Thank You  for sending your good wishes:

•  Andy: Congratulations on this wonderful honoring of your talent and accomplishments.

Marvin Hamlisch –2009

   •  Carol L: What an exciting, well deserved honor this is to a true legend in American music!                            Congratulations!

 • Madeline: “To a Star and a Scholar…Marvin Hamlisch…Mazel Tov on another great honor!”

 •  William: Congratulations on the CINE Award. They could not have given it to a more influential and talented composer! Thanks!

•  Greg Tucker: A much-deserved recognition of not only one of America’s great composers — but the world’s! Marvin’s music resonates with people of every background, nationality and music persuasion. Congratulations on this further acknolwedgement of your tremendous talent and musical contributions!

Presenting the 2012 CINE Legends Award to Marvin Hamlisch is a gentleman who is a legend himself: Sheldon Harnick, the Broadway lyricist who brought us Fiddler on the Roof.

CINE thanks its 2012 Honorees and Presenters for a very special Awards Gala. Our very special thanks to Maestro Marvin Hamlisch for the beautiful music. The multiple standing ovations were well-deserved! (Cine 2012 Gala at The French Embassy, May 2012)

NDI was founded by New York City Ballet principal dancer Jacques d’Amboise, and since 1995 has been under the artistic leadership of Ellen Weinstein. For more information.

“There are children who live each day struggling with academics, with complicated family lives, and with emotional and physical challenges. I have seen these children leave the dance floor with a renewed spirit of hope, better able to handle the problems they face because of the inner peace they derive from the beauty of dance.”

- Shelley Harwayne, Educator and former District Superintendent, New York City Public Schools.

Marvin Hamlisch

At present he is working on two musicals and a film about Liberace, Starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon and directed By Steven Soderbergh.

“He’s a meticulously hard worker and yet he’ll roam the grass of his farm for hours and sometimes for days before he can bring himself to put a word on paper.” —Richard Rodgers on Oscar Hammerstein II.

“I think when a writer writes anything, about anything at all, he gives himself away, and what he has to say, comes out.”   — OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II

Credit: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Mrs. Oscar Hammerstein II through Mr. Alexander Ince

Hammerstein, the grandson and namesake of an operatic impresario, like Rodgers and Hart, also participated in the Varsity Show during his undergraduate years at Columbia College. Afterwards he became the “American librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) theatre director of musicals” for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for “Best Original Song”. Many of his songs are standard repertoire for singers and jazz musicians. He co-wrote 850 songs.

A Salute to Oscar Hammerstein II:

Hammerstein was the lyricist and playwright in his partnerships and his collaborators wrote the music. He had a successful career before beginning his partnership with Rodgers.  He collaborated with composers Jerome Kern on eight musicals, most notably Show Boat (1927) Vincent Youmans, Rudolf Friml (Rose Marie), and Sigmund Romberg (The Desert Song), and George Gershwin (Song of the Flame), and wrote the book and lyrics for Carmen Jones, the 1943 all-black version of Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen.

But his most famous collaboration was with Richard Rodgers.

Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II

Rodgers and Hammerstein changed the face of American musical theater by integrating the elements of drama, music and dance as never before. Their 17-year partnership began in 1943 with Oklahoma! and continued through ten other musicals, including one motion picture (State Fair, 1945) and one teleplay (Cinderella, 1957), Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949), The King and I (1951) and The Sound of Music (1959). In all, the duo won 35 Tonys, 15 Oscars, two Grammys, two Pulitzers, and two Emmys.

A Salute to Oscar Hammerstein II. Sample of his Body of Work:

Hammerstein died shortly after the opening of The Sound of Music on Broadway. The final song he wrote was “Edelweiss”, which was added during rehearsals near the end of the second act. After his death, The Sound of Music was made into the hit 1965 film adaptation, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

“Edelweiss” (Julie Andrews & Christopher Plummer) From: The Sound of Music:

Oscar Hammerstein II

The lights of Times Square were turned off for one minute, and London’s West End lights were dimmed in recognition of his contribution to the musical. A memorial plaque was unveiled at Southwark Cathedral, England, on May 24, 1961.

According to Stephen Sondheim, “What few people understand is that Oscar’s big contribution to the theater was as a theoretician, as a Peter Brook, as an innovator. People don’t understand how experimental Show Boat and Oklahoma! felt at the time they were done. Oscar is not about the ‘lark that is learning to pray’ – that’s easy to make fun of. He’s about Allegro.”

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa & James Galway — “Mr. Snow” from “Carousel” :

Hammerstein was one of the more tough-minded and socially conscious American musical theater artists. According to Richard Kislan, “The shows of Rodgers and Hammerstein were the product of sincerity. In the light of criticism directed against them and their universe of sweetness and light, it is important to understand that they believed sincerely in what they wrote.” According to Marc Bauch, “The Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals are romantic musical plays. Love is important.”

• Marvin — About the way he composes in comparison with Rodgers-Hammerstein II duo:

Oscar Hammerstein II

“Though Hammerstein handed Rodgers all the words for a song and then Rodgers proceeded to write the Music, I just can’t compose that way. Once my lyricist gives me a title or once we agree on what the song is all about, I head for the piano and try to find the right “feel” for the song. Only then do I try out the melody. A full set of lyrics, without music, would constrain the rhythm of the song, and I find it hard to write a melody to a mandatory rhythm. I like to write the melody first.”

 

Ella Fitzgerald — It Might As Well Be Spring:

Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960) — Lyricist and Librettist — Columbia College 1916.

 Read more about Oscar Hammerstein II

“I hand him a lyric and get out of his way.” —Oscar Hammerstein II on Richard Rodgers

Richard Charles Rodgers  was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television.

Richard Rodgers

He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II. His compositions have had a significant impact on popular music down to the present day, and have an enduring broad appeal.

The Great American Songbook, first published in 1972, contains what is considered the canon of American songs, meaning the best of the best from Broadway and Hollywood musicals. Six musicians had an entire chapter devoted to them. Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern and Richard Rodgers, whose partnership with first Lorenz Hart and later Oscar Hammerstein II was pretty much the foundation of American musical theater.

Musicians of the World Symphony Orchestra: Tribute to Richard Rodgers:

Richard Rodgers

Rodgers was the first person to win what are considered the top show business awards in television, recording, movies and Broadway—an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony—now known collectively as an EGOT. He has also won a Pulitzer Prize, making him one of two people (Marvin Hamlisch is the other) to receive each award.

Richard Rodgers showed an early gift for music, and he could play the piano when only four years old. Like most aspiring songwriters of his generation, the young Rodgers hoped for a career in musical comedy. At that time, composing for the Broadway theatre was considered the top of the art form. There were no movies or radio, and most popular songs were introduced first on the Broadway stage. Like many of his contemporaries, Rodgers sought to realize his aspirations by writing scores for amateur shows.

Rodgers began his career collaborating with another Columbian. As a freshman student at Columbia College, he composed the music for the Varsity Show of 1920, with lyrics provided by a former Columbia journalism student named Lorenz Hart. The success of the show, “Fly with Me,” led to a twenty-year partnership between Rodgers and Hart, and to such classic songs as “Manhattan,” “Blue Moon,” and “The Lady Is a Tramp” from shows including A Connecticut Yankee (1927), The Boys from Syracuse (1938), and Pal Joey (1940). Hart’s deteriorating health led to the breakup of their partnership in 1940. Hart attended the opening of Oklahoma! on March 31, 1943, in New York, graciously telling Rodgers at the final curtain, “This show of yours will run forever.” Eight months later, Hart died of pneumonia.

• The “46th Street Theatre” opened in 1924. In 1990 t was renamed “The Richard Rodgers Theatre” to honor the legendary composer.
• In 2011– The Richard Rodgers Amphitheater was inaugurated in Harlem.

A Theater in Manhattan and an Amphitheater in Harlem

Rodgers’s centenary in 2002 was celebrated around the world with books, retrospectives, performances, new recordings of his music, and a Broadway revival of Oklahoma! Rodgers left behind a legacy of more than 900 published songs, forty musicals, and numerous works for film and television.

“I can always tell a Rodgers tune. There’s a certain holiness about it.” Cole Porter

Richard Rodgers (1902–79). Composer. Columbia College 1923.

Ethel Merman & Richard Rodgers

Marvin’s Comments:

• “Once they asked my mother who was her favorite composer. I was certain of her response: Marvin. But no. She said: Richard Rodgers.

• –About Victory at Sea:                             “I’ve never written music for fiction or documentaries, but I think documentaries are wonderful. I love some of the music that they’ve done. When Richard Rodgers did “Victory at Sea”, it  was fantastic. Only Richard Rodgers could write that and get a hit song out of it. It was titled:“No Other Love Have I”.

 

 

No Other Love (Have I)   -  Composer: Richard Rodgers:

Richard Rodgers originally composed this tune (with the title “Beneath the Southern Cross”)for the NBC television series Victory at Sea (1952/1953). When Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II collaborated on Me and Juliet, Rodgers took his old melody and set it to new words by Hammerstein, producing the song “No Other Love”. The song has a tango rhythm (referred to by Rodgers as a “languid tango” in his autobiography, Musical Stages). (Read Lyrics for: “No Other Love”)

A Salute to Richard Rodgers:

“Richard Rodgers…I mean, give me a break. Unbelievable…” Marvin Hamlisch

 

Read more about Richard Rodgers.

“Johnny One Note,” -  by the Greenwood High School Marching Woodmen, Greenwood, Indiana. music by Richard Rodgers (“Johnny One Note” is a 1937 show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms, where it was introduced by Wynn Murrary. Judy Garland sang it in the film version, released in 1939.

 

Richard Rodgers (1902–79). Composer. Columbia College 1923.

Richard Rodgers — A Tribute

Celebrated composer Marvin Hamlisch will receive the first Legends Award from CINE, the film, television and digital media non-profit organization known for its prestigious Golden Eagle Awards, at its 55th Annual Awards Gala on May 9, 2012. The Annual Awards Gala, which also honors winners of CINE’s Masters Awards, will be held at La Maison Française at the Embassy of France in Washington, DC. -Registration & Tickets.

CINE Board President Rita Mullin: 

“We truly are thrilled that Mr. Hamlisch has agreed to be our first CINE Legends honoree.  This certainly sets a high bar for the award going forward.”

She adds:

“If you’ve had your heart wrenched watching Sophie’s Choice, caught yourself humming a few bars from The Sting or belted out The Way We Were, you have been touched by the work of Marvin Hamlisch.”

Mr. Hamlisch, composer of the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Chorus Line, and one of only 13 individuals to have won the Emmy, the Grammy, the Oscar, and the Tony (EGOT) Awards, will be the first recipient of the new CINE Legends Award.  The Legends Award honors an individual whose contributions to film or television have become beloved and intrinsic elements of American popular culture.

Marvin during 2009 CINE Masterclass Series Interview:

“You asked if there are films that I enjoy doing, or certain set of genres that I prefer doing…well I’ll tell you. The two genres that I really love, of course – although every composer really loves if it’s a really good film. I mean, I’ve got to be honest with you, a good film, more people are going to see. It’s just the way it is. Although, you work just as hard on  a not-great film as you do on a great film. In fact, sometimes I think you work harder. When you have a good relationship movie, whatever that movie is – whether it’s love, or whether it’s kids, or whatever – but relationships are what you’re looking for, because that’s the most human. And when you’re writing, that’s what you’re looking for, that thing that’s tying these people together. That’s one. And I love to do comedy, even though comedy, believe it or not, is the hardest thing you could do. It’s very hard. I’ll tell you why it’s hard. I learned this from Woody Allen, because I did two of his first movies — (Take The Money and Run / Bananas) . When you preview a movie, or if sometimes the way Woody does it, he sometimes will show twenty minutes of a movie to people. Just twenty minutes. You can find out where the laughs are if you just do those twenty minutes, right? Now if you have a laugh that people are laughing at, then if you put music to it and somehow or another you lose the laugh, it means you’ve done something to somehow change the feeling of those people in the theater. And all of a sudden, you’ve lost it.  Protecting laughs, in a movie, is not easy, and you have to be very smart about it. And sometimes you have to be smart enough to know that you’ve screwed it up.”

Watch full interview:

At the same Gala, CINE’s 2012 Leadership Award will be presented to Eileen O’Neill, Group President for Discovery Channel and TLC, Discovery Communications’ flagship networks. Michael Uslan who, with his partner Benjamin Melniker, brought Batman™ to the silver screen, will be presented CINE’s Trailblazer Award.

2012 CINE Special Jury Award Recipients Announced!

Congratulations to the 2012 CINE Special Jury Award-winners! Chosen from among all of the 2011 CINE Golden Eagle Award recipients, these remarkable productions represent the best of their categories from 2011. They are now nominees for CINE’s Masters Series Awards, which will be presented at the 2012 CINE Awards Gala on May 9th.

Congratulations — and best of luck!

Special Jury Award-Winners:

Telecast Series: BOSTON MED  ABC News. GREAT MIGRATIONS National Geographic Television,
HARD TIME part2 Pictures for National Geographic Channel

Environment and Natural Science: THE WOMAN WHO SWIMS WITH KILLER WHALES Big Wave Productions for BBC and the Animal Planet

History: BATTLE FOR THE ATLANTIC Smithsonian Networks

People & Places: WILL ROGERS AND AMERICAN POLITICS RSU Public Television

Arts, Leisure & Lifestyle: 2011 NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT Capital Concerts, Inc. for PBS

Science & Technology: CONCORDE: FLYING SUPERSONIC Smithsonian Networks

Investigative:UNWELCOMED: MUSLIMS NEXT DOOR CNN

Informational: THE HOUSE OF SUH MSNBC

Drama: LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT — “BEHAVE” Lippin Group for NBC

Watch trailer and credits from contesting films

Children’s Entertainment: SHALOM SESAME Channel HOP! and Sesame Workshop

Public Service Announcements: PROTECT YOURSELF, PROTECT YOUR FAMILY Magnetic Dreams and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Commercials and On-Air Promotions: THE COCA-COLA HAPPINESS MACHINE Definition 6 for Coca-Cola

Program Opens: SKYPERFECT! FIFA WORLD CUP Koo-Ki for Sky Perfect JSAT Corporation

Non-Fiction/Promotion: YOU FOR ME RC1 Régine Cardin Production for Le Groupe EDF

Arts and Exhibits Programs: THE ART OF WRITING SOFTWARE Hillmann & Carr, Inc. for the Computer History Museum

Children’s Education and Entertainment: FOR ME, FOR YOU, FOR LATER Sesame Workshop

Adult Education and Entertainment:DRINKING GAMES, ALCOHOL ABUSE AND OVERDOSE Human Relations Media

Business — Sales and Promotion: AWAKE UPFRONT PRESENTATION NBC Entertainment Marketing

Business — Safety, Training & Employee Development: WHY WE FLY Futuristic Films for Republic Airways

Science & Technology: THE NEW BIOLOGY John Rubin Productions, Inc.

Motivational: BE THEIR ANGEL/URBAN CHOICE CHARTER SCHOOL C47 Associates for the Urban Choice Charter School

Click image to read about Cine.Org — How to enter contests, Cine’s Mission…

Documentary Short: FINDING KALMAN The Memory Project Productions, Inc.

Documentary Feature: THE MATADOR  Matador Films, LLC

Fiction Short: A FINGER, TWO DOTS THEN ME Duality Filmworks and Write Bloody Publishing

Documentary: THE VIGIL  American University

Entertainment — Animation: Road’s End Ringling College of Art & Design

Entertainment  - Drama: UNDER  Columbia University

The Music of Marvin Hamlisch for Motion Pictures: Aside from the very well known films – The Way We Were, The Sting, Sophie’s Choice, The Swimmer, Take the Money and Run, Ice Castles, -  Marvin Hamlisch composed musical scores for many other motion pictures. His first score was for the film The Swimmer (1968), at the request of Sam Spiegel. –And many others followed. (See Biography section/Films).

The Way We Were, The Sting, The Spy Who Loved Me, Ice Castles, Sophie’s Choice

He Remembers how he got the job for this first film:

Sam Spiegel:  “I’ve got a new picture, Marvin,” And I’m looking for somebody to do the music. Tell you what. I’d love to hear a couple of your songs. I’ll phone you in a few days. Then you can come over and play them for me.”

Marvin: A few days later, Spiegel called. I appeared at his hotel and announced grandly that I was not going to play any of my old songs for him. He was taken aback.

Sam Spiegel: “What do you mean? You said you were a composer. So play me some songs.”

Marvin: “Mr. Spiegel, I’m not here to play you some songs. I’m here to play you the theme from The Swimmer.” When I finished, he said: “play it again, kid.” When I finished playing it a second time, Spiegel grabbed the phone and began calling a succession of people.  I must have played it at least fifteen times. When the last listener had come and gone, Spiegel confronted me.

Sam Spiegel: “Okay, that’s it. I want you to do the movie.” –Then Spiegel frowned.- “But can you do a picture? Do you know what it takes to score a movie?”

A Streetcar Named Desire, Three Men And a Baby, Little Nikita, Switched At Birth, The Mirror Has Two Faces

Marvin — I looked him straight in the eye. — “Sure I do” — I said.

Marvin: “The truth was that I didn’t know the first thing about the movie business. I knew nothing about 35-mm film or click tracks or all the thousand and one things you have to know to write music for a feature film. I confess that I must have been given an uncanny instinct, and that was to know when an opportunity was at my door or when an offer came that could become a turning point. It never occurred to me, not even for a split second, to say to Spiegel that all this was brand-new to me or that I’d need a long course of study. I’ve always had the kind of chutzpah that lets me say: Give me the job and I’ll figure it out later. My mother used to call this “making your own luck.” Others call this “earn while you learn.”

Watch: Scene from A Street Car Named Desire. Director: John Erman  Writers:Oscar Saul, Tennessee Williams (play). Stars: Ann-Margret, Treat Williams and Beverly D’Angelo, Music by Marvin Hamlisch.

 Notes from Marvin:

“One of the first movies I remember seeing when I was  very young – which I had to beg my mother to see, (it had nothing to do with the rules of G, PG, R — none of those. It was my mother’s rules, and those rules were much tougher than the other rules), was called On The Waterfront. I loved the way they used the music in the film.  Another film that means a lot to me is High Noon. To witness how a little, simple western song “Do not forsake me…” connects with the most important part for the whole, big, huge sequence at the end. You start to realize what music has going for it, and why it’s important.”

Watch: Scene from On The Waterfront:

 

LISTEN: “Do Not Forsake Me.” Written by Dimitri Tionkin. Sung by Tex Ritter

“The way I explain the use of music in films is that music should add something. So if something is funny, maybe it can be funnier. If it’s a love scene, maybe it can be more passionate. If it’s a mystery, maybe it can be more mysterious. And the key is, that if you were a painter and you came  into a room that had white, all white walls, if you painted some more white on the white, all you would have is a white wall, exactly what you started with – just extra paint. The thing is to find that extra color, that extra something, that’s going to take that white wall and do something to it that’s even going to make it more. And what that is, that decision, is sometimes more about the color, in terms of the musical color. The quickness, particularly the speed, has a lot to do with films – how you pace a film, how you decide what is going to be fast and what is going to be slow, before you even get to things like melody and harmony. It’s the difference between having a great meal and then you decide that I really just want a little extra salt there. That little extra salt is called music. And that’s what it does.”

Little Nikita — A dramatic thriller starting the late River Phoenix & the legendary Sidney Poitier. A Richard Benjamin Film. Music by Marvin Hamlisch.

“I just did a film – a very interesting film — The Informant!  — And Steven Soderbergh, who is a brilliant director – his first words to me on this film were,

“I want people to know this is a comedy. You have to do whatever you can to let people know: This. Is. Funny.”

Now, if the director is telling you that, he is really giving you a big, wide range to be funny, you know what I mean? So yea, those things can be very helpful.

So, supposedly, when they asked Michaelangelo: “How do you make and elephant?” He said: “I get a slab of concrete. I take away everything that’s not an elephant. And I’m left with an elephant.” It’s the same way. Exactly the same way.

Bananas, Kotch, The World’s Greatest Athlete, Save the Tiger, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, The Absent-minded Waiter, Same Time Next Year

Here’s what happens: nowadays you work with DVDs, and in the old days I used to work with a Moviola, you know, a lot of racket. But now it’s easy. So the DVD is on. You have a screen at your piano, you know, like a little television. And of course, you always have a tuna fish sandwich. That’s so important when you’re writing music. You’ve got to have the tuna fish with the DVD, because otherwise you can’t write. So you’re writing, and I’ll tell you what it is. It’s not only trial and error. Because it is; you know, you write something and go, “Nah.” And sometimes nothing happens and you go, “Ugh.” If it gets to you, you go, “Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute, this is happening for me.” Then what normally happens is I either write it out or I record it. And then I let a day go by, because let me tell you something about composers – I think every composer lives with this problem. When you write something, you think, “This is the greatest thing in the entire world. Wow!” Because you’ve done it. You’ve done it. It’s like wow! But it may not stand the test of time. When I say the test of time, I mean one night. One night of sleep. One night to wake up and go, “Do I still love this melody?” It’s very much like writing.  If you’re writing…

 

Now, on The Informant! Which was really interesting – The Informant! Wasn’t so much about writing a specific melody or whatever. The Informant! Was about trying to figure out a choice about what type of music I was going to write. What flavor was this going to be? It took me two weeks to figure out this film. And for two weeks, I didn’t write a note. For two weeks, my wife said to me, “Marvin the clock is ticking, and you haven’t written one note.” And I said, “Well, that’s not true exactly. I’ve decided what notes I’m not writing.” So I’ve had two weeks to decide what I’m not writing.

I’m eliminating like crazy. One day I’m walking on the streets of New York and it comes to me. It just hits me and I go, “Okay, this guy’s a bipolar guy,” the guy who’s in the film. And I said, “If he’s bipolar, then that means that he sees the world from his eyes, which is totally crazy. Which means that he sees the fact that he’s just great and everybody else is nuts.” Once I decided upon the premise, that he’s wonderful, he’s “zippidy-doo-da” and everybody else is crazy, I start to figure out, “Okay, this score is going to be a score made up of vignettes, little things that would come.”

So, If you see the film, I’m very proud of the fact that the very first cue is what I call my misdirection cue. It’s a cue that says, “This is a serious film. It’s almost like Bernard Herrmann, you know, and this is very serious.” The film starts out with a shot of a tape recorder, you know, a tape recorder with a reel-to-reel. You think, “Oh my God.” The next cue is in his head, we meet him for the first time. And I based it on the sound of “Zippidy-doo-da.” You know, I do my version of “Zippidy-doo-da.” Every one of the cues in the film is my version of something – whether it’s  Mannix and that whole FBI thing, that whole sound of what Mannix was like– Whatever it is, it’s all based on vignettes. And that’s what I think makes the film totally off the wall and a lot of fun.

Watch reviews, listen to music, from: The Informant!

Watch movie: Three Men and a Baby:

Starring Tom Sellec, Ted Danson & Steve Guttenberg. They helped change her diapers, she helped change their lives. A Leonard Nemoy Film.

Three Men and a Baby — Click image to watch movie

Soundtracks for 3 Men and a Baby (1987)

• “The Minute I Saw You” (End title) — Written by Marvin Hamlisch, David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager and John Parr — Performed by John Parr

• “Bad Boy” (Opening title) — Written by Lawrence Dermer — Performed by Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine

• “Conga” — Performed by The Miami Sound Machine

• “Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight” — Performed by The Spaniels

• “Good Lovin” — Performed by The Rascals

• “Daddy’s Girl” — Written by Peter Cetera and Mark Goldenberg — Performed by Peter Cetera

• “The Right Thing” — Performed by Simply Red

• “Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight” — Performed by Tom Selleck, Ted Danson & Steve Guttenberg

I will see you at the movies!

Ray was born in 1930 in Albany, Georgia. Ray Charles Robinson was the son of Bailey and Aretha Robinson.

Probably the strongest element in Ray Charles’ life, and the most concentrated driving force, was music. Ray often said,

“I was born with music inside me. That’s the only explanation I know.”

In school, Charles was taught only classical music, but he wanted to play the jazz and blues he heard on the family radio. Ray sat at a piano and the music began; he opened his mouth and the lyrics began. He was in absolute control.

At 15 years old, Ray Charles was an orphan, but he still managed to make his way in this world under very trying conditions; Ray refused to roll over and play dead. Instead he continued his education in St. Augustine, at Florida’s State School for the Deaf and Blind. A few years later, Ray decided to move. His choice was Seattle, Washington. It was in Seattle that Ray recorded his first record. It was also in Seattle that the seed was planted for a lifelong friendship with Quincy Jones.

In the decades since Seattle, Ray Charles made his contributions to the many facets of music in which he excelled. His awards are too numerous to mention all of them, but we would like to acknowledge eight honorary doctoral degrees, seventeen Grammys, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and his  President’s Merit Award. He has been recognized repeatedly by Heads of State, Presidents, Premieres, Political Dignitaries and members of Royal families. He was chosen, by the King and Queen of Sweden, to receive the Polar Music Award, which is that country’s most prestigious award and is recognized the world over. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #10 on their list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” and #2 on their list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time.”

Ray Charles, the piano man with the bluesy voice who reshaped American music for a half-century, bringing the essence of soul to country, jazz, rock, standards and every other style of music he touched.

He brought his influence to bear as a performer, songwriter, bandleader and producer. He was a remarkable pianist, at home with splashy barrelhouse playing and precisely understated swing.

But his playing was inevitably overshadowed by his voice, a forthright baritone steeped in the blues, strong and impure and gloriously unpredictable. He could belt like a blues shouter and croon like a pop singer, and he used the flaws and breaks in his voice to illuminate emotional paradoxes. Even in his early years he sounded like a voice of experience, someone who had seen all the hopes and follies of humanity.   Ray Charles died at 73 years old on June 10, 2004.

Read more about Ray Charles

From San Diego Symphony: During the 2011–2012 Pops Season, The San Diego Symphony paid tribute to Ray Charles. The San Diego Symphony invited Mr. Ellis Hall, virtuoso multi-instrumentalist and vocalist.

On stage at The Kennedy Center in front of President Clinton and Ray Charles, Ellis was introduced:“Mr. Charles has asked that Ellis perform this evening. Though he is sightless, his vision is greater than ours.”

Source: From New York Times, 2004 — Article by Jon Pareles and Bernard Weinraub

“I think Arts education is so  important.  It’s as important as studying math and English. I think it is part of being a human being. It rounds you out as a person.”

 SANTA ANA – CA. Recently Marvin gave a Master Class at the Orange County High School of The Arts.

Orange County High School of The Arts

He had a session with the students about “The Art of the Audition”, imparted some advice, listened to several students and performed with the Student Symphony.

 “Most kids, particularly not from NYC have never been to and been prepared for a New York audition. So I’ve developed a thing called “The Art of the Audition.” We basically ask for three people to come up, sing two songs, we give them some advice about their presentation and listen to them  after they have “adjusted” their performance. I will tell you right now there is usually one out of three that does an incredible “180°” and turns out to be gold. It is a great opportunity for them to get some savvy advice from an old guy and hopefully they will take advantage of it.”

 

PITTSBURGH – PA. Marvin Hamlisch presented several workshops during his tenure as Point Park University’s 2011 Distinguished Master Artist in Residence.

The themes of the workshops:

–The Art of The Audition

- The Works and Imagination of Marvin Hamlisch

–The Art of Music in Film

Hamlisch shared personal stories from his time in the industry and offered advice to the students in the audience.

“In your lifetime, to get 90 seconds of autonomy is unheard of, so make the best of it,” he said about the audition process. Many casting directors are working on many shows at a time, so if you don’t get the part you auditioned for, you could still be contacted about a different role.”

“If you’re passionate about something, you just have to do it,” Hamlisch said. “People in college should know that now is a very glorious time to do what you want to do.”

During  The Works and Imagination of Marvin Hamlisch  he provided personal insight into his work, creative process and career success. Hamlisch recounted stories of working with legendary artists, such as Barbara Streisand, and how his choice of projects in music, Broadway shows and film led to one of the greatest music careers in history. Hamlisch delighted the audience as he played some of his works.

During the Master Class “The art of Music in film”, Marvin discussed how composing music for movies interacts with the other elements on the film.

Marvin’ encounter with Sam Spiegel: (as told by Marvin in his book “The Way I Was”)

“…Then, out of the blue, a different kind of telephone call came. Ah, yes. I remember it well. It was a Saturday evening in 1967. It was around six-thirty. It was a woman with a voice brittle with impatience. She announced she had gotten my number from one of the musicians in Funny Girl, and that they needed a piano player for a party that night. She asked if I was available.

“Lady, please!” I said, affronted. “I’m a college student. I’m a Juilliard man. I was the rehearsal pianist for Barbra Streisand. I’ve worked on The Bell Telephone Hour. I’m a composer. I do not play parties. Repeat, I do not play parties.”

“That’s too bad,” she said. “It’s for Sam Spiegel.”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” I said.

I raced from the house and arrived at Sam Spiegel’s suite at the St. Moritz Hotel.

Faye Dunaway arrived amid a group of the “A” List from Hollywood. Even Bobby Kennedy, who was running for a seat in the U. S. Senate from New York, made an appearance.

I sensed that Sam Spiegel was very happy that night. He was using a live piano player for the first time– he always used to play records– and he could see how much his guests were enjoying themselves.

Some of the guests, like Jule Styne, told Spiegel I was a talented young fellow. “What do you do besides play for parties?” he asked.

“Well, Mr. Spiegel, if this hadn’t been your party, I wouldn’t have taken the job. I am a…composer.”

Spiegel proudly told me that he had given Leonard Bernstein his big break when he hired him to write the score for “On The Waterfront”. I guess you could also say that Sam Spiegel had given Lawrence of Arabia his big break.

“I’ve got a new picture, Marvin,” Spiegel continued. “ And I’m looking for somebody to do the music. Tell you what. I’d love to hear a couple of your songs. I’ll phone you in a few days. Then you can come over and play them for me.”

Spiegel stuck a copy in my coat pocket of the John Cheever short story on which the film was based. It was called “The Swimmer” and it was to star Burt Lancaster as an aging Lothario who decides one day to swim home, pool by pool. (Why he didn’t just grab a cab, I’ve never understood.)

So I decided that before I met with Spiegel, I would have the main theme for the score for The Swimmer ready to go. I hoped it would reflect Cheever’s brooding tone. A few days later, Spiegel called. I appeared at his hotel and announced grandly that I was not going to play any of my old songs for him. He was taken aback.

“What do you mean? You said you were a composer. So play me some songs.”

“Mr. Spiegel,” I said, “I’m not here to play you some songs. I’m here to play you the theme from The Swimmer.”

I thereupon sat down at the piano and played what I’d written. When I finished, he said: “play it again, kid.” When I finished playing it a second time, Spiegel grabbed the phone and began calling a succession of people to come to the hotel to hear what I had done. He loved it. Over the next few hours I must have played it at least fifteen times.

“If this gets played on the radio as many times as I’ve played it today,” I said, “we’ll have a hit.”
When the last listener had come and gone, Spiegel confronted me.

“Okay, that’s it. I want you to do the movie.”   (From the book: The Way I Was)

Watch: The Inspiring Music of Marvin Hamlisch

Comments from Students during lectures:

The topics Hamlisch discussed resonated with Conservatory of Performing Arts students and those pursuing other fields of study.

“Being able to audition in front of Hamlisch was an amazing privilege and experience. I am one to always go for a challenge, and in my lifetime, he is the most notably famous person I have ever performed in front of in person”

“I was grateful for the unique opportunity to receive feedback from a composer, a point of view actors don’t often get to hear”

“I had a great time trying new ideas out. I got the chance to sing four different pieces for him, from high style musical comedy to a John Mayer pop song, and I even sang one of his own songs! I think the best part of the whole experience was leaving the workshop with a Marvin Hamlisch approved audition package”

“It was wonderful listening to him talk about his life and give advice on show business, especially being someone who wants to become an actress. Hearing how his connections resulted in different projects later on made me realize how important it is to meet people in this business. He is such an incredibly talented person and it was such a great opportunity to spend time getting to know him“

“This type of advice is meant for everyone, not just composers, actors or screenwriters. Truly, those who go through life without following their dreams regret their decision. Also, our time at Point Park University is an excellent chance to try the things we think we want to do. Virtually at our fingertips, we are offered hundreds of classes to explore our desires and plenty of mentors that want to help us in our endeavors”

Sources: Point Park University 2011 Distinguished Master Artist in Residence, Orange County High School of The Arts, Book: The Way I Was.

Menzel filmed her second PBS special in Toronto on November 17–18 with the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony at Koerner Hall.

Menzel has a diverse career on stage and in film, television, and music. She recently appeared in the television hit Glee, and is currently on a sold-out tour, performing with leading orchestras around the country. In 2009 Ms. Menzel co-starred with Josh Groban in the concert version of Chess: The Musical, recorded at London’s Royal Albert Hall and broadcast on PBS. In December 2005 she completed her role as the misunderstood Elphaba in Broadway’s Wicked, for which she received a Tony Award for Lead Actress in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award nomination.

She reprised the role in London’s West End in September 2006, receiving the Theatregoers Choice Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She also starred in Michael John LaChiusa’s musical See What I Wanna See, directed by Ted Sperling at The Public Theater, garnering Drama Desk and Drama League Award nominations. Other honors included a Tony nomination for her debut performance as Maureen in the original production of Rent, and a Drama Desk nomination for her performance as Kate in Manhattan Theater Club’s Off-Broadway original musical, The Wild Party.

The concert can be purchased on Amazon

Tuesday, March 6, 2012 — by BWW News Desk. Read more