Thanks for joining us today. Can you please provide an introduction to the ScoreNotes audience about your background and some of the projects you've worked on thus far?

As a kid, I was a soprano in several church and school choir groups, performing in national concerts and then eventually going on to perform in an opera when I was 11: Respighi's 'La Fiamma', in 1997. I never had any formal or private music training. My high school cancelled their music programme due to lack of interest. It was devastating. I was only ever interested in music and art as subjects, and maybe English. Everything else bored me! At home, there was ALWAYS music floating about the house: from Megadeth to Pearl Jam to The Who...it was great. I was always trying to tap out Nico McBrain's drum solos on the Iron Maiden albums on the back of my school textbooks or tins or whatever I could find. I was big in to rock and metal, and still am. It wasn't until later that I really embraced film music and concert music with a passion.  I think it was certainly those 6 months in the opera that sowed the initial seeds for me in terms of film composing (even though I wasn't aware of it at the time). Just hearing and feeling the lushness of the orchestra in the pit below us during a performance night was incredible! But, it all amalgamated when I heard Brad Fiedel's score to The Terminator when I was much younger. Just the struggle between the emotion and the mechanised, relentless drive in the score grabbed me. I then began composing small pieces on my computer and sometimes the keyboard we had at home. They were nothing special at all, but I think it felt natural, or more so than I imagined it would. I then left my home in Ireland and went to study Film at Aberystwyth University, United Kingdom. I couldn't study music at University level because I didn't have the grades from school level. Then, I scored my first feature film, Bane, in my first year at university in 2007 (the movie went on to win Best Feature at Los Angeles Shriekfest 2008). I got that gig after I emailed the director through MySpace, bugging him like crazy asking for a job! He relented and asked me to score a test scene. Unbelievably, I got the gig! For Bane, I wrote an abstract electronic score, and also worked alongside New Age group 'Entropik', who performed celli and additional programming on the score. It was a hellish few months on that! Being my first real project, I wasn't prepared for the hours and hours and hours it took to write even just three minutes of music! I was VERY green! I had no equipment of my own, so I had to ask the tutors if I could use our University's studio equipment! I scored the first half of the film on one part of our University campus, and then had to move a few miles up to the other part to finish it. I would run down to the local post office, with the final score section for that day on CD, and post it to the director, who was in Southampton. It was horrendous, but a great experience! My second feature score came last autumn, for the thriller Sealed Fates, produced by Joe Ripple and Timewarp Films LLC out of Baltimore, MD. For this score, I wrote an experimental orchestral piece, fused with ethnic percussive elements and synths. I had my own gear at this point, which made all the difference. I wrote that score in 6 weeks, and then had some small tweaks and alterations to make afterward. It premieres in February, I believe. It was great fun to work on!

Do you have plans in mind for agency representation once your scholastic duties conclude?

Initially, I always hoped that break would come. I imagined, if it were to ever happen, it'd be years down the road. But, I never dwelt on it. I just wanted to improve as a composer first, get that part right and then think about the next step. But, totally out of the blue, Sealed Fates was heard by a talent scout in Indianapolis. He particularly liked a few tracks on that score, as well as other music I had done, and I think they impressed him enough to offer me agent representation once I graduate this summer. It was an amazing turn of luck that he heard it at all, as it was just a few tracks from the score posted on my Facebook music page! I've also written music for short films and student documentaries, but I think the Sealed Fates score was definitely a progression for me as a composer. While it certainly isn't groundbreaking stuff, as a score, I did feel it was a step in the right direction. I am now planning a move to L.A. after graduation to begin the long road to the top of the industry. I won't settle for anything less. Big words, I know, but I truly believe I can get there, but only with hard work and LOTS of luck!

As you peer ahead to the vast and exciting opportunities that lay ahead, what do you feel might be some of the biggest challenges in front of you?  Also, is there a bit of nervous enthusiasm as you plan your move to Los Angeles?

In terms of challenges, I think just finding my musical 'voice' is certainly up there as the main one. I'm still relatively young, but it's definitely something that I regard as vital for me as a composer and artist to find and hone in on. I feel as though I'll find it eventually, it's just a matter of going through that process of learning and growing and finding 'me' I  in my music. Also, just trying to find work! We're over-saturated in composers looking for their first projects these days. The industry is certainly in flux in that respect: not enough jobs to cater for the huge amount of composers out there. The days when there were just those elite few composers running the show are long gone. Technology has seen to that, I think. I read an article recently that gives a very doom-laden view of this, and I can see why it would. There are certainly many cons to consider. But, as well, I think it's great that so many young guys and girls are making that venture, doing it themselves, buying their own gear, setting up 'bedroom' studios. It's very cool and exciting, I think! The boundaries that once blocked that kind of initiative are slowly crumbling. You can argue against this of course, and it would definitely be a strong argument, but I think we shouldn't forget the positives, either. If we end up filtering through the next Goldsmith or Goldenthal or Walker or Portman because of this then that's fantastic, not just for those individuals, but for the industry and the art form too.

I'm nervous AS HELL about the move to L.A.!! But, also very very excited! It'll be a complete left-turn in my life, and a very tough one, I don't doubt that for a second. The percentage of guys who make it isn't in my favour, that's for sure, but that makes it, for me at least, even more encouraging to make it and be in that percentage. Belief in yourself is key. I think you have to have that. Without it, you may as well pack up and go home. You'll never know what the future holds in store for you, you can never tell what'll go for you or against you, but the belief that you can do it must be there, in some shape or form.

Who do you credit as your key inspirations for getting you interested in this craft?

Without a doubt, like I mentioned before, Brad Fiedel and experiencing the opera first-hand were huge impacts on me. But, from there on, I have to mention guys like Marco Beltrami, Arvo Part, Elliot Goldenthal, Cliff Martinez, David Julyan, Kazuki Muraoka, Clint Mansell and Klaus Badelt as major inspirations, too. Although Part wasn't a film composer, his mentality towards his music and his style, for me, can be very dramatic and cinematic at times. This aside from the fact, of course, that his music is just incredible on it's own! I'm a self-confessed Part Maniac!

What were some of your favorite films and soundtracks from 2009?

Ooooh tough one to narrow down! I really liked what Alexandre Desplat did for New Moon, as well as Michael Giacchino's score for Up. I thought Clint Mansell delivered a nice little score for Moon, and Brian Tyler's The Lazarus Project and Killing Room scores were welcome breaks from his action-based stuff, too, which I think he does way too much of these days. I've only just heard Horner's score to Avatar, and it really impressed me! I loved his mix of synths and orchestra and those 'alien' vocals for the Na'Vi. Really nice stuff! There were a lot of good scores last year, and hopefully 2010 will bring more of the same!

As we conclude, can you tell us about any ongoing projects you have in development?

I'm currently writing the score to Matthew Cywinski's NBA feature-length drama Pivot (working title). This score is going to be a minimalist score, with trumpet, French horn, electric guitar, cello, harp and Tibetan bells. It's certainly an exciting project. That'll be released, so I hear, next year. As well as this, I'm writing the music to the 2010 Teeside Business Awards ceremony in Middlesbrough, England. That's a very cool project too, as it's something I've never done before, so it'll be a great challenge. Then, I'm also involved in writing some short concert pieces for performance in New York. These are still very much in the early stages but it's going very well at the moment. The main piece will be an excerpt from my longer piece, Emer & CuChulainn: A Tale of Love and War. I'll be expanding on the Love Theme from that and submitting it for performance. I'm very excited about the future and my career prospects! It'll be very tough, but I can't wait to get started!

Godspeed, Ronnie, on a bright and creative future in the industry. I'll be rooting you on!

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