Show notes
Moderated by Michael Coleman, SoundWorks Collection
Two-time Emmy-nominated composer Nathan Barr has received critical acclaim for his unmatched versatility, incorporating eclectic instruments from musical cultures across the world. Nathan recently completed construction on his new 8,000 square foot personal studio in Tarzana, California. The studio, named Bandrika, houses the original Wurlitzer pipe organ that was installed at Fox studios in 1928. With 1,500 pipes, its music can be heard in iconic films including "Journey to the Center of the Earth," "The Sound of Music," and "Patton." Nathan recently used the Wurlitzer to score Eli Roth’s upcoming adventure film "The House with a Clock in Its Walls" starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchett. The film's release on September 21 marked the Wurlitzer's 21st-century debut for movie audiences.
Additionally, Nathan recently completed the score for the gritty dystopian action thriller, “The Domestics,” starring Kate Bosworth and Tyler Hoechlin, coming to theaters June 28. He is currently scoring season two of AMC’s multi-generational western epic, “The Son,” starring Pierce Brosnan and later in 2018, Nathan will score Amazon’s upcoming fantasy, period drama, “Carnival Row,” starring Orlando Bloom and produced by Guillermo del Toro. He also scored Columbia Pictures’ sci-fi drama, “Flatliners,” starring Keifer Sutherland, Ellen Page and Nina Dobrev, and both seasons of Amazon’s acclaimed con man drama “Sneaky Pete,” starring Giovanni Ribisi.
Nathan’s hallmark adaptability has led him to scoring an eclectic roster of some of television’s biggest shows. He scored all six seasons of FX’s “The Americans,” starring Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys, which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music in 2013. Nathan’s music can also be heard on all seven seasons of HBO’s Emmy-winning and fan-favorite series, “True Blood” and Netflix’s “Hemlock Grove,” for which Nathan earned his second 2013 Emmy nomination for the main title theme.
With two Emmy nominations for both “The Americans” and “Hemlock Grove,” Nathan has the distinction of being the first composer to have two nominations in the Main Title category in the same year.
Alongside his extensive career in television, Nathan has a long record of scoring successful films, as he approaches his fortieth feature. A frequent collaborator with gore-horror master Eli Roth, Nathan scored Roth’s early cult-classics “Cabin Fever” and “Hostel.” Some of Nathan’s other feature scores include Jason Blum’s box office hit thriller “The Boy Next Door,” starring Jennifer Lopez, Warner Bros.’ “The Dukes of Hazard,” Lionsgate’s “The Last Exorcism,” and Stephen Moyer’s “The Parting Glass,” starring Anna Paquin.
Nathan began studying music in Tokyo, Japan at four years old. He grew up surrounded by music ranging from Kabuki Theater to the sounds of his mother performing on the koto and piano, and his father playing the banjo, guitar and shakuhachi.
In addition to writing scores, he performs many of the instruments heard in his compositions, and is skilled in many styles and genres ranging from orchestral to rock. Nathan is also known for his collection and inclusion of rare and unusual instruments from around the world such as: a human bone trumpet from Tibet, dismantled pianos, a rare Glass Armonica, gourd cellos and many others.
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