Silent Orchestra
Silent Orchestra was formed in 1998 to bring
Biography
Silent Orchestra uses contemporary musical idioms to convey the art of pre-talkie films to modern audiences. The group was formed in 1998 by keyboardist, Carlos Garza and percussionist, Rich O'Meara and made their premiere in 1999. The group has performed new scores for films by
They are best known for their new score for the F.W. Murnau classic, Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror (1922), which they have performed at the American Film Institute (AFI) Silver Theater, the Savannah Film Festival, the National Gallery of Art and the Percussive Arts Society's International Conference. Their performance of Nosferatu at the 2000 Virginia Film Festival[2] was followed by a premiere of Shadow of the Vampire, a fictionalized account of the making of Nosferatu. As festival director, Richard Herskowitz wrote in the [3] festival wrap-up, "The opening night presentation was a double feature of Nosferatu and Shadow of the Vampire, with Silent Orchestra performing its majestic score for Nosferatu. Both the night's standing ovation and the acclaim registered in audience surveys expressed great appreciation for the revelatory effect of juxtaposing the two films and adding a contemporary score." The double feature was introduced by David Shepard (film preservationist), who noted the forthcoming re-release of the Nosferatu, Special Edition DVD. As John Shea, writer for TNMC Movies noted, "We were informed by David Shepard, the archivist who restored the print, that this print along with the new soundtrack, will be released on DVD December 31, not coincidentally two days after the release of Shadow of the Vampire to theaters."[4]
Silent Orchestra employs contemporary and improvisational styles, as opposed to other groups that favor more traditional approaches. Regarding the hybrid composition/improvisation style of the duo, Carlos Garza noted in
Their Nosferatu score was first released in 2000 in
Carlos Garza is a composer and musician with a career that includes art rock, new wave, pop, country, jazz and film composition. With his group, the young professionals, he was part of the legendary 9:30 Club scene in the early 1980s. He has also performed with Margot Chapman of the Starland Vocal Band. He has scored 15 feature films and more than 25 short films and animations. He was awarded best music in the 2009, 48 Hour Film Project for his score for "Star Pupil."[6]
Rich O'Meara is a percussionist and composer of works for marimba and ensemble that are performed throughout the world. His works for
Discography
CD, Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror (2010)
DVD, Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror (2001, Image Entertainment)
DVD, Salome/Lot in Sodom (2003, Image Entertainment)
Notes
External links
- DVD Talk review of Salome DVD
- Images Journal
- DVD Anonymous
- The Silent Era
- Silent Orchestra, official web site Silentorchestra.com
- Carlos Garza on Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
- Rich O'Meara on IMDB
- Carlos Garza, official web site CarlosGarza.com
- KPP (MostlyMarimba.com) [1]