ASMAC Welcomes Composer Michael Giacchino to Discuss His First Solo Album, ‘Travelogue: Volume 1’

On Saturday, 7 November 2020, at 8 PM GMT/3 PM EST, The American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (ASMAC) will welcome Academy and GRAMMY Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino to discuss his first solo LP, ‘Travelogue: Volume 1’, featuring his Nouvelle Modernica Orchestra.

Giacchino will be joined in conversation by Tim Simonec, who arranged the string parts for the album, along with members of his Nouvelle Modernica Orchestra including Mark Gasbarro, Dan Greco, Abe Laboriel, Abe Laboriel Jr, Gayle Levant, and Andrew Synowiec, as well as mixing engineer Warren Brown.

The concept album, which was released on 30 October 2020 on Mondo Records, was recorded during the pandemic and saw Giacchino reunite with a few of his long-time collaborators. The record features spoken-word interludes voiced by actress Janina Gavanka and ‘follows a space traveller seeking solace on a planet that isn’t as broken and lost as her own distant world. Upon discovering earth, the story unfolds throughout its 11 captivating tracks.’

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Michael Giacchino’s credits include some of the most popular and acclaimed film projects in recent history, including ‘The Incredibles’, ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’, ‘Ratatouille’, ‘Star Trek’, ‘Jurassic World’, ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’, ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ and ‘Coco’. Giacchino’s 2009 score for the Pixar hit ‘Up’ earned him an Oscar®, a Golden Globe®, the BAFTA, the Broadcast Film Critics’ Choice Award and two GRAMMY® Awards.

Giacchino studied filmmaking at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. After college, he landed a marketing job at Disney and began studies in music composition, first at Juilliard, and then at UCLA. He moved from marketing to producing in the newly formed Disney Interactive Division where he had the opportunity to write music for video games.

After moving to DreamWorks Interactive, he was asked to score the temp track for the video game adaptation of ‘The Lost World: Jurassic Park’. Subsequently, Steven Spielberg hired him as the composer and it became the first PlayStation game to have a live orchestral score, recorded with members of the Seattle Symphony. Giacchino went on to score numerous video games including Spielberg’s ‘Medal of Honor’ series. Giacchino’s work in video games sparked the interest of J.J. Abrams, and thus began their long-standing relationship that would lead to scores for the hit television series ‘Alias’ and ‘Lost’, and the feature films ‘Mission Impossible III’, ‘Star Trek’, ‘Super 8’ and ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’.

PHOTO BY DAN GOLDWASSER

Additional projects include collaborations with Disney Imagineering on music for Space Mountain, Star Tours (with John Williams), the Ratatouille ride in Disneyland Paris, and the Incredicoaster on Pixar Pier at California Adventure. Giacchino was the musical director of the 81st Annual Academy Awards®. His music can be heard in concert halls internationally with all three ‘Star Trek’ films, ‘Ratatouille’, ‘Jurassic World’, ‘Up’ and ‘Coco’ being performed live-to-picture with a full orchestra. In June 2018, Giacchino premiered his first work for symphony orchestra, Voyage. Commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, the piece celebrates the 60th anniversary of the founding of NASA. In July 2019, a third movement was added for the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing.

‘Jojo Rabbit’, the critically acclaimed Fox Searchlight film written and directed by Taika Waititi, earned Giacchino a BAFTA nomination this year. His upcoming film projects include Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’.

Giacchino serves as the Governor of the Music Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and sits on the advisory board of Education Through Music Los Angeles.

The American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts of Music Arranging, Composition and Orchestration within the entertainment industry community and the general public. To find out more about ASMAC or to become a member, visit www.asmac.org.

Tickets:

To register for the event, follow this link.

ASMAC Members – $5.00
SCL, Maestra, ASA, AWFC – $8.00
Non Members – $10.00

©MONDO

To purchase this gorgeous vinyl, visit mondoshop.com, or listen to the album on your music streaming service of choice.