Frank Lehman is Associate Professor of Music at Tufts University. He is author of Hollywood Harmony: Musical Wonder and the Sound of Cinema. He says that filmgoing is an intensely musical experience and in a recent essay in the New York Times called How to Write Music for Rolling Boulders he says that “composing for movies, often mischaracterized as auxiliary to the primary work of filmmaking, is an art form in its own right.” We’ll talk about and hear some film music today, including the music of John Wlliams and other composers.
Frank Lehman holds degrees from Brown University (B.A.) and Harvard University (PhD). As a music theorist, he is interested in how music works and what effects it has on its listeners. His research has explored a range of styles and repertoires, from nineteenth century symphonies to film scores to ambient albums. He has recently focused on the composers John Williams and Hans Zimmer.