March 1, 2010

Film composer Alan Silvestri will present a lecture on March 12 at California State University, Monterey Bay.

Mr. Silvestri will address students in the university's music and film programs from 10 a.m. to noon in the Music Hall on Sixth Avenue. The public is invited.

He will talk about the process of scoring a film from musical ideas to final mix, explain how music serves the narrative, and discuss the importance of capturing the emotional pace of a film while interpreting and translating the director's vision.

In a career that has spanned 30 years, his melodic scores have won the applause of Hollywood and movie audiences all over the world.

He is best known for his scores for Romancing the Stone (1984), the Back to the Future trilogy (1985, 1989, 1990), Predator (1987), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Predator 2 *(1990), *Death Becomes Her (1992), Forrest Gump (1994), Contact (1997), Cast Away (2000), The Polar Express (2004), Beowulf (2007) and A Christmas Carol (2009).

Silvestri has also composed music for television shows, including Starsky & Hutch, CHiPs, Manimal and HBO's Tales from the Crypt.

In 1995, he received the Richard Kirk Award from BMI (Broadcast Music Inc.) for outstanding career achievement and an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in Boston. In 2002, he received the Henry Mancini Award from ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) for lifetime achievement.

The resident of Carmel Highlands has received two Academy Award nominations, one for Best Original Music Score for Forrest Gump and one for Best Original Song for "Believe" on The Polar Express soundtrack. He also earned two Golden Globe nominations: Best Score for Forrest Gump and Best Song for The Polar Express.

And he has received three Grammy Award nominations, winning one award – Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media, for "Believe." His other two nominations were for Best Soundtrack Album (for Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit).

Whether composing orchestral action or tender melodies, his work is identifiable by its keen sense of melody and theme.

Driving directions and a campus map are available at csumb.edu/map. For more information, call Nicole Mendoza at 582-3009.