Selected Alumni Bios

• James Dooley

  

  After graduating with a degree in Music Composition from New York University, James Dooley moved to Los Angeles to study film composition with such prolific composers as Christopher Young, Elmer Bernstein and Leonard Rosenman.

   In 1999, he joined Media Ventures and collaborated with award-winning composer Hans Zimmer as his Chief Technical Engineer on Gladiator, and as an additional composer, arranger and orchestrator on such features as The Time Machine, Pirates of the Caribbean, and King Arthur, as well as Ridley Scott's Hannibal, Black Hawk Down, and Matchstick Men.

  His collaborations with Hans Zimmer have continued through such projects as the DreamWorks animation feature Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, the haunting score for Gore Verbinski's The Ring, Jerry Bruckheimer's adrenaline-packed Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Antoine Fuqua's emotional Tears of the Sun, and Jonathan Frakes' adaptation of the beloved 60's television series, Thunderbirds.

  Dooley has also composed scores for several short films, including the Sundance Film Festival selection, Bit Players, the award-winning short films Untitled: 003 Embryo and Agua Dulce, as well as the cutting-edge short film Things Fall Apart for director Yaniv Raz. Dooley has also scored the widely acclaimed documentary, Rebels of Oakland, for HBO. This project was the highest rated sports documentary for HBO since the year 2000.

  James's music can be heard in the theatrical trailers for Elf, Tony Scott's Man on Fire, Antoine Fuqua's King Arthur, Ron Howard's The Da Vinci Code, and even Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Additional advertisement projects include an emotional spot for the United States Marines, Time-Warner RoadRunner, overseas spots for Porsche, as well a special promotional spot for Mercedes-Benz's ultra-luxury sedan, the Maybach.

  In the video game arena, James scored the 2004 sequel to the smash hit from Namco, Dead to Rights 2, as well as the Sony Playstation flagship game, SOCOM III: U.S. Navy SEALs, using a live orchestra recorded in London.

  Last year, James scored the documentary The Mars Underground, which focuses on a grassroots push to put a human on the red planet. He also teamed up once again with Hans Zimmer to write music for the smash hit Dreamworks Animation film, Madagascar. This resulted in James scoring the animated short film The Madagascar Penguins in A Christmas Caper, which appeared in front of the hit Dreamworks / Aardman Animation feature film, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-rabbit - for which James also contributed additional music.

  James has just finished work on Impy's Island, a German computer animated film whose orchestral score was recorded in Bratislava, as well as the thrilling Screen Gems remake of When A Stranger Calls, which was recorded in Seattle with the Northwest Sinfonia Orchestra.

  Currently James is working with Hans Zimmer on The Da Vinci Code, for award-winning director Ron Howard.

  Download James' official CV from The Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency, Inc. (PDF format)

• Scott Freiman

  

  Scott Freiman, a member of New York’s Manhattan Producers Alliance, is a composer,sound editor, and producer whose music spans a variety of musical styles, from orchestral to electronic.  Mr. Freiman composed the original score for the feature film Ivory starring Martin Landau, as well as the films Undone and Exit (Best Director Platinum Award at the 38th Annual WorldFest, Houston International Film Festival).  Mr. Freiman’s other film scores include the award-winning Bodies (Ojai Film Festival -- Best Narrative Short) and Foreign Policy. His original film music has been performed at Lincoln Center (live with picture) and at a sold-out Carnegie Hall concert, “Composed By Scott Freiman.”
  
  Mr. Freiman was sound editor and re-recording mixer for Encounter Point (Tribeca Film Festival, San Francisco Int’l Film Festival – Audience Award, Best Documentary), a documentary from Ronit Avni and Julia Bacha, the writer of Control Room.  Mr. Freiman provided sound editing, sound design, and mixing for Ivory, Undone, and Exit.  He also served as sound editor and re-recording mixer for Puppy Love, the ten episode Web series from Sex and the City producer, Amy B. Harris.
  
  Mr. Freiman is the owner of Second Act Studio [www.secondactstudio.com ], a state-of-the-art music and video studio for composition, recording, and production designed by the venerable studio architect, John Storyk.  Second Act Studio has played host to a wide range of musicians -- from children to Grammy winners, such as bassist John Patitucci and the Tokyo String Quartet.
  
  Mr. Freiman is a partner in the record label, Garagista Music.  Mr. Freiman co-produced several recordings for the label, including Lisa Lynne Mathis’ debut, Hancock Place, and the holiday compilation, Not Just Another Holiday CD.   Mr. Freiman has also produced, arranged, and played keyboards for many other artists.  Mr. Freiman is also a founding partner of Outlandos Music, which offers brand-building music supervision and artist consulting.
  
  A strong advocate for music education for children, Mr. Freiman teaches composing and music technology to children and adults.  He is an instructor for MacProVideo.com, providing online video training in professional software.  Mr. Freiman also serves on the advisory board of Renovation in Music Education (RIME), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation helping young people, arts organizations, and communities succeed through innovative music-partnership programs.   
  
  Mr. Freiman holds a B.S. in Computer Science and Music from Yale University and a Masters of Music Composition in Film Scoring from NYU Steinhardt.  Previously, he was a co-founder of Credit Management Solutions, Inc., a leading financial software company where Mr. Freiman served as CEO.  Mr. Freiman, a Finalist for Ernst & Young’s Maryland Entrepreneur of the Year, helped lead CMSI’s successful public offering and orchestrated the sale of CMSI to the First American Corporation.  After fifteen years of running a public company, he embarked on a new career as a composer and studio owner.

• Joe Iconis

  

  Joe Iconis (B.M. Music Composition, 2003) is the recipient of a 2007 Ed Kleban Award and a 2006 Jonathan Larson Award.  His rock musical, THE BLACK SUITS (for which Joe wrote music, lyrics, and co-wrote the book with Robert Maddock) opened at the MCC Theater in May 2008, under the direction of Trip Cullman.  With lyricist Robert Maddock, Joe has collaborated on PLASTIC! The Musical (which won the 2006 Daryl Roth Award and was presented in 2007 at the York Theater) and TRIUMPHANT BABY! (which won the 2007 Backstage Bistro Award and 2007 Nightlife Award). The latter is a performance piece starring Lorinda Lisitza and directed by Brad Oscar. 

  Under the direction of NYU faculty member, John Simpkins, THINGS TO RUIN, a musical theater rock concert of Joe's compositions as a composer/lyricist, has played to sold-out crowds at Ars Nova, NYMF, and Joe's Pub.

  Read more about Joe and THINGS TO RUIN at the New York Times Review here.

• Rudi Joran

  Rudi Joran (M.A. '88, Music Composition) is Director of Computer Music at University of Oslo, Norway. His work is involved in computer approaches to composition, video and multimedia. He has established a network in Norway which links activities and studies in music, acoustics, and technology. He has established music studios and provided a service on the Web known as NoTam (Norwegian network for Technology, Acoustics and Music). (E-mail can be sent to: notam@@notam.uio.no ) An attractive brochure in English has been published by the center (cover of brochure for Notam is at the right). NoTam provides information on the use of technology in the teaching and creation of music to the entire music community of Norway, and now, to the world through the internet.

• Patrick Kirst

  

  Patrick Kirst (M.A., Music Composition, 2002) has composed music for over 40 short,feature, and documentary films.  He began his musical journey with study at the Music Conservatory in Karlsruhe, Germany. He was awarded a national grant to conduct research on the perception of film music.  A full scholarship from Rotary International launched his professional career abroad where he attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston prior to coming to NYU Steinhardt as a master’s student in Music Composition.

  He recently worked for Aaron Zigman on Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, starring Dustin Hoffmann and Natalie Portman, and Sex and the City: the Movie.  An avid supporter of independent filmmaking, Patrick's most recent feature Sweet Thing was accepted into the Seattle film festival in 2008.  In addition, he scored the short film Have You Ever Heard About Vukovar? which was screened at both the Aspen and Tribeca film festivals.
  
  Patrick serves on the music composition faculty of USC's Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television Department.
  
  

• Brian Lowdermilk

  

  BRIAN LOWDERMILK (B.M., Music Theory and Composition, 2005) transferred to NYU/Steinhardt Music after his freshman year as a music composition at Harvard University.  He was awarded our department's Alan Menken Scholarship in Music Composition during his junior and senior years. In his senior year, he had the extraordinary honor of winning the 2005 Richard Rodgers Award from the AmericanAcademy of Arts and Letters for one of his musicals.  The award, which carries a $40,000 prize, is usually given to much older composers.  The letter of congratulations from the American Academy of Arts and Letters to Brian was written by one of the members of the selection committee, Stephen Sondheim.  

  Brian is the recipient of a2006 Jonathan Larson Award and a 2005-2006 Dramatists Guild Fellowship.  He is also a member of the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop. 

  With playwright Kait Kerrigan, Brian is writing TheaterworksUSA's adaptation of Henry and Mudge, which will premiere next season at the Off-Broadway, Lucille Lortel Theatre.  Their work has been most recently showcased at the 2005 New York Musical Theater Festival, for which they were co-commissioned by the Upright Citizens Brigade and the festival to write Wrong Number.

  Other shows include The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown, currently under option by a commercial producer, and The Woman Upstairs, seen in the 2004 New York Musical Theatre Festival. 

• Michael G. Shapiro

  Michael G. Shapiro (M.A., 1994, Music Composition) is a composer living in Los Angeles, where he writes music for film, television, and multimedia. His feature film credits include Home Room (starring Erika Christensen, Busy Phillips, and Victor Garber), which was released theatrically in 2003; and the indy drama All Over Again (starring Robert Loggia and Craig T. Nelson). Michael's music has also appeared on NBC, Fox Broadcasting, and the Travel Channel. He recently recorded a score for the upcoming computer game "Empire Earth II" with an orchestra and chorus in Budapest, and a number of live ethnic instrumental soloists in Hollywood.
  
  Following his studies at NYU, Michael attended the film scoring program at the University of Southern California, participated in the ASCAP Film Scoring Seminar, and studied privately with a number of Hollywood orchestrators. From 1997 to 2002 Michael was audio director for Boston-based Zoesis Studios, where he composed electronic and live symphonic scores for a number of game projects, as well as designed an interactive music system that allows music to mirror the plot twists and character emotions in an interactive story.

  You can hear samples of Michael's music at http://mikemusic.com/ Michael misses New York City, but has to admit there's something to be said for subtropical weather.

• Myungsoo Shin

  In 2006, a year following completion of his masters in Film Scoring at NYU Steinhardt in 2005, Myungshoo Shin was nominated for an Emmy award. Mr. Shin is fluent in the diverse languages of classical, jazz, contemporary, electronic and world music. His compositions can be heard in movie theatres, concert halls, and on television in many different countries.
  
  Mr. Shin earned a B.A. in French literature from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea and studied piano, jazz, composition, and orchestration and participated as a keyboardist in several rock and jazz bands.
  
  His professional music career began in 1999 as a staff composer at a music production company in Korea. For three years he wrote in a wide range of different music styles. In 2002, he became a freelance composer in Korea. He left Korea and completed his masters in Film Music at NYU Steinhardt. Over the years he has worked on hundreds of TV commercials, composed for feature animated films, and many promotional films. He also co-worked with several talented composers on six feature films, several TV shows and series and on Korean popular songs.

• Con­rad Winslow

  Con­rad Winslow's music is char­ac­ter­ized by "har­monic thorni­ness and rhyth­mic vital­ity," accord­ing to the New York Times. He com­posed music for the film The Last Roman­tic (2006), an "IndieWIRE undis­cov­ered gem" avail­able on IFC on demand, and his instru­men­tal music has been per­formed by ensem­bles such as the Amer­i­can Com­posers Orches­tra, the Juil­liard Orches­tra, the NYU Sym­phony, The Guidon­ian Hand trom­bone quar­tet, and ai ensem­ble.

  His music has also received awards from The Juil­liard School (2010 Juil­liard Orches­tra Com­pe­ti­tion) and ASCAP (ASCAPlus, Mor­ton Gould). Recent projects include his col­lab­o­ra­tion with Natalie Weiss of exper­i­men­tal art-pop projectUni­cor­ni­copia and ground­break­ing glitch-hop pro­ducer Machine­drum on the musi­cal Camp Wanat­achi, com­mis­sioned by the co-creator of the Blue Man Group.

  He is pur­su­ing a Master's degree in Com­po­si­tion from the Juil­liard School, study­ing with Pulitzer and Acad­emy Award-winning com­poser John Corigliano. Con­rad Winslow holds an M.M. degree in film scor­ing from NYU, and an Hon­ors A.B. degree in music from Rollins College.

  To find out more about Conrad, please visit http://conradwinslow.com

• Stefan Swanson

  Stefan Swanson is an award-winning composer for film and concert. He has composed over twenty scores for films spanning all genres. He has also composed over fifty works for the concert hall ranging from solo sonatas to orchestral overtures. His concert music has been performed in New York City (including Lincoln Center), Philadelphia, and throughout New Jersey.

  Stefan’s scores for Premature and Cuts (both directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green), are currently broadcasting on both HBO and Cinemax.   Currently he is working on Green's feature film Gun Hill Road starring Judy Reyes (Scrubs, Hawthorne) and Esai Morales (NYPD Blue, La Bamba).
  
  Stefan earned his Masters degree in composition at New York University's film scoring program where he studied composition with Ira Newborn (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Naked Gun), and his Bachelors degree from Rowan University in music composition studying with Dr. Harold Oliver.  He has also studied with George Tsontakis at the Aspen Music Festival.
  
  He is a recipient of the Scholarship from the Film Music Museum in Los Angeles, the Susan and Ford Schumann Scholarship, as well as a winner of the Harmonium Choral Society’s Composition Contest and the Singing City Composer’s Prize.

  To find out more about Stefan, please visit www.stefanswanson.com

• Milosz Jeziorski

  Milosz Jeziorski is a multi-medium composer, who thrives on collaboration with fellow creative minds. His musical oeuvre includes work for film, television, concert, and dance.

  Recently, his music was featured in the short film TIGER (2009), by award winning director Wing-Yee Wu, and on the TV show SENOR NUGGET (Gameplay HD, 2008).

  In August 2009, he was the orchestrator and conductor on the feature film, CONVICTION; starring Hilary Swank and directed by Tony Goldwyn, with music by Paul Cantelon.

  Milosz earned a Masters degree in Film Scoring from NYU, with a Bachelors in Music Composition from Brooklyn College. It has been his honor to study under Deniz Hughes, Dr. Ron Sadoff, Amnon Wolman, Douglas Cohen, George Brunner, and Tolga Tuzun.

  Since graduating in 2010, Milosz Jeziorski's film scoring career has gained impressive momentum. In 2011, his score for the experimental feature film, Ontologica!, won the Best Original Score award at VisionFest2011, held at Tribeca Cinemas, NY. Since then, he has worked as lead orchestrator on the ABC film, Firelight, directed by Darnell Martin (Cadillac Records), and recently finished scoring a dark comedy feature starring Emmy winner Tom Pelphrey, directed by Michael Medeiros, Tiger Lily Road (2012).

  A list of frequent collaborators includes : Vikas Bandhu (director), Josh Hetzler (producer), Andrew Jerez (animator), , Sarah Melot (dance choreographer), Michael Pisano (graphic artist), Emily Reese (director), Mikey Reyes (director), Geovanny Salas (producer), Harry Teitelman (animator),  Glenn Vivares (computer animator), and Wing-Yee Wu (director).

• Jacob Yoffee

  Jacob Yoffee, composer and saxophonist, is a student of Deniz Hughes at NYU Steinhardt. He has scored several films, each with a fresh and unique sound. His recent score for The Ghost & Us, directed by Emily Carmichael, featured a live jazz score combined with a standard orchestral underscore and was featured at the 2009 CineVegas Film Festival. Jacob is the resident composer for the American Studio Orchestra at Johns Hopkins University and the Maryland Institute of Collegiate Arts.  
  
  He was signed to Inner Circle Music Records in 2007, releasing his debut album, "Dead Reckoning." The album generated high acclaim, and the album’s
  release concert garnered an article featuring Yoffee in the New York Times. He writes in both classical and jazz genres and has won awards for his compositions, including the Randolph S. Rothschild award. Jacob also composes concert works and is also a prolific arranger. In addition, he has produced several records for big bands, neo-soul groups, jazz and contemporary pop groups. His music has been performed abroad at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, the Royal Academy of Music, and on BBC Radio.

• George Oakley

  George Oakley, composer and pianist, served as a co-producer, composer and music editor for the Georgian-American documentary film Misha Verses Moscow, directed by John Philp.  A native of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, George began playing the piano at the age of eight and earned a BM from the Tbilisi Conservatoire.  In 2001 he moved to the United States, receiving his Masters degree from DePaul University as a student of Eteri Andjaparidze.  He was the top prize winner at the Flier International Piano Competition in 2001.
  
  Mr. Oakley’s compositions Nostalgia and Toccata were performed at Carnegie Hall; Solo Fantasia was premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Center; and his String Quartet, Dictator, dedicated to the August war in Georgia, had its premiere at Steinway Hall as part of a concert organized for Benefit for Georgia.  In 2003, Mr. Oakley was a guest artist in the festival United Sounds of America, dedicated to 9/11 tragedy. His performances were broadcasted by WFMT, Chicago’s classical radio station.  George is a student of Ira Newborn at NYU Steinhardt.