The String Queens, a Washington, DC, trio, are on the rise. Since playing at the Biden inauguration last year, the three musicians seem to be everywhere. I was honored to be asked to arrange the orchestral music for their debut concert with the Capital City Symphony in December. Trying to add energy to their already incredibly energetic stage show was challenging, but about as much fun as an arranger can have.
My bucket list of film projects just got smaller: I finally had the chance to score a real detective film noir. Private is a black-and-white two-hander starring its director, Steve Blackwood, and one of my favorite actors, Sandy Bainum. During the course of the scoring, Steve referenced the immortal Bernard Herrmann’s work for Alfred Hitchcock. After being completely intimidated, I found it invigorating to try and find an emotional equivalent to Herrmann’s work in several scenes. Private will be out in festivals later this year.