Ian Sapiro
Research Assistant
i.p.sapiro@leeds.ac.uk
0113 343 2418
M.Phil MMus BA
Ian began his musical studies at Leeds in 1997 and has since gained an undergraduate degree and postgraduate qualifications in composition (MMus 2001, M.Phil 2005). He is now studying part-time for a PhD investigating the role of the orchestrator in contemporary film scoring as expemplified through the film scores of composer Trevor Jones. Ian works as research assistant to Professors David Cooper and Clive Brown, and is Administrative Systems Officer for the School of Music. He teaches in the areas of orchestration and musical theatre, and is the School's resident guru for the music software package, 'Sibelius'. When not at work Ian enjoys conducting musical theatre and is musical director for four amateur societies in West Yorkshire. He is also a saxophonist and singer, and away from music enjoys indoor climbing, chess, and football.
- Film music, particularly the film scores of Trevor Jones
- Musicals and musical theatre
- Orchestration
- Composition
- Analysis
Ian Sapiro works as research assistant to Professor David Cooper and Professor Clive Brown. Most of his current work with Professor Cooper is in the field of film music, with the scores of Trevor Jones receiving particular attention owing to the presence of the Trevor Tones Archive of session recordings housed at Leeds. Ian has also been been assisting with the preparation of Professor Brown's new edition of Beethoven's violin concerto and a critical edition of Mendelssohn's opera, Camacho. Ian is also undertaking a PhD for which he is researching the role of the orchestrator in contemporary film scoring.
Current Modules
- MUSI2225 Orchestration; course tutor and first marker
- MUSI3120/3140 Minor/Major dissertation; supervising topics mainly in the areas of film music and musical theatre
- MUSI1813 The Best of Broadway; course tutor and assessor
- MUSI2020 Introduction to Analysis; responsible for managing and maintaining online formative assessments
- Administrative Systems Officer - School system administrator for Turnitin UK online submission system
- Member of the School VLE subgroup
Books (edited)
- CineMusic? Constructing the Film Score. Co-editor with David Cooper and Christopher Fox (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008).
Contributions to books and conference proceedings
- Sapiro, I.P and Cooper, D. 'Spotting, Scoring, Soundtrack: The Evolution of Trevor Jones's Score for Sea of Love', 17-32 in eds. David Cooper, Christopher Fox and Ian Sapiro, CineMusic? Constructing the Film Score (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008).
- David Cooper, Christopher Fox and Ian Sapiro, CineMusic? Constructing the Film Score (Cambridge Scholars Press, forthcoming).
Periodical articles
- Cooper, D. and Sapiro, I.P, Ethnomusicology in the Laboratory: From the Tonmesser to Digital Melography, Ethnomusicology Forum, 15/2 (November 2006), 301-313.
Compositions
- Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Orchestra / Cornet and Brass Band, 2005 [Kirklees Music]
Abstract
PhD Abstract: 'Scoring the Score: The Role of the Orchestrator in Contemporary Film Scoring as Exemplified through the Film Scores of Composer Trevor Jones'
Supervisors: Prof. David Cooper and Prof. Derek Scott
There has been a substantial amount written about the role of the film score composer, the responsibilities incumbent upon him/her to produce the score that both the movie and the director require without abandoning his/her own principles, and the extreme economic and scheduling pressures under which the task is undertaken. An uninitiated film-goer could easily be forgiven for believing that the composer operates a one-(wo)man show, valiantly striving to produce the music heard (or perhaps unheard, depending on the viewer) in the cinema, a situation not helped by the prominence of the composer's credit during the opening sequence of a film compared with acknowledgement of the rest of the music team in the closing credits. Even then, it is not unusual for these names to be so far down the list that few spectators are still present to read them (if the cinema lights are not up already). There is also, however, a contradictory view: that a number of established and prominent film composers are incapable of writing or fully realising their own scores, and are instead reliant on teams of musicians to transform semi-structured musical sketches into themes and cues. The truth of the matter is, of course, that neither perception is entirely correct or entirely incorrect, but evidence to reinforce this claim is not always readily available in the literature on film music.
The present thesis attempts to remedy part of this problem by undertaking an evaluation of the role of the orchestrator in the modern film making process. An orchestrator is part of the composer's support team (the names in the closing credits) alongside people such as the music editor, copyist, and music contractor, each of whom has a distinct and vital role in the production of a film score but is generally overlooked in the research literature on film music and film scoring. A secondary aim of the thesis is to raise awareness of the range of jobs that are performed in the business of producing a film score, partly with the hope that this will lead to greater recognition of the invaluable and often unnoticed work that goes on behind the scenes in this aspect of the film industry.
