Michael Mortilla composes, orchestrates and performs his original scores for some of the finest organizations, ensembles and artists in the world. Mr. Mortilla is also expert in keyboard improvisation in the styles of the great masters, such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, etc. As of the fall of 2011 he has composed over 1000 produced, award wimning scores for film, TV, dance, theater, silent film, magic, mime, industrials, commercials, special events and the concert stage.

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2012 (one month old at this writing) has gotten off to a fast start with new scores for The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (United Airlines Oscar Promotional Video and First Circus for their educational program), Imagine That for the Santa Barbara Dance Institute, Trio for Two Cellos and Piano for Berkeley Moving Arts, and most recently, Billy and His Pal <-- (click of online screening) for The National Film Preservation Film Foundation, with many more projects underway in the coming months.

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2011 brought several major commissions.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences commissioned new scores for:

• Humoresque*
• The White Shadow* (Alfred Hitchcok's first foray into filmmaking)
• 7th Heaven* ** (AKA Seventh Heaven - initially commissioned by the Academy in 2002 after a commission to score the film for Japanese TV)
• Koko's Earth Control with Koko the Clown for national distribution to educational programs.

The National Film Preservation Film Foundation commissioned 11 new scores for their Treasures 5 DVD released in September 2011. On that set, Mr. Mortilla composed:

• The Sergeant
• Mexican Filibusters
• Broncho Billy and the Schoolmistress
• Lake Tahoe, Land of the Sky
• Legal Advice
• Seeing Yosemite with David Curry
• Picturesque Colorado
• Copper Mines at Bingham, Utah
• The War Bonnet Round-Up
• Geysers of Yellowstone
• Trails That Lure

Flicker Alley in association with Turner Classic Movies, The Academy of Motion Pictures, UCLA Film & Television Archive, and the Library of Congress, commissioned a score for the TV Special presentation Fragments (2 hours) which premiered on TMC in February 2011 and included 20 scores for the following titles:

• Happiness Ahead
• A Lover's Oath
• Cleopatra
• Vitagraph Prints
• Flaming Youth
• Red Hair
• Three Weekends
• The Way of All Flesh
• He Comes Up Smiling
• The Strong Boy
• The Village Blacksmith
• Darling of New York
• Accidental Accident
• There He Goes
• Rough House Rosie
• The Great Gatsby
• American Venus
• On Trial
• Beau Sabreur
• Polly of the Follies

The Noerr Programs commissioned:

• Santa University (2011) following up on Operation Santa Stocking (2010).

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In 2010 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences commissioned Upstream* in cooperation with the New Zealand Film Archive, 20th Century Fox, Turner Classic Films, The National Film Preservation Foundation, with critical acclaim for Michael's score which premiered in Los Angeles on September 1, and was subsequently performed at a special performance at the National Archives* in Washington, D. C. and at the Academy's Lighthouse Theater* in Manhattan, New Yor City. The Academy also commissioned How Oscar's Are Born for special Academy Awards installations nationally.

2010 also saw Michael's music travel to South Korea and across the USA. UCLA Film & Television Archive's new online distribution program (see video page) further distributed his work internationally.

Performances and commissions in 2009 included works for The Getty Center, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, UCLA FIlm & Television Archive*, The Library of Congress, The Los Angeles Zoo, The Arts Fund of Santa Barbara, The Children's Creative Project of Santa Barbara, the Burbank and San Luis Obispo library systems, and elsewhere.

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2008 included performances of Michael's scores for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and at the National Archives in Washington, D. C. Michael composed the score and designed & edited sound for the feature film Dalton Trumbo's Johnny Got His Gun starring Ben McKenzie. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences commissioned a major score for The Gaucho* ** for piano and string quartet.

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In 2006, Michael was commissioned by the famed Chicago Symphony Orchestra to compose and orchestrate two new works, One Week** and The Haunted House, and revive his 1996 work for piano and orchestra, Easy Street, which was commissioned for the 1996 Olympic Games Arts Festival. In October 2006, Michael was piano soloist with the Chicago Symphony. The Civic Orchestra of Chicago performed his work as well.

Mr. Mortilla is a member in good standing of the American Federation of Musicians, the L.A. Musician's Union Local 47 and is associated with Broadcast Music Inc. as a writer and music publisher under the name MIDI Life Crisis.

* - Many of Mr. Mortilla's recent scores have been performed exclusively by violinist Nicole Garcia and were specifically composed with her remarkable artistry in mind.

** - Several of Mr. Mortilla's scores have received additional funding from Meet the Composer and The American Music Center.