Scored for: instrumentation of these excerpts includes solo instruments, percussion, synthesizers, and studio orchestra (with additional sound design)
Here’s a one-minute sampler of music clips from film and video re-scores I composed in 2016-2017.
For a longer sample, including video, see the Demo Reel.
Scored for: solo voice, guitar(s), bass, drums
This is a live stream recording of the VCFA Songwriter’s Festival concert on 12 February 2016, with me singing my original country-and-western song Don’t Give Up on Me (accompanied by a few talented friends).
I wrote this for my wife, who had to put up with me travelling to remote work locations every week for a few years before I retired.
There’s another version of this song here.
Scored for: solo voice and piano
Finding You is an original love song to my wife of over 20 years, and is fairly autobiographical.
This is a live performance from VCFA streamed to the internet on 10 February 2017. The pianist is Claudine Joelle Robbins.
This is a string transcription of my piano piece, Parody of Eric Satie’s Gymnopedie #1 (in this case, “Parody of” means “Homage to”). I thought this might work well for string ensemble.
Scored for: instrumentation of these excerpts includes solo instruments, percussion, synthesizers, and studio orchestra (with additional sound design)
This is a ten-minute collection of scenes from films, TV shows, commercials, and video games that I have re-scored*. All of the short films can be found in the “Film Scores” section of my website here.
In a hurry? Listen to a one-minute audio-only sampler of media scores here.
Note that the videos and dialogs excerpted are the property of the respective companies, and are used only to demonstrate my film scoring skills. No copyright infringement is intended. The music is Copyright © 2017 Steven K. Sanford.
Please do not republish this video elsewhere on the internet or use without permission.
(video revised 22 May 2018)
(* “re-score” means replacing the original music with a newly written soundtrack)
Scored for: piano and string ensemble
This is a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo (1958) that I’ve rescored for piano and strings. Jimmy Stewart’s character (at the bar) is getting his first glimpse of Kim Novak’s character (at the table) while she is dining with her husband. Jimmy’s character is a private investigator who has been hired by the husband to surreptitiously follow Kim’s character, because she has been behaving suicidally.
The location reminded me of a restaurant in Brooklyn, NY, where my wife and I dined several times, complete with a pianist playing in a corner, and plush surroundings. So I staged the score with a pianist improvising a jazz piece as background music, then introduced the strings for Kim’s character.
I was able to capture some of the background sound effects during quiet moments in the scene, which I’ve included behind my rescore.
Note that the video and sound effects are the property of Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions, and are used for purposes of illustrating my film scoring. No copyright infringement is intended. The music is Copyright © 2017 Steven K. Sanford.
Please do not republish this film clip elsewhere on the internet or use without permission.
I reworked original themes I wrote in the early 1970s into a romantic trio.
This is a live 2012 video featuring Robyn Olichwier (flute), Sarah Walters (alto flute), and Christopher Alexander (guitar), recorded in concert at Shenandoah University. The video is from a cellphone in the audience, but the audio track was professionally recorded.
Steven K Sanford 