Composer Cali Wang Announced As Winner of 2018 Pete Carpenter Fellowship
Above: Cali Wang, 2018 Pete Carpenter Fellowship winner
The BMI Foundation is pleased to announce Cali Wang as the winner of this year's Pete Carpenter Fellowship, a competitive residency for aspiring film, television, and video game composers. Wang’s composition, New to the World, 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. An honorable mention was also awarded to Kyle Hartman for his score Dance of the Magicians. Hartman received his Master of Music in Film Composition from Seattle Film Institute. The program includes a $2,000 stipend for four to five weeks of intensive mentorship with Lennertz and Wynn at their Sonic Fuel Studios in Los Angeles, CA.
"During my time studying screen scoring at USC, our class had the benefit of meeting Chris Lennertz and Doreen Ringer-Ross, BMI’s VP of Creative for Film, TV & Visual Media, at one of our weekly guest speaker forums,” said Wang. “It was my first time being introduced to Chris’ music, and I immediately fell in love with his writing. It’s been my dream to work at Sonic Fuel Studio ever since. When I learned I’d been awarded this fellowship, and furthermore that it would give me the opportunity to work side by side with both Chris and Tim, I was thrilled. I cannot thank the BMI Foundation enough for offering me this wonderful opportunity."
Born in Los Angeles but raised in Taipei, Taiwan, Wang learned to play flute in the orchestra when she was seven. In high school, she found her love for rock and pop music, learning to play guitar and focusing on popular song arranging. It wasn’t until she entered college at National Taiwan University as a theater and drama major that the notion of being a composer even occurred to her — there, she was able to hone her skills writing for theatrical productions and dance choreography.
With her diverse musical background and a lifelong love of film and film music, Wang quickly found her passion in scoring. She has since worked in different mediums, from musicals, plays and exhibitions, to short films and commercials. Additionally, her studies in the performing arts have allowed her to approach scoring as it relates to character analysis and story development.
After completing her undergraduate studies, Wang worked on various TV shows, commercials and short films in Taiwan. In 2017, her first symphonic piece, “The Adventure Begins”, was performed by the National Taiwan University Symphony Orchestra in the opening ceremony of the Intercollegiate Athletic Games. That same year, Wang received the John Nordstrom Scholarship and moved back to Los Angeles to attend USC Thornton’s Masters of Music program in Screen Scoring. She is currently working on various film projects in Los Angeles, as well as assisting a number of working composers.
Listen to Cali Wang's winning track below:
Listen to Kyle Hartman's honorable mention track below:
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.
About the BMI Foundation
The BMI Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1985 to encourage the creation, performance, and study of American music. The Foundation’s programs include competitive scholarships for songwriters and composers, operating grants for nonprofit arts presenters, and support for innovative music education initiatives in schools and communities across the country. For more information about the work of the Foundation, please visit our website at www.bmifoundation.org. For exclusive news and content, follow @bmifoundation on Twitter and Instagram, and like “BMI Foundation” on Facebook at facebook.com/bmifoundation.