Michael Mortilla is expert in keyboard improvisation in the styles of the great masters, such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms, He composes, orchestrates and performs his original scores for some of the finest organizations, ensembles and artists in the world. 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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Oct-Dec 2012: Michael's score to Alfred Hitchcock's first film effort, The White Shadow, premiered on the National Film Preservation Foundation website.
Click here to view the film (for a limited time only).
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April 16, 2012: Michael's score to Alfred Hitchcock's first film effort, The White Shadow, premiered as the first live music and first live film score ever performed at the Motion Picture Association of America in the organization's 50 year history. Retired US Senator Christopher Dodd, who heads the MPAA, introduced the Washington, D.C. event. Nicole Garcia graced the stage as violin soloist with Michael performing on piano in the Jack Valenti Theater.
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April 14, 2012: Special composer guest at the TCM Classic Film Festival 2012. Click for link.
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The National Film Preservation Film Foundation,
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
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2011 brought several major commissions.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences commissioned new scores for:
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:
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:
The Noerr Programs commissioned:
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In 2010 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences commissioned Upstream* (online viewing) 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.
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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 (online viewing) 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.
