Colleges That Change Lives

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Emmy Award Nomination Latest Triumph for Lawrence University Grad Garth Neustadter

The budding film composing career of Lawrence University graduate Garth Neustadter received a major boost Thursday (7/14) when the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced its 63rd annual Primetime Emmy nominations.

Neustadter was among five nominees for original dramatic score in the Outstanding Music Composition category for his work on the American Masters documentary “John Muir in The New World,” which aired on PBS in April. Neustadter’s score was performed by Lawrence Conservatory of Music students.

Brian Pertl ’86, dean of the conservatory, said this is a proud moment.   (Click on the arrow to listen.)

Unlike all of the other Emmy Award categories, in which the production company submits materials for the Academy’s consideration, the composition category requires the composer to submit the proper materials.

“I felt that it would be good experience to go through process of submitting, but I never expected these results,” said Neustadter, who earned a bachelor of music degree summa cum laude in violin and voice performance from Lawrence in 2010. He currently is pursuing graduate studies in music composition at Yale University.

The Emmy nominations are typically revealed in a live television broadcast at 5:30 a.m. Pacific time and also posted on the official Emmy Awards website. Neustadter was attending a film scoring session in Aspen, Colo., at the time and had to improvise.

“I didn’t have regular internet access, so I drove 10 miles to find WiFi access to read about the results,” he said. “It was a surreal experience to see my name. I am incredibly honored and humbled to be in the company of the veteran and talented composers in this category. I’m excited to meet the other nominees, including composer Alf Clausen of ‘The Simpsons,’ who has earned 30 nominations in his career.”

The 2011 documentary on the life and legacy of naturalist, author and scientist John Muir was written, produced and directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Catherine Tatge, a 1972 Lawrence graduate. During the filmmaking process, Tatge turned to her alma mater, reaching out to Brian Pertl, dean of the conservatory, for a student to possibly write the film’s score. Pertl recommended Neustadter.

“Writing the score for the John Muir documentary has been an incredible opportunity and learning experience,” said Neustadter, a native of Manitowoc. “I am grateful to everyone involved in the project.”

Kimberly Clark Professor of Music Fred Sturm, who served as Neustadter’s faculty composition mentor as a Lawrence student, said he was elated but not surprised at his protege’s latest triumph.

“I’ve admired Garth’s music for several years now and I know the effort and artistry he dedicates to his work. I’m also familiar with the composing of each of his fellow nominees and though it may seem a stretch for a college graduate student to be included in that elite group, Garth absolutely deserves to be there. I won’t be surprised if he takes home the gold on this one.”

The Emmy nomination is the latest in an ever-growing list of accomplishments for Neustadter. He earned first-prize honors (second place behind the grand prize winner) in the 2007 Young Film Composers Competition sponsored by Turner Classic Movies. A year later he was commissioned by TCM to write an original score for a restored version of the 1923 silent film “The White Sister.” In April 2010, he was named one of 37 national winners of the 2010 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Award for his 15-minute composition written for full orchestra and choir based on a Spanish text entitled “Oh llama de amor viva.”

This past April, Neustadter earned his fifth Downbeat award in the magazine’s annual student music competition for a five-minute arrangement of the 1946 Walter Gross jazz classic “Tenderly” he wrote for studio orchestra and vocalist in 2010.

The Emmy awards will be broadcast live on Fox Sunday, Sept. 18 from Los Angeles with actress Jane Lynch of “Glee” as host.

The soundtrack can be bought at KKs Store.

Week #2 of “Here’s Looking at LU” Photo Contest Underway; Week No. 1 Winner Announced

Here's photo contest image no. 2. Good luck! (click to enlarge.)

Week no. 1 of this summer’s “Here’s Looking at LU Photo Contest” generated 15 correct answers. Congratulations to Lynn Hagee ’58, director of conferences and summer programs at Lawrence, chosen by a purely random drawing as the winner of the LU sports tumbler. She knew the photo was one of four concrete casts located in the Music-Drama Center “court yard” outside Stansbury and Cloak theatres. They are based on larger works created for Chicago’s McCormick Center.

Congratulations to all who submitted a correct answer. Your names will be entered in the drawing for the grand prize at the end of the contest.

If you didn’t correctly identify that photo, try you luck with the photo for week no. 2. The “Here’s Looking at LU! Photo Contest” is a fun way to see if people can identify photos taken of various locations and objects around campus.

How the contest works:

Weekly from now through the end of August, we’ll post a photo on the Lawrence website news page, and the headline “Here’s Looking at LU! Contest” on the website home page.

Study the photo carefully and, if you can identify the item or location pictured, send an email to communications@lawrence.edu (see link below), telling us what is in the photograph! Be sure to include your name and mailing address. (Limit one entry per week per email address.)

Win this LU Spirit Tumbler!

A prize each week:

Each week, all entrants with correct answers will be entered in a random drawing for a cool blue, 16 oz. Lawrence University “spirit tumbler.” The correct answer and the weekly prize winner will be announced the following Monday. (If no one correctly identifies the photo, two winners will be chosen the following week.)

On August 29, 2011, at the conclusion of the contest, one entry from among all correct contest entries will be chosen as the “Here’s Looking at LU!” grand prize winner. The grand prize winner will receive a $50 prize package from KK’s in the Warch Campus Center. The more weeks you enter, the better your chance of winning!

Official Contest Rules:

One photo will be posted on Lawrence’s website each Monday for the eight-week duration of the contest. Following the posting of each photo, entries may be submitted to communications@lawrence.edu until 12 midnight CDT (Central Daylight Time) the following Sunday. A weekly winner will be randomly selected by Lawrence University from among each week’s correct entries and all correct entries will be eligible for the grand prize drawing on August 29. By entering, you agree to have your name published on Lawrence University’s website and in other university communications. Lawrence University is not responsible for lost or misdirected entries.

Enter the “Here’s Looking at LU!” Photo Contest

Here’s photo contest image #1. Good luck! (click to see full size image)

How observant were you during your student days or on your visits to campus? Do you think you know the nooks and crannies of Lawrence University? The “Here’s Looking at LU!” is a fun summer contest to see if you can identify photos taken of various locations and objects around campus.

How the contest works:

For each of the next eight weeks, we’ll post a photo on the Lawrence website news page, and the headline “Here’s Looking at LU! Contest” on the website home page.

Study the photo carefully and, if you can identify the item or location pictured, send an email to communications@lawrence.edu (see link below), telling us what is in the photograph!  Be sure to include your name and mailing address. (Limit one entry per week per email address.)

Win this LU Spirit Tumbler!

 

 

 

 

A prize each week:

Each week, all entrants with correct answers will be entered in a random drawing for a cool blue, 16 oz. Lawrence University “spirit tumbler.”  The correct answer and the weekly prize winner will be announced the following Monday. (If no one correctly identifies the photo, two winners will be chosen the following week.)

On August 29, 2011, at the conclusion of the contest, one entry from among all correct contest entries will be chosen as the “Here’s Looking at LU!” grand prize winner.  The grand prize winner will receive a $50 prize package from KK’s in the Warch Campus Center.  The more weeks you enter, the better your chance of winning!

Official Contest Rules:

One photo will be posted on Lawrence’s website each Monday for the eight-week duration of the contest.  Following the posting of each photo, entries may be submitted to communications@lawrence.edu until 12 midnight CDT (Central Daylight Time) the following Sunday. A weekly winner will be randomly selected by Lawrence University from among each week’s correct entries and all correct entries will be eligible for the grand prize drawing on August 29. By entering, you agree to have your name published on Lawrence University’s website and in other university communications. Lawrence University is not responsible for lost or misdirected entries.