Ilan is a British film composer who has established himself as an exciting young talent in the world of film music. Born in London into a musical family, Ilan grew up playing violin and later took up playing guitar in bands. He studied Music and English literature at Leeds University, during which time he also worked with film composer Ed Shearmur learning first-hand the technique of film composition. After graduating, he went on to work with other film composers such as Michael Kamen and Hans Zimmer. At this time Ilan began scoring his own projects, and his talent for creating cinematic music on a limited budget soon gained him recognition within the film industry.
King of Pop brought back to life
How two students staged Jackson jamboree Two Music students have devised and produced a live tribute to one of the greatest names in popular music.
The work of Michael Jackson, who died last year, was at the heart of project shaped by Master’s postgraduate Steve Wright and Nick Westerman, who has just completed his BA undergraduate studies in the department.
Michael Jackson: The Tribute was presented over four nights in May in the university’s Riley Smith Hall with a team of 60 involved including an 18-strong band. It attracted good audiences and a very positive reception.
Says Steve: ‘Our tribute was conceived after we’d been involved in a project in Leicester last August. I was MD, and Nick Westerman was saxophonist in the band. Having enjoyed that project so much, we decided we wanted to bring a similar show up to Leeds.’
‘We had a tight timescale to turn the project around. Neither Nick nor myself had put on a show prior to this, so we had a lot to take on board very quickly, and soon realised that putting on a show is no easy feat! Thankfully, we had surrounded ourselves with a great team of amazing people who constantly helped us out from start to finish,’ Steve adds.
Drawing on the support of several students’ union societies and the backing of the School of Music itself, Steve and Nick created a production that celebrated various eras in the musical catalogue of the much-missed singer and dancer. The venture, which took more than six months to organise, also donated proceeds to a good cause.
Steve explains: ‘From the start, we both felt that any money we may make should go to charity. We chose Action for Children, a national charity that works to help underprivileged children around the UK. The money we raised went specifically to the Harrogate branch, who support children across West Yorkshire.’
Date Published: 30 June 2010
Keywords: Michael Jackson, Steve Wright, Nick Westerman
Keywords: Michael Jackson, Steve Wright, Nick Westerman
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