I think I finally learned how to not look like a small child at Disney world every time one of my bosses or co-workers drops a huge industry name–or gives them a tour of the studio, for that matter. But I have not gotten used to reading and filing brilliant original scores from the greats in the world of composition; some of our clients at JKMS (JoAnn Kane Music Service) include John Williams (composer for Star Wars), Alan Silvestri (The Avengers), Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy creator), and my favorite, Randy Newman (Princess and The Frog, Monsters Inc., etc.), among many others. Oh, and Barbra Streisand–she actually had a session with our company tonight, but I am not allowed to say regarding what! So when my boss told me to hold because Diana Ross was calling, I suppressed shock, even when her rhythm director held the door open for me to get coffee.
Five months ago, when I called JKMS asking if they offered internships, I had no idea that I would be sitting in an office with some of Berklee College of Music’s finest musicians, and definitely did not think I would be sharing an office space with the composer for Black Panther. I had found out about the company through following some of my favorite composers, like Newman, trying to track how they maintained influence in the industry. Every composer I studied had a different story, yet JKMS appeared to be the confluence–every composer needs the music preparation stage, and JKMS had this part mastered. For this reason, I looked into internships, of which they offer following a phone “interview” of sorts. The phone conversation was easy and my boss, Daniel Gold, was kind (as he is), and helped to design an internship convenient for me. You’ll never know how feasible attaining an internship can be until you reach out–sometimes it is just a warm conversation!
At JKMS, my job is to essentially help re-organize their library. The head of the company, Mark Graham, with the assistance of his team, created a company-specific database, and now our job is to fit every piece in our archive with a database barcode. While this may not sound exciting, getting to hold the original score to The Sound of Music or Star Wars or 22 Jump Street (Mark Mothersbaugh even doodles on his scores) is thrilling enough.
The rest of the Glendale and Culver City offices work on the other sides of music preparation: copying, part deduction, scanning, book-creation, proofreading, etc.
I have learned so much within my first week of helping out here. On my first day, my boss showed me the first wall of their archive:
Any 20th Century Fox film or TV show you can think of is most likely on that wall, and Daniel Gold can give you a short history lesson on each (which I adore). On our breaks, we’re allowed to take any score from the shelf and study it all we want. I haven’t left the Randy Newman section, but I’m hoping to make it to some Williams and maybe even some Handel. While analyzing scores provides a world of education, the office discussions and librarian work offer applicable lessons as well. In filing hundreds of scores every day, I’m exposing myself to hundreds of pieces and composers. In listening to my co-workers debate things like which key acts as the best transposition for a un-released score, I’m learning what it means to make a successful composition.
In the weeks to come, I am so excited to get to spend more time with the scores, but especially, with the staff. The staff at JKMS are brilliant, kind, and phenomenal teachers.
I am beyond grateful for this opportunity.