![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/academylogo.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in partnership with Mercury Studios, today announced the launch of the Jonas Gwangwa Music Composition Initiative, a one-year career development program for Black British musicians interested in composing music for film.\u00a0 In celebration of the late South African musician, composer and Oscar\u00ae nominee Jonas Gwangwa, the program will provide real-world experience, one-on-one mentorship and networking opportunities, beginning in October 2022.\u00a0\u00a0 ABOUT THE ACADEMY<\/strong> Year-Long Program to Foster Broader Representation in Film Music Composition The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in partnership with Mercury Studios, today announced the launch of the Jonas Gwangwa Music Composition Initiative, a one-year career development program for Black British musicians interested in composing music for film.\u00a0 In celebration of the late South… Continue reading Academy Partners With Mercury Studios To Launch
Part of the Academy\u2019s ongoing Aperture 2025 global outreach and engagement efforts, the Jonas Gwangwa Music Composition Initiative aims to foster broader representation in film music composition, with an emphasis on Black British talent.\u00a0 Its creation was spearheaded by UK-based Academy members Gary Yershon (Music Branch), Misan Sagay (Writers Branch) and Nainita Desai (Music Branch).
\u201cThis initiative seeks to correct an imbalance.\u00a0 In contrast to the major contributions Black musicians are making to the music industry in the UK, their presence in the UK film industry is significantly lacking,\u201d said Yershon, Sagay and Desai.\u00a0 \u201cThrough this program, we seek to build community amongst Black artists in the UK by highlighting opportunities to bridge film and music careers.\u201d
The program is open to UK-based Black artists and composers with at least three years of work experience as a musician.\u00a0 Two participants, selected through an application process, will receive access to Academy members across various branches in order to gain an understanding of the filmmaking process; one-on-one mentorship with a member of the Academy\u2019s Music Branch to learn about the practical aspects of composing for film; access to Academy events and screenings in London; and introductions to leading practitioners from all areas of film music, among other mentorship programming.\u00a0
Participants will be matched with a filmmaker who is in the process of making a short film and will be given the opportunity to compose music for the film. The composition work will be funded by two grants from Universal Music Group\u2019s Mercury Studios, a full-service, global production film and television studio, and Decca Records.\u00a0 Additional programming and support will be provided by Abbey Road Studios.\u00a0
Gwangwa, who died in 2021, was a prominent South African jazz musician and composer.\u00a0 He received Oscar nominations for Original Score and Original Song for his work, with George Fenton, on \u201cCry Freedom\u201d (1987).\u00a0\u00a0
Applications for the Jonas Gwangwa Music Composition Initiative are currently open.\u00a0 For more information visit https:\/\/oscars.org\/learn\/jonas-gwangwa-initiative<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a global community of more than 10,000 of the most accomplished artists, filmmakers and executives working in film. In addition to celebrating and recognizing excellence in filmmaking through the Oscars, the Academy supports a wide range of initiatives to promote the art and science of the movies, including public programming, educational outreach and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.
ABOUT MERCURY STUDIOS<\/strong>\u00a0
Mercury Studios is a full-service production studio originating, producing, selling, distributing and investing in scripted, unscripted and live content. Editorially independent, Mercury Studios is powered by Universal Music Group and represents the world\u2019s leading catalogue of music-related content.
ABOUT ABBEY ROAD STUDIOS<\/strong>
A global music icon and the world\u2019s first purpose-built recording studio, Abbey Road Studios has been home to countless landmark recordings and pioneering advances in music technology over the last 90 years. The studios\u2019 phenomenal history encompasses celebrated work by artists from The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Fela Kuti, Kate Bush, Oasis and Radiohead to Sam Smith, Florence + The Machine, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Frank Ocean, Amy Winehouse, Brockhampton and Little Simz, as well as scores to films from \u201cRaiders of The Lost Ark,\u201d \u201cThe Lord of The Rings\u201d trilogy and many of the \u201cHarry Potter\u201d and \u201cStar Wars\u201d movies, to \u201cGravity,\u201d \u201cThe Shape of Water,\u201d \u201c1917,\u201d \u201cBlack Panther,\u201d \u201cBlack Widow\u201d and \u201cAvengers: Endgame.\u201d Since stereo was patented at Abbey Road in 1933, the studios have been home to numerous innovations in recording technology and continue to innovate today with Europe\u2019s first music tech incubator, Abbey Road Red. Abbey Road Studios is part of Universal Music. Discover more at www.abbeyroad.com<\/a>.
ABOUT DECCA RECORDS<\/strong>
Established over 90 years ago, Decca is one of the world\u2019s most iconic record labels having been home to countless legendary musicians including Luciano Pavarotti, Dame Vera Lynn and Bing Crosby. Today, Decca provides the platform for a new generation of ambitious artists at the forefront of their scenes \u2013 names such as Andrea Bocelli, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Melody Gardot, Max Richter, Aurora, Jacob Collier, Nicola Benedetti, Ludovico Einaudi and Isobel Waller-Bridge, who continue to represent the label\u2019s cultural legacy. Discover more at: decca.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jonas Gwangwa Music Composition Initiative,
A Career Development Program For Black British Musicians<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[39],"class_list":["post-16028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-academy","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16028\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}