Jeremy Leidhecker, winner of the 2015 CINE Marvin Hamlisch Film Scoring Contest
Jeremy Leidhecker, of Williamsport, PA, has earned CINE’s prestigious Marvin Hamlisch Award for emerging composers. Leidhecker bested a field of more than 500 entrants. In all, 50 countries and 40 U.S. states were represented in the contest to set a winning score to Jill Hackett’s short film, Flip, a CINE Golden Eagle-winning short film.
Hamlish winners and runners-up were identified by a distinguished jury that includes Academy Award-winning composer Mychael Danna, multiple BMI Award-winning composer and Emmy nominee George S. Clinton and Emmy Award-winning music editor, supervisor and conductor Daniel Carlin.
Leidhecker, 28, received a prize package valued at over $1,200 and automatic submission to the composer pool of ScoreaScore.com. A second runner-up in last year’s CINE Film Scoring Contest – renamed last November in honor of the late composer Marvin Hamlisch – Leidhecker will receive the award Oct. 7 at the CINE Celebrates reception in New York City.
Writing for the Williamsport SunGazette.com, Jason Klose reports that “Leidhecker has music in his blood, as his parents are both musicians in their own right and music teachers in the Loyalsock Township School District. His father, Bob Leidhecker, is the band director at Loyalsock Middle School, and his mother, Aegina, is the band director at Donald E. Schick Elementary School.” Brother Chris is also a musician, living in Nashville.
Leidhecker’s website describes him thus: He holds a B.S. in Music Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s Degree in Conducting from Messiah College. He spent two years touring with the seven-time world champion Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps, served as the Director of Bands of Northern High School in the Northern York County School District from 2009 to 2013, and is currently an active arranger and composer for marching bands and music programs around the United States.
Simultaneously working as a high school music teacher and earning his masters, it was during this time Leidhecker also “had the privilege of guest conducting for the Messiah College Wind Ensemble, the Greater Harrisburg Concert Band and the University of North Texas Wind Symphony,” the SunGazette.com piece reveals (adding that Leidhecker’s favorite film composers are Thomas Newman and James Horner (although his CINE-winning short score, which can be heard here, suggests a lighthearted Danny Elfman).
CINE honors and champions the creators of exceptional media content. It was founded in 1957, CINE has evolved over the years from a public private partnership with the US State Department to accredit U.S. documentary and industrial films in the international arena to establishing itself as a premier awards program honoring excellence in film, television and digital media.
Past CINE Golden Eagle Awards have presciently gone to Steven Spielberg (1969) and Ken Burns (1981), while honoring the more mature careers of Martin Scorsese (2006), Barbara Kopple (1992) and Spike Lee (1999). In 2012, CINE launched its first Film Scoring Competition for Emerging Composers, renamed in November 2014 after legendary composer Marvin Hamlisch. The 2015 Marvin Hamlisch Film Scoring Contest for Emerging Composers drew 500 participating composers from 50 countries and 40 US states.
The 2015 Marvin Hamlisch Film Scoring Contest also recognized the efforts of the following:
Carlos Simon First Runner Up
Carlos Simon’s music is deeply rooted in the tradition of neoromanticism with contemporary influences of passionate lyricism and driving rhythms. Simon’s musical vocabulary stretches from Classical, Gospel, and Jazz. Carlos Simon holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Morehouse College (Piano and Composition) and a Master of Music degree from Georgia State University (Composition). His music appears nightly on the Herman Cain Show in 2010. He has compositions published by Gregorian Institute of America (GIA) Publications. He has participated in workshops and masterclasses led by orchestrator and composer, Conrad Pope and will participate in the ASCAP/NYU Film Scoring Workshop this June. Mr. Simon is currently studying composition with emphasis in film music at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. See more of Carlos’s work at coliversimon.com.
Jesse Bouvier Second Runner Up
Jesse Bouvier is a Los Angeles based composer, originally from Flagstaff, Arizona. Specializing in Film music, he has grown to explore and learn from many different genres and instruments. These influences continue to shape and expand his voice, and provide a substantial musical vocabulary from which to pull his inspiration. Jesse is a 2015 graduate of the Media Composition department at Cal State, Northridge. See more of Jesse’s work at jessebouvier.com
To learn more about the Halmisch Award, visit cine.org/hamlischcontest.
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