Special guests: Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinelli // Carlos Rafael Rivera // David Buckley // Ryan Shore
Faculty roster: Alison Plante // Clint Bajakian // Paolo Tortiglione
Lecturers: Davide Pensato // Luigi Di Guida
Program Director: Paolo Fosso
Asst. Program Director: Roberto Mengoli
Production assistant: Eduardo Cioffi
Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinelli
Billboard chart-topping artists and acclaimed songwriters and producers of legendary “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher,” Sonya Belousova & Giona Ostinelli, created a sensation with their mega-hit from the blockbuster series, The Witcher. “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher” soared to No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock Song Sales chart and No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs chart, swiftly becoming a global phenomenon and a viral sensation. S&G’s album charted on Billboard’s Top 20 Current Albums, Top 20 Album Sales, Top 10 Soundtrack Albums, and rose to No. 1 on iTunes in every major territory in the world, amassing an impressive half a billion album streams to date. S&G are shattering boundaries in the realm of epic fantasy action-adventure, most recently as the music producers, songwriters, and composers extraordinaire for Netflix’s global phenomenon One Piece, which reigns supreme as the most successful live-action adaptation of manga worldwide. In addition to crafting the original score for One Piece, the duo penned and produced yet another viral hit song, “My Sails Are Set,” feat. the ethereal voice of Norwegian art-pop superstar Aurora. S&G’s One Piece soundtrack is a musical odyssey embracing a kaleidoscope of genres, ranging from songs to fiery flamenco guitar featuring guitar virtuoso Marcin, hip-hop to big band jazz funk fusion, folk to circus, rap to epic swashbuckling orchestra. S&G inked a record deal with Sony Music for their long-awaited solo album A Mighty Heart Beating Like A Drum, which features an impressive line up of guest artists: Grammy winning Serj Tankian of System of a Down, DL of Bad Wolves, heavy metal soprano Tarja, Sophia James, and Marcin. S&G remain dedicated storytellers, whether through the medium of songs or scores, weaving narratives that resonate with millions of hearts worldwide.
Carlos Rafael Rivera
Carlos Rafael Rivera is a Grammy and two-time Emmy winning composer, whose career has spanned several genres of the music industry. Having scored one of the most viewed Netflix Limited Series of all time, The Queen’s Gambit, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, and helmed by writer/director Scott Frank, Carlos received his second Primetime Emmy award, his first Grammy, and additionally received the Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL), as well as the BMI Film TV & Visual Media Award, the Hollywood Music in Media (HMMA), and two International Film Critics Association (IFMCA) Awards.
His work for Film and TV includes scores for Netflix’ Godless, for which he received a Primetime Emmy, Universal Pictures’ A Walk Among the Tombstones, starring Liam Neeson, the Peadbody and Emmy award winning hit TV show Hacks for HBO Max, for which he received the World Soundtrack Award (WSA) and the BMI Film TV & Visual Media Award, as well as Just Beyond for DISNEY +, and La Reina del Sur 3 for Telemundo.
His work can be heard in concert halls and festivals around the world, including performances by prestigious orchestras and chamber groups such as the Cincinnati Pops, Chanticleer, the Pro Musica Mundi Choir, and the Beethoven Academy Orchestra. As a guitarist, he has performed onstage as opening act for The Who at the Hollywood Bowl; recorded studio sessions for Island/Def Jam, and Universal Records; and had songs placed on feature soundtracks (Crash, Dragonfly), as well as Netflix’s Firefly Lane, ABC’s Scrubs, MTV, and VH-1.
A protégé of Randy Newman, he earned a DMA in Composition at USC’s Thornton School. He also loves to share his knowledge through teaching at The Frost School of Music, where he is Associate Professor of the Media Scoring and Production Program. He resides in Miami, Florida.
David Buckley
Emmy nominated composer David Buckley is currently scoring the second season of the hit Netflix show The Sandman. Recent film scores include Universal’s Nobody starring Bob Odenkirk, Greenland starring Gerard Butler and directed by Ric Roman Waugh, the remake of Papillon starring Charlie Hunnam & Rami Malek, Jason Bourne directed by Paul Greengrass and The Nice Guys for Shane Black and Joel Silver. Previous scores include the Joel Schumacher-directed thriller Blood Creek, Ben Affleck’s crime drama The Town, Taylor Hackford’s action feature Parker and Rob Minkoff’s fantasy adventure The Forbidden Kingdom.
For television, David composes the music for The Sandman (Netflix/WB), Your Honor (Showtime), Evil (CBS) & The Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix/A&E). He has also composed the scores for the hit Scott Free/CBS drama series The Good Wife and its spinoff The Good Fight for which he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Title Music.
Born in England, David’s first involvement with film music was as a cathedral choirboy performing on Peter Gabriel’s score for Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. He continued his musical education at Cambridge University. In 2006, David moved to Los Angeles where he began working with Harry Gregson-Williams on scores including Shrek The Third and Gone Baby Gone. He has written music for films including Wonder Woman, all the Fifty Shades movies, Big Eyes and American Hustle, and his music was featured in David O’Russell’s Joy. David was honored as a ‘Brit to Watch’ by BAFTA.
As well as film and TV, David has written the music for a number of games, including Batman Arkham Knight (Warner Bros/Rocksteady).
Ryan Shore
Ryan Shore is an acclaimed composer, songwriter, music producer, music director, and conductor with a diverse portfolio spanning film, television, virtual reality, games, records, concerts, live events, and theater. He has been nominated for three Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award. Shore is widely recognized for his work on numerous Star Wars animated series, various Scooby-Doo! films, The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo, and Go! Go! Cory Carson.
He played a significant role as Assistant Music Director and Contributing Composer/Arranger/Orchestrator for the 87th Academy Awards, collaborating with prominent artists such as Lady Gaga, John Legend, and Jennifer Hudson. Shore boasts over 100 scoring credits, including additional music for the Lin-Manuel Miranda movie musical In The Heights, various Star Wars projects, Love In The Villa, Honey Girls, Love, Guaranteed, and contributions to Sesame Street and The X Factor.
His conducting experience extends to renowned orchestras like The New York Philharmonic and The Czech Philharmonic. He has been involved in concerts like Pokemon Symphonic Evolutions and has orchestrated and arranged Broadway concerts featuring Tony Award winners such as Sutton Foster and Idina Menzel. Additionally, Shore has music-directed notable productions like the Los Angeles production of Heathers: The Musical.
Besides his composing and conducting work, Shore is an accomplished saxophonist, having performed with legendary musicians like John Williams, Barry Manilow, and Natalie Cole. His versatile talent spans a wide range of genres and formats, making him a distinguished figure in the music industry.
Alison Plante
Professor of Screen Scoring at Berklee College of Music, and Program Director for the MM in Film Scoring at Berklee Online, Alison is an award-winning composer whose scoring credits range from documentaries for PBS and the History Channel to national television ads, independent films, multimedia museum exhibits, and live theater.
Her scoring credits include seven educational television series for the Annenberg Channel; History Channel specials Bible Battles and Aftershock: Beyond the Civil War; documentary feature American Meat; national TV spots, trailers, and corporate identity music for Duracell, Kodak, Sodexho, Spalding Sports, W.B. Mason, GMAC, Animal Planet, the National Geographic Channel, and the Pan Mass Challenge, among others.
Other credits include live action and animated shorts, theater (with a speciality in puppetry), and multimedia museum installations for the Smithsonian Institution and the Harvard Museum of Natural History.
Clint Bajakian
Clint Bajakian is an award-winning composer, music producer, and educator in the field of video game audio since 1991. Recipient of the 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Game Audio Network Guild, Bajakian has dedicated his career to the advancement of game audio with groundbreaking music and sound, and support for its professionals.
Bajakian has innovated approaches to scoring games in workflow, project management, and adaptive music design. From 2004-2013, he managed the Sony PlayStation music production group, supervising many projects and orchestral soundtracks, and recording in leading orchestral venues throughout the world. From 2000-2004, Bajakian led his own company Bay Area Sound. Throughout the nineties, he co-led LucasArts Entertainment’s audio department as composer and sound designsupervisor. Before entering business as a professor at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and independent composer, Bajakian joined Pyramind Studios in 2013 with emphasis on original music composition and team development. Currently Bajakian works as an independent composer and sound designer. He holds a Bachelor of Music double-degree from the New England Conservatory in Classical Guitar Performance and Music Theory, and a Master of Music degree from The University of Michigan in Music Composition.Paolo Tortiglione
Paolo Tortiglione is Professor of Film Music and Applied Technology at the Conservatory of Milan. His works have been performed at the most important contemporary music festivals such as Olympia International Festival (Athens), Esoterics Spectra Festival (Seattle), ALEA III Contemporary Music Festival (Boston), Contemporary Brass Festival (Sacramento), Grenoble Institute, Naples Contemporary Music Festival, Assisi Festival, British Music Information Center, Electroacustic Music Festival (Stockholm & Uttersberg), Edinburgh University Contemporary Music Festival, Sweden Vaxjo Media Artes Festival, Rome Ensemble Musica Oggi, Gorizia Festival, Sofia Musica Nova, Rome Festival Nuova Consonanza, Milano Triennale.
He has worked as film, ballet and theatre/stage music composer. He has given Computer Music masterclasses in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Olso, Stockholm, Geneva, Losanne, Zurich, Abu Dhabi, New Delhi, Dubai, New York, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Wien, Brno, Prague, Helsinki, Budapest, Manchester, London, Leeds, Birmingham, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Poznan, Bogotà, and Bruxelles.
Paolo graduated in Composition, Organ, Electronic Music, and Choral Conducting. He holds a PhD in Composition at the Accademia Santa Cecilia of Rome. He also studied Computer Science and worked for a very long time as a consultant, starting with IBM in 1996 .
As theorist and journalist he has published more than 120 articles about computer music programming, mathematics, music theory, film music, music notations, and music analysis. He has published several books for Ricordi, DeAgostini, Berben, Rugginenti, Volontè, Curci, Davinci-Edition. His book, Semiography and Semiology of Contemporary Music (ISBN: 9788876656163) can be found on Amazon.
Davide Pensato
After graduating with a degree in Telecommunications Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Davide began his career at Ubisoft Studios Milan as an Audio Director. Within a few years, he joined the Board of Directors.
In January 2007, Davide founded his own company, dpstudios, which specializes in game audio consulting and services. Combining creative vision with technical expertise, Davide guides the dpstudios team through a comprehensive creative process, from concept development to implementation, utilizing cutting-edge audio tools and an in-depth knowledge of game engine integration.
dpstudios approach to game audio integration is comprehensive and scalable, covering every aspect of the process, from the initial design phase to thorough testing, including content creation and technical implementation. With decades of experience across various game platforms, dpstudios has developed a strong sense of professionalism and a keen problem-solving attitude, enhancing the ability to deliver exceptional audio solutions in the gaming industry. dpstudios is the official partner of FMOD for Italy.
Luigi Di Guida
Luigi di Guida is an Italian music composer with over fifteen years of experience in the media industry. He pursued his education in Music Composition and Music Composition for Media at the Conservatory of Music “S. Pietro a Majella” in Naples. Further enhancing his skills, he studied Composing, Arranging, and Music Programming at the APM (“Scuola di Alto Perfezionamento Musicale”) in Saluzzo. Luigi’s studies in musical theory were always complemented by his passion for music technology and new media.
Luigi’s proficiency in integrating with development teams and his versatility in various musical genres have made him a sought-after composer for games requiring interactive music. This has led to a vibrant career in game composition. For over a decade, he has also shared his passion for music through extensive teaching activities.
Since early 2017, following a collaboration of approximately three years, Luigi officially joined dpstudios, a prominent Italian company specializing in game audio consulting and services, as their Lead Composer.
Paolo Fosso (Program Director)
Composer and Event Manager, dedicated to promoting contemporary music and digital awareness by featuring a range of events throughout the year, such as the highSCORE Festival and the Screen Music Program. Nominated at the International Sound & Film Music Festival (ISFMF), “one of the largest and most important film music festivals in the world.” President of the Conservatory of Pavia from 2010 to 2013. Selected by the European Commission in Brussels as Expert both in the MEDIA and in the Culture programs.
Roberto Mengoli (Asst. Program Director)
Roberto Mengoli, an accomplished professional composer and arranger from Italy, has recently achieved significant milestones in his career, having completed scoring for a variety of films.
His notable works include Call Me Crazy, a compelling feature film available on Amazon Prime, which boasts performances by renowned Broadway stars; South Bodies, an insightful documentary that was showcased at the prestigious New Orleans Film Festival; Ocean Brew, a short film that stands out for being created by a team of Oscar and BAFTA-winning professionals. Furthermore, he contributed to Pam, a short film that garnered attention on the platform Omeleto.
Since the beginning of 2022, Mengoli has embraced the role of lead composer in over 25 film projects, demonstrating his prolific talent and dedication to the art of film scoring. As he looks ahead to the year 2024, Mengoli is already lined up with numerous studio projects.
Eduardo Cioffi (Production Assistant)
After beginning his Music Production Degree at the University of Hertfordshire in London, Eduardo was accepted into the esteemed Berklee College of Music for the Music Composition for Film and TV program, a course he is presently continuing.
His journey as a film composer began with primary composition roles for projects destined for both Theatrical Release and Streaming Platforms. Eduardo takes pride in his position as Lead Composer for Thesis-Projects from students at New York University (NYU) and the University of Southern California (USC).
Beyond composing, he has been an active assistant and orchestrator for various major streaming platform projects, including Netflix’s Sagrada Familia (Season 2), Prime Video’s A New Era (Season 2), and upcoming releases on Apple TV+ and Disney+ scheduled for 2024.