2019 Pete Carpenter Fellow Announced
Christian Kolo
NEW YORK, NY ― August 7, 2019 ― The BMI Foundation is pleased to announce composer Christian Kolo as the winner of the 2019 Pete Carpenter Fellowship, a competitive residency for aspiring film, television, and video game composers. Kolo was awarded the fellowship based on his composition, "Hold On!", and was chosen as the winning score by a distinguished judging panel that included award-winning BMI composers Christopher Lennertz and Timothy Wynn, Emmy Award winning composer Ben Decter, 2016 Pete Carpenter Fellowship winner Casey Kolb, Emmy-nominated composer Ed Rodgers, and 2006 Pete Carpenter Fellowship winner and Director of this year’s competition, John Kaefer. The program includes a stipend for four to five weeks of intensive mentorship with Lennertz and Wynn at their Sonic Fuel Studios in Los Angeles, CA.
"In such a competitive and talented industry I am honored and proud to have the opportunity to work with such accomplished and knowledgeable composers like Christopher Lennertz and Timothy Wynn” said Kolo, “I am beyond thrilled to have this experience and extremely excited to learn and absorb from these incredible industry professionals on a daily basis and am very thankful to the BMI Foundation, Lennertz & Wynn, Doreen Ringer-Ross, and all of the people who have worked to create such a valuable program."
Three-time Dallas Winds award-winning composer Christian Kolo seeks to meld film, classical, and contemporary music as one—recognizing the beautiful potential and limitless opportunities that each contain. Born and raised in West Bloomfield, Michigan, Kolo first discovered his passion for music through the medium of film. Furthering his craft and self-studies, Kolo went on to receive his Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University, studying under Ricardo Lorenz and Zhou Tian. A recent graduate of the 2019 Masters in Screen Scoring Program at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, Kolo now resides in Los Angeles, California, where he is working on various short films and partnering with music professionals in the film industry.
About the Pete Carpenter Fellowship The Pete Carpenter Fellowship was established in 1989 by BMIF Advisory Panelist and iconic composer Mike Post, in memory of the late Pete Carpenter, who was Post’s co-composer of television themes and scores including The A-Team, Magnum P.I., The Rockford Files (for which they won a GRAMMY), Hardcastle and McCormick, Hunter and Riptide. Also the winner of an EMMY and fifty BMI Film & TV Awards, Post is best known for his TV theme songs for series including Law & Order, Law & Order SVU, and NYPD Blue. Over the years, the Pete Carpenter Fellowship has nurtured thriving television and film scoring careers, including those of EMMY-winning composers Chris Beck (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Frozen) and Roger Neill (Chicago Hope, King of the Hill, Mozart in the Jungle), as well as Christopher Tyng (Futurama, The O.C., Suits) and Atli Örvarsson (The Perfect Guy, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, and Chicago PD).
About Sonic Fuel Studios Sonic Fuel Music was formed in 1999 by award-winning composers Christopher Lennertz and Timothy Michael Wynn. Building on successes scoring network television, documentaries, independent and studio features, Sonic Fuel has adapted their work to serve short form and video games. Their unique insights into both the classical world and current music styles have helped Sonic Fuel find a niche serving the musical needs of film, television, games and commercial enterprises from their comfortable studio facility in El Segundo, California. Sonic Fuel Studios is a state-of-the-art, eco-friendly tracking and mixing facility specializing in Film, Television, and Interactive Media music and events.