Jorge Aragón Selected Among Composers and Directors to Attend a Sound Lab at Sundance Institute

June 30, 2019

Sundance Institute and Skywalker Sound announced the composers and directors selected for the Sundance Institute Film Music and Sound Design Lab, which returns to the legendary Skywalker Sound Facilities for the seventh year.

In the laboratory, composers, directors, and sound designers will collaborate to develop music and sound for fiction and non-fiction film projects.

Workshops and creative exercises, guided by leading film composers and sound designers who serve as Creative Advisors, will guide the Fellows to explore the crucial role of sound and music in storytelling.

As part of the laboratory, a live chamber orchestra will perform the original scores of each composer/director. The sound design and music laboratory will take place from July 9-22 as a joint initiative of the Film Music Program, the Feature Film Program, and the Documentary Film Program of the Institute.

"We received applications from more than 700 talented artists this year and had the difficult task of choosing eight fellows. We are pleased to announce that our group of composers is exceptionally talented, diverse, and international composed of artists representing Cuba, Hong Kong, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the United States," said Peter Golub, Director of Sundance Film Music Program. "Working with sound designers and fiction and documentary filmmakers, we will explore the different ways in which music and sound contribute to the film storytelling process."

This year's creative advisors include: James Newton Howard, Alan Silvestri, Ken Kwapis, Miriam Cutler, Marco Beltrami, Randy Thom, Brooke Wentz, Christophe Beck, Harry Gregson-Williams, Adam Smalley, Fil Eisler, Tony Morales, and Doreen Ringer-Ross.

Skywalker sound designers include Bob Edwards, Pete Horner, Dennis Leonard, Richard Gould, Baihui Yang, Kim Patrick, Stephen Urata, and Alyssa Nevarez, as well as music editor Jonathon Stevens.

"Peter and the Sundance team are like family, we are delighted to have them back again this year for the Labs," said Josh Lowden, vice president and general manager of Skywalker Sound. "What we have tried to cultivate here is a kind of artist colony, where creatives from different disciplines can escape the daily routine and work together. Our goal is to cultivate new relationships between directors, composers, and sound designers. We encourage collaboration that begins before and goes beyond. We hope that together we can continue breaking barriers and pushing the limits of creative storytelling."