 Jeff Atmajian has been orchestrating in Hollywood for over two decades; primarily working for award winning composer James Newton Howard, Atmajian has provided some of the best orchestrations of any one in his profession in decades. A master in his field, he still works today.
How did you get involved with "Batman: The Animated Series"?
Not exactly sure if I recall. I think shirley had asked me after seeing I had orchestrated some of the other composers works.
Do you have any memorable moments from your time on the show?
The thrill of hearing my music played (so early in my career) by such wonderful musicians.
Do you have any memorable moment from your stint?
To be honest I never really got to see much of it though the few I did see seemed very interesting and sophisticated.
What did you think of the show?
To be honest I never really got to see much of it though the few I did see seemed very interesting and sophisticated.
How come you didn't end up scoring more episodes?
Shirley liked my 2 pieces (my "audition" I suppose) but thought my writing was too "filmic" for TV and so I wasn't asked to do more. I did continue to orchestrate for others though.
What was the average scoring like and how much creative control did you have (since Walker was listed as the Music Supervisor most times)?
She had the final word on how a cue should turn out -- sometimes compositionally and often as to the recording.
What was the collaborative process like (assuming you collaborated with the other composer) and how did you both decide who gets what?
I was assigned my two cue sequences so there was no direct collaboration.
For those unfamiliar with who you are, would you give us a little background.
Born and Raised in Fresno, Ca in 1960.
Jeff began Private Classical Piano lessons at the age of 8 with Esther Frankian. At the age of 15 he began additional Private study of Traditional Jazz Piano with Robert Lloyd and then later added studies in Progressive (Modern) Jazz Piano with Rick Helzer (3 teachers simultaneously!). He later continued his classical studies with Alan Rea.
Jeff began writing music at the age of 14 as he gained an interest in popular music. In addition to studies in mathematics and computers Jeff pursued a composition degree at the California State University of Fresno. It was at this point that his love for symphonic and chamber music began to flourish. During these years he played piano for vocal groups and ballet classes, local theatre productions and the University Jazz band. He was a choir member and pianist at Northwest church 1979 -- 1984. It was here that he found great opportunity to play, write and arrange for their vibrant musical programs including the children's groups, the volunteer orchestra and significant holiday productions.
In 1984 he was accepted into the first year of a special studies program at USC for film music. He moved to Los Angeles (Glendale) and supported himself by doing music copying, arranging, playing for dance classes and as pianist for two churches in Orange county.
In 1986 he met English orchestrator Christopher Palmer at a film scoring session in Los Angeles and from that contact came the start of what would be a dual life of living and working in LA and London.
He has had the pleasure of working on many projects through which he has met Elmer Bernstein, Andre Previn, Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Christopher Plummer, Jose Carreras, Lord Richard Attenborough, Al Pacino, Rob Reiner, Nora Ephron, Geena Davis, Barbra Streisand and many other noted names in the classical and film world. He has worked with all the London Orchestras on classical, popular and film recordings as well as doing film recording with the excellent studio orchestras in Los Angeles and New York. After several years as orchestrator for George Fenton he has to date enjoyed many more years of steady work with Marc Shaiman, James Newton Howard and Rachel Portman as their orchestrator. Recently he has also enjoyed a working relationship with Gabriel Yared which has brought him the opportunity to do more film score conducting.
Jeff has done projects for Sparrow records such as "The Majesty and Glory of the Resurrection", "The Redeemer" and "Blessed Assurance" all of which he orchestrated and conducted.
In 2005 he composed the music for the large production "Creation" at the Crystal Cathedral. In 2006 he composed the score for the documentary "Screamers" about the Armenian genocide. To date it has won several awards and appeared in many prestigious festivals.
Jeff has worked on over 140 films as orchestrator and is pursuing more and more projects as composer and conductor.
He has recently played piano and arranged strings for a track on the new album by "Jem" and also lectures at the Royal College of Music in London and USC.
He divides his life between his homes in Venice Beach and London.
I'd be remiss if I didn't ask about your work with James Newton Howard. Your orchestrations have been fantastic and I can't imagine a J.N.H. score without your touch. How did you come to work with him?
We were put in touch in late 1994 and the match seemed a really good one. I really respect him as a musician and have learned tons working for him. He has always
been a great supporter of my work too and that means a lot to me.
Do you like orchestrating as much as you do, or do you wish for occassional scoring assignments?
I really do like orchestrating and all that it entails despite the fact that there is less "freedom" in the job these days. But that is true of composition too and yes I do pursue composition work as well for I think I have much to "say" in that way too.
Can you tell us about any upcoming projects you have?
Just finished "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" as well as "Grey Gardens", "Confessions of a Shopaholic" and bits on "Milk" and "A Dog Year" as well as arranging a Coldplay track and performing the piano and strings for it for the artist "Jem".
And lastly, if there are any comments you would like to make about your work on "Batman: The Animated Series", or anything else, please feel free.
It was a pleasure being around so many talented and upcoming writers both as a fellow composer and as their orchestrator.
PUBLISHED: November 24, 2008
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