Bear McCreary:
"No single person outside of my family had a greater impact on the trajectory of my life than Elmer Bernstein, who was born exactly a century ago. He was equally legendary for his music and for his generosity to aspiring composers.
Born at the right time, Elmer was among the first generation to grow up hearing music in movies, admiring the Golden Era composers who migrated over from European classical music. Elmer would become the first major film composer to reach a 50 year career.
Starting in early 50's B-movie horror schlock, Elmer quickly made a name for himself with "The Man with the Golden Arm" (1955) and "The Ten Commandments" (1956). One was a groundbreaking jazz score, the other a soaring biblical epic. His range was undeniable.
The rest is history. His achievements include The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Ghostbusters, Animal House, The Age of Innocence, Cape Fear ('91), Far From Heaven, the National Geographic Theme, and arrangements for Michael Jackson and Neil Diamond.
I met Elmer when I was a junior in high school through a crazy coincidence, and went on to study under and work with him for the last decade of his life. I chronicled my time with him in a heartfelt blog entry:
https://bearmccreary.com/my-decade-with-elmer-bernstein-3/
I learned musical lessons from him that I still use every day.
"Avoid talking about music with the filmmaker. Instead, ask ‘What should the audience be feeling?'”
“You have to love what you are doing.”
My lesson notes are detailed here:
https://bearmccreary.com/elmer-bernstein-wisdom/
Elmer passed away as my career took off, indeed on the very day I began scoring my first major job, "Battlestar Galactica." He never got to see how the lessons he taught me paid off. I suppose it doesn't matter because, for him, generosity was its own reward.
I'm grateful that an American baby born to Ukrainian immigrants 100 years ago would grow up to change the sound of popular culture, and help shape the destiny of my own life.
Listen to his music, and know it was written by one of the kindest people to ever put notes to the page." |
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