Interview with Carlos Rafael Rivera

<p>Welcome to another episode of the continuing series of film, TV and video game composer interviews on the CINEMATIC SOUND RADIO NETWORK.</p> <p>Carlos Rafael Rivera is an EMMY Award-winning composer for film and television. A protégé of Randy Newman, he earned a DMA in Composition at USC’s Thornton School, where he studied with Donald Crockett and Stephen Hartke.</p> <p>As a guitarist, he has performed onstage as opening act for The Who at the Hollywood Bowl; recorded studio sessions for Island/Def Jam, and Universal Records; and had songs featured on NETFLIX’ FIREFLY LANE, ABC’s SCRUBS, MTV, and VH-1.</p> <p>As a composer, Rivera has a unique ability to incorporate a large diversity of musical influences into his captivating compositions, which reflect his multi-cultural upbringing in Central America and the United States.</p> <p>He has served as Composer-in-Residence with the Miami Symphony Orchestra and was a musical consultant for “Invitation to World Literature,” an educational series funded by the Annenberg Foundation and produced by WGBH and is a sought out guest composer and lecturer throughout the globe.</p> <p>He is also Assistant Professor and Director of the Media Writing and Production Program at the acclaimed Frost School of Music at the University of Miami,</p> <p>Carlos first met Oscar-nominated film/TV maker Scott Frank over 15 years ago when Scott responded to an ad for music lessons that Carlos had posted at a local Pasadena music store. What started as guitar lessons grew into a years-long friendship, and eventually led to an amazing collaborative partnership beyond the composer’s wildest dreams.</p> <p>Their first collaboration was on the action-drama feature, A Walk Among the Tombstones, starring Liam Neeson. Carlos went on to score Scott’s western drama series GODLESS, for which he won a Primetime Emmy for his "Main Title Theme" and also earned a nomination for his score. Their third and latest collaboration is the Netflix limited series THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT.</p> <p>The psychologic