“ Terrific! Schelle is extremely prepared and articulate—and he coaxes fabulous interviews from his subjects. For once, composers are truly appreciated: They come across as smart, funny, and quite opinionated. This is a book that needed to be written. It sheds light on one of the least discussed but most important aspects of motion picture art.”
—Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, screenwriters, Ed Wood, The People vs. Larry Flynt

A unique collection of lively, in-depth, musically savvy conversations with contemporary film composers of every style, background, and position in Hollywood’s hierarchy, The Score brings together a broad cross-section of current thoughts about the process of film composing, styles of film music, and working within today’s entertainment industry.

Interviews with

• John Barry (From Russia with Love, Dances with Wolves, Out of Africa)

• Elmer Bernstein (To Kill a Mockingbird, The Magnificent Seven, The Grifters)

• Terence Blanchard (Malcolm X, Crooklyn, Clockers)

• Bruce Broughton (Silverado, The Presidio, Tombstone)

• Paul Chihara (Crossing Delancey, The Morning After, Prince of the City)

• John Corigliano (Altered States, The Red Violin, Revolution)

• James Newton Howard (The Fugitive, The Prince of Tides, Devil’s Advocate)

• Mark Isham (A River Runs Through It, Cool World, Quiz Show)

• Daniel Licht (Thinner, Children of the Night, Permanent Midnight)

• Joel McNeely (The Avengers, Radioland Murders, Virus)

• Thomas Newman (The Shawshank Redemption, The people vs, Larry Flynt, The Horse Whisperer)

• Marc Shaiman (City Slickers, A Few Good Men, Ghosts of Mississippi)

• Howard Shore (The Silence of the Lambs, Ed Wood, Naked Lunch)

• Shirley Walker (Escape from L.A., Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Turbulence)

• Christopher Young (Hellraiser, Species, Murder in the First)

Michael Schelle is a concert composer whose works have been commissioned and performed by major orchestras and chamber ensembles worldwide. He has received composition grants from the NEA, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Welsh Arts Council, and many other organizations and has twice been a Pulitzer Prize nominee. He is Composer in Residence at Butler University’s School of Music and a frequent guest composer at universities and new-music festivals across the country.