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A Yale School of Music student has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. The 25 year old earned the nod for his score of a PBS documentary film.
Garth Neustadter says he spent some time in Yosemite Park in California to prepare for scoring the film, John Muir in the New World. The documentary follows the life of explorer and naturalist John Muir, who founded the environmental advocacy group The Sierra Club in 1892.
"Just being in the places that John Muir explored over 100 years ago definitely inspired me in a way that I didn't expect," he says.
Hoping to mirror what he calls the epic grandeur and landscape of what is shown on screen -- from Alaskan glaciers to the Sierra Nevada mountain range -- Neustadter decided a full symphonic score was in order.
He worked on the score for nearly a year, though it was recorded in just over a day with members of the Yale Philharmonia.
Neustadter began playing the violin and piano at age 4, then moved on to saxophone and jazz. In 2007, he won first prize at the Turner Classic Movies Young Composers Competition.
He says hearing news of his Emmy nomination was a surreal experience, though he doesn't quite feel like a celebrity.
"I don't feel famous yet, I've got a long way to go. I just was really grateful that the work received a nod."
Neustadter was nominated alongside composers for the television shows The Simpsons, 30 Rock and Family Guy. Winners of the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy awards will be announced on September 10th.
