Most aspiring film and media composers today are either self-taught or emerge from one of the academic programs offered at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels by institutions such as USC, NYU, Columbia College Chicago, Royal College of Music, or the MFA program I currently direct at the Film Scoring Academy of Europe. A few are lucky enough to enter the profession through active mentoring by an industry figure, but for the great majority, there is a wide and seemingly untraversable gap between earning a degree or certificate and earning the first major scoring assignment--not to say obtaining professional representation or management.

Young composers often seek to bridge this gap with an internship or assistantship to a working composer, and these can be of great value in the right circumstances. A working composer, however, is generally not able to serve as your coach or your champion, nor are they in a position to mediate industry contacts for you outside their sphere of work. This isn't really their function, nor is it always in their interest. The mentoring programs described below are purposed to address "the gap" in another way: in the fashion of the A&R (artist and repertoire) people and staff producers who once worked for the major pop, jazz and classical record labels. Their job was to seek out, recognize, and develop talent, and to make sure this talent was exposed. 

I can't offer you a record deal, nor can I make any guarantees of work. But after a lifetime of service to the media music industry, I can promise that your work will be heard by the right people, and that its presentation will meet the high standards and expectations of the 21st century media industries. I won't take you on if I don't believe we can achieve that.