Comp o ser Sher r i C h u ng '0 1 cond u ct s s t rings fo r T he NB C t elev isio n
se rie s "B l in dsp o t . "
“Today, you must be versatile, able to play in a
wide variety of styles, and in multiple settings.
You have to be able to sight read because
time is money, and if you really want to be a
commercial success, you must be versatile.”
Dr. He says the same, acknowledging that more
and more people, as professional musicians or
amateurs, are stepping into composition within
the film industry. “This will be a much bigger
market in future, and many young composers
will start their careers in film.”
Watkins and Farrell agree that these versatile
players stepping into a changed global market
are, in essence, present-day Howard Hansons.
“When Hanson was the director of the
Eastman School of Music from 1924 to
1964—the longest tenure the school has
ever seen—Eastman and Juilliard had this
ongoing feud. Juilliard attracted students
seeking solo careers,” Watkins says. “But
Eastman produced true musicians. Hanson's
theory was this: if you trained a student to
be well-rounded, they would have far more
successful careers.” According to both
FEATURES
Hanson and Watkins, greater versatility
meant greater employability. students were involved in production, and the
project is now in its final stages.
Farrell agrees and says one of the best
qualities of JU is the ability to personalize an
educational experience and explore particular
interests. “For me, that was music for film.” Where They Are Now
Farrell is not the first JU alumni to explore a
film-centric career.
Incorporating his many talents into a variety
of film and media projects, he provided
musical scores for “Dante: The Pilgrim,” an
animated short film; “Luminous,” a video
game beta developed by several JU art
majors; “War and Peace,” another short film;
and “Grilled,” the short recently featured in
the Jacksonville Short Film Festival.
He is also scoring “The Dance,” an upcoming
short by JU film major Michael Csorba.
“The Dance” represents a collaboration
between multiple fine arts disciplines and
business majors. Because the film requires
choreography perfectly succinct to the music,
the score took priority. Recorded exclusively
by JU student musicians, the score was
written and conducted by Farrell. Over a dozen
JU Class of 1986, William “Bill” A. Boston
made a name for himself in Hollywood with
three decades of work on orchestrations for
more than 70 film and video game titles in
his repertoire. From his first day serving as
assistant orchestrator in the early 2000s with
“Star Trek: Enterprise” (2001) to his latest credit
as primary orchestrator on the mini-series
“1864,” currently the most lucrative series in
Danish television history. Farrell met Boston
several times while at JU—in a master class
and at lunch with composer Frank Ticheli.
“Sherri Chung is another JU alumni who
works as a composer and orchestrator for
projects like 'Supergirl,' 'American Dad,' and
many others,” Farrell says, noting how proud
his professors were of her accomplishments.