|
|
 Peter Tomashek has been orchestrating in Hollywood for over two decades, as well as scoring for film & television; primarily working for such composers are Robert Folk and Randy Miller, Mr. Tomashek continues work today, always on hte look out for assignements.
[NOTE: I created and run Mr. Tomashek's website, where you can hear mroe samples of his work] How did you get involved with "Batman: The Animated Series"? I think it was because I was proofreading at Warner Brothers along with Lolita Ritmanus and Larry Rench. I heard Shirley was looking for new composers, and I sent her a demo of whatever I had to offer at the time (probably some Robert Folk stuff). Do you have any memorable moments from your time on the show? Conducted the score for "Robin's Reckoning". It was a thrill to work with such a professional group of musicians in a historic room like the Warner's scoring stage. What did you think of the show? I thought the show was great, with a strong visual style and compelling stories. The producers took it all very seriously and I think it shows. You were the only composer on the series to give the character Robin a theme; what made you do what no one had bothered to do before? It was a creative choice on my part. Nearly every episode had some sort of distinctive material, whether it was a full blown theme or a set of unique motives. How come you didn't end up scoring more episodes? A mystery to me. Shirley always seemed pleased with my work and respectful of my composition skills and we got along fine personally; I really don't know. What was the average scoring like and how much creative control did you have (since Walker was listed as the Music Supervisor most times)? I believe I would write one or two cues and then review them with Shirley. If she approved of them, she would let me finish the score without further feedback. What was the collaborative process like (assuming you collaborated with the other composer) and how did you both decide who gets what on "Zatanna"? I believe Shirley assigned the cues in that episode. There was no direct collaboration with the other composer, although we did meet and got along fine. For those unfamiliar with who you are, would you give us a little background? I arrived in LA with a Master of Music Composition and participated in the second year of the brand new film scoring program at USC. There I met Randy Miller, who continues to be my closest associate and friend. He introduced me to Robert Folk, and I worked on a number of his scores including "Beastmaster II", "Toy Soldiers", and "Trapped In Paradise". Recently I scored a children's action film, "Final Approach" (original title: "Junior Pilot") a big hit in Japan! You've worked quite a lot with composr Robert Folk in various capacities; how did the working relationship form, and what do you think about it? I learned a great deal about composing and orchestrating with Robert. He was easy to work for and gave me a lot of creative freedom. Can you tell us about any upcoming projects you have? Nothing coming up in the immediate future, although I continue to work with Randy Miller and the music library Megatrax. I also conduct, arrange, and do music prep --whatever pays the bills! Finally, if there is anything you'd like to ad that wasn't covered above, please do so. I'm sure others have said this already, but Shirley was a remarkable person, not just an incredibly talented composer and musician, but a kind and generous mentor. While she had a good career, she deserved much more. I feel blessed to have known her and to be able to work with her on the Batman series and several of her film projects. PUBLISHED: August 7, 2009 |