• About Us
  • Sasha Stone
  • Editor Ryan Adams
  • Clarence Moye
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Awardsdaily - The Oscars, the Films and everything in between.
  • Home
  • Oscar Predictions
    • Best Picture
    • Best Actor
    • Best Actress
  • Good As Gold
  • AD TV
  • Podcasts
  • FYC Gallery
  • Interviews
  • All News
  • Home
  • Oscar Predictions
    • Best Picture
    • Best Actor
    • Best Actress
  • Good As Gold
  • AD TV
  • Podcasts
  • FYC Gallery
  • Interviews
  • All News
No Result
View All Result
Awardsdaily - The Oscars, the Films and everything in between.
No Result
View All Result

Television Academy’s Words + Music Celebrates Music in TV Storytelling

by Clarence Moye
June 29, 2017
in ADTV, EMMYS, Interviews
1
Words + Music

(Photo: Television Academy)

Words + Music organizers Michael Levine and Rickey Minor talk to Awards Daily TV about tonight’s concert event celebrating music and songs in television.

Television series thrive in their current Platinum Age, and so does the music that supports the bevy of acclaimed series and specials. In fact, television music – including main title themes, series underscoring, and accompanying songs – shines in the spotlight in a way typically reserved for film music. To recognize this exponential growth, Television Academy Music Governors Michael A. Levine and Rickey Minor orchestrated tonight’s Words + Music concert. The concert reflects the growing worldwide appreciation for music used in television series, according to co-organizer Michael Levine.

“In the television world, this is all quite new. Festivals in Europe now feature performances from music in television, and all of this represents the fact that television music is this burgeoning field,” Levine said. “We’re now in the Platinum Age of television where there are nearly 500 shows on the air. With 500 shows, you’re going to hear some really great music.”

Words + Music celebrates television music and songs by inviting a host of performers and composers to highlight music from the 2017 Emmy season. Composers and performers from such shows as Empire, Mr. Robot, This is Us, Narcos, Homeland, and Fargo are expected to showcase their contributions to television at the event held at the Television Academy’s campus in North Hollywood, the Saban Media Center’s Wolf Theatre.

In advance of tonight’s concert, Awards Daily TV talked to both Michael Levine and Rickey Minor about how the Words + Music event celebrates music on television.

(Photo: Television Academy)

Michael A Levine On Celebrating Eclectic Scoring At Words + Music

Tell me about the Words + Music concert event. What can we expect from it? 

Well, it’s going to be a show that demonstrates the importance and the sheer fun of music in today’s television storytelling. We have more than a dozen of the most interesting acts, composers and songwriters, who are on television, and they are going to be performing their own compositions. I’m delighted that we have such a great bunch of composers here who are going to be showing the Academy and the world what they do.

There is a truly eclectic selection of featured composers. How did you settle on who would perform?

There were a number of criteria. Some of it had to do with trying to get the kind of diverse representation both in terms of personal background and styles of television shows. Plus, we have many different broadcasters represented from the Big Four to the many different cable and streaming broadcasters. We’ve got everything from drama to comedies to reality shows. The first criteria, of course, was is it good and do people love it. The next criteria was is it different from something else we have in the show.

As a Music Governor within the Television Academy, what changes have you seen over the past few years in terms of scoring for television?

I think that scoring for television is as diverse in terms of style than it has ever been. There are a variety of different kinds of approaches. Everything from the retro 80’s stuff that’s quite popular now to contemporary electronic score like Mr. Robot. Then, you have more traditional orchestral scores like David Buckley’s The Good Fight. The field that was much narrower a few years ago is now enormously broad.

Do you ever see the series Emmy® scoring category breaking down between drama and comedy?

I would love it. The people who write for comedy often feel like they’re underrepresented as a result of the fact that people tend to take dramas more seriously. You’re always battling this awards proliferation. This year in particular, Rickey [Minor] and I fought very hard to get music supervisors recognized because they had no awards that they were eligible for. There now is a Music Supervisor award. I would be delighted if there were a separate comedy award. I would be delighted if there were a separate documentary award as well. Personally, I’d love to see a comedy award separate from the drama award.

Rickey Minor On Celebrating Diverse Talents and Styles through Words + Music

(Photo: Television Academy)
Tell me about your contributions to the Words + Music concert event. 

I’m co-Music Governor with Michael Levine. This is a project that came about three years. There was a scores concert that I wasn’t a part of, but from everything I heard and saw clips of, it was a great celebration of the importance of music and storytelling to drive the overall narrative of a television show. When we started putting this together about a year ago, we were not only looking at great scores but also great original songs that were written for television. We have approximately 13 composers and performers in various segments.

What excites you the most about the scheduled performers?

The composers are as varied as the shows they represent. There’s comedy. There’s drama. We have music-driven shows represented such as Empire. That’s really exciting because we have so many shows with a lot of music on television and show that place a significant emphasis on music. We emphasize music originally written for television.

Are there any specific sets that people should really look out for?

We always have to have a few surprises up our sleeves, but we do have a few numbers that heavily feature percussion. We have two percussionists covering an array of instruments. For example, the Narcos score with Pedro Bromfman where he will play several instruments throughout the suite. Several musicians playing with him will play multiple instruments as well.  I think that’s going to be a delight to see as a live performance. It’s going to be challenging for us at the same time. That piece has at least six percussionists on it, and we have two covering what six guys did in the recording session.

We have some great songs as well. Another highlight will be the performance of “We Can Always Come Back To This” from This Is Us. That song really drove home what music alone could do, which is to really tell the story.

The concert really highlights the incredible amount of diverse talent in the television music industry. 

I’ll tell you it was with great intention to be inclusive as the landscape is exactly that. We’re just looking to represent what is actually happening out in the industry. I’m co-chair of diversity with Gail Mancuso, and we have several initiatives. We’re looking for every peer group to increase their outreach. We need to understand that we are exactly the same. We are literally a family.

Tags: 2017 EmmysMichael LevineRickey MinorTelevision AcademyWords + Music
Clarence Moye

Clarence Moye

Clarence Moye is an editor at Awards Daily.

Next Post
New Poster For Battle Of The Sexes

New Poster For Battle Of The Sexes

Sign up for Awards Daily's Breaking News

* indicates required

Felippo Meneghetti and Barbara Sukowa Detail the Fragility of the Incredible ‘Two of Us’

by Joey Moser
January 27, 2021
0

First Gurus of Gold of the Season

First Gurus of Gold of the Season
by Sasha Stone
January 27, 2021
0

How Composer Emile Mosseri Tapped into the Delicacy of the Music of ‘Minari’

How Composer Emile Mosseri Tapped into the Delicacy of the Music of ‘Minari’

(Photo: A24)

by Joey Moser
January 27, 2021
0

Pablo Larraín Reveals First Look at Kristen Stewart in ‘Spencer’

Pablo Larraín Reveals First Look at Kristen Stewart in ‘Spencer’
by Clarence Moye
January 27, 2021
0

Delroy Lindo On His Stellar, Award-winning ‘Da 5 Bloods’ Performance

Delroy Lindo On His Stellar, Award-winning ‘Da 5 Bloods’ Performance

DA 5 BLOODS (L to R) JOHNNY NGUYEN as VINH TRAN, CLARKE PETERS as OTIS and DELROY LINDO as PAUL in DA 5 BLOODS Cr. DAVID LEE/NETFLIX © 2020

by Clarence Moye
January 27, 2021
0

WATCH: Jane Levy Discusses Returning to ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,’ the Show’s Already-Iconic Musical Numbers, and What Comes Next.

WATCH: Jane Levy Discusses Returning to ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,’ the Show’s Already-Iconic Musical Numbers, and What Comes Next.

Photo Courtesy of NBC

by Shadan Larki
January 26, 2021
0

Scripter Nominees

Berlin Dispatch – Will Win / Should Win

Orion Lee (left) as "King-Lu" and John Magaro (right) as "Cookie" in director Kelly Reichardt's FIRST COW, released by A24 Films. Credit : Allyson Riggs / A24 Films FIRST COW_11.17.18_AR_0377.ARW

by Sasha Stone
January 26, 2021
9

The State of the Race – What to Make of the Big Awards Dump of AFI, NBR and the Spirits

‘Sound of Metal’ Production Designer Jeremy Woodward on the Importance of Circles and Minimalism in the Film

SOUND OF METAL Courtesy of Amazon Studios

by Sasha Stone
January 26, 2021
31

Da 5 Bloods Tops NBR // The National Board of Review Announces 2021 Winners

Winners Announced for Inaugural “Critics Choice Super Awards”
by Sasha Stone
January 27, 2021
76

Judith Light On the Sorrow of Bobi Jewell and the Exhilaration of Dede Standish

Judith Light On the Sorrow of Bobi Jewell and the Exhilaration of Dede Standish

(Photo: Spectrum Originals)

by Joey Moser
January 26, 2021
0

2021 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations

2021 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations

(Photo: Focus Features)

by Clarence Moye
January 26, 2021
48

Sound of Metal Director/Writer Darius Marder Talks Ableism in Filmmaking, Turning Down Robert Duvall

darius marder

SOUND OF METAL Courtesy of Amazon Studios

by Megan McLachlan
January 26, 2021
0

The Caucus Awards for Producers, Writers & Directors to Honor Aaron Sorkin, Among Others

The Caucus Awards for Producers, Writers & Directors to Honor Aaron Sorkin, Among Others
by Sasha Stone
January 26, 2021
0

Join us Facebook

AwardsDaily Crew

  • About Us
  • Sasha Stone
  • Editor Ryan Adams
  • Clarence Moye
  • Contact Us

ADTV Crew

  • ADTV Home
  • Megan McLachlan, Co-Editor
  • Clarence Moye, Co-Editor
  • Jalal Haddad, Senior Contributor
  • Joey Moser, Senior Contributor
  • Kevin Dillon
  • Shadan Larki
  • Ben Morris
  • David Phillips

Follow on Twitter

ADTV Twitter

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertising on Awards Daily

© 1999-2021 AwardsDaily.com

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Oscar Predictions
    • Best Picture
    • Best Actor
    • Best Actress
  • Good As Gold
  • AD TV
  • Podcasts
  • FYC Gallery
  • Interviews
  • All News

© 1999-2021 AwardsDaily.com