak of has to do mostly with the disconnect between what the score needs to be and how much money there is. It constantly amazes me how often supposedly experienced producers insist on a big orchestral score without actually providing any money to pay for it. Do you often discuss different approaches with a composer, or are most things simply black and white? Nothing is black and white except a piano keyboard. My work with composers is a collaboration with a constant back-and-forth. Although James Newton Howard is knock for his collaboration with Brad Dechter and Jeff Atmajian, you’ve worked on occasional projects of his, including “Waterworld” and “The Sixth Sense”. Why were you brought in on certain James Newton Howard scores? I originally was brought in by James to work on “Outbreak”. He had heard my work for Elliot on “Alien 3” and thought that some of the orchestration for that score would be great for “Outbreak”. This was before he started working with Jeff on a regular basis. Brad was his main guy, and I was brought in for the “weird stuff”. James and I hit it off, and I worked on his next few projects. But when I got very busy with The Lion King musical, Jeff was brought in on a more permanent basis. I’ve always felt like I’d like to work with James again. I really enjoyed the projects I did with him! Time constraints on the scoring process seem to get tighter by the decade. Why is music so often kept on the sideline until the very last moment? The main thing here is the advent of digital editing. It has become way too easy to keep on messing with the picture edit, and the music isn’t really supposed to be recorded until there is a locked picture. Of course, even when the music is done, they keep messing with the picture edits, and then the music editor has to keep cutting the music, sometimes to shreds, in order to keep up with the edits, or else they have to schedule more recording sessions, which is really expensive! Another thing is that so much of the picture these days is created during post-production, which pushes back even further the time that the film is finished enough to score it. What is the most exciting thing about your work? I think that the most exciting thing is staying up all night orchestrating a big orchestra cue, and then getting to hear it played the next morning by some of the best musicians in the world. Talk about instant gratification! If one orchestrates well, will one excel as a composer? First of all, composing, especially for media such as films, and orchestrating are two different things. They certainly draw upon similar knowledge and techniques, but composing is primarily conception, the one-percent inspiration, while orchestration is realization, the ninety-nine percent perspiration. It is something like the difference between creating a building as an architect and drawing up the plans as a draughtsman. It is certainly not true that excelling at one means that you can – or should – excel at the other. Secondly, I enjoy orchestrating. As a film composer, one rarely gets to orchestrate anything, by which I mean get really into the details of writing out the score and figuring out exactly how the sound of the orchestra is to be created. And final comments? I just want to emphasize that the real work of composing is conceptualizing and creating, not so much realizing. Much is said about how much Composer X relies on Orchestrator Y to write out his scores, but the composers who have help with the realization of their concepts can spend more of their time thinking about the big picture, so to speak. I love the collaborative relationships I have with the composers I work with, and have never felt like I was “doing their composing work for them.”