ABSTRACT
Having scrutinised the mechanics of orchestrating, particularly as distinct from composing and arranging, it is necessary to establish the experiences and training undertaken by those who carry out this task in the industry. Accordingly, this chapter considers orchestrators’ musical backgrounds and education, and investigates the ways in which their involvement in film music begins and develops. There is a popular perception that orchestrators are frustrated composers, and that orchestration, particularly with regard to film scoring, is essentially just a stepping stone on the path to becoming a film composer. However, such generalisations overlook individuals’ specific intentions and the routes they take into the industry, and make assumptions about career pathways and ambitions. This chapter includes a critical evaluation of the training undertaken by those who work as orchestrators in the contemporary film industry, and also considers apprenticeships and other experiences that can lead to this employment. While the information in the chapter is supported by accounts and evidence drawn from the film-music literature, it is based principally on the testimonies of the professionals interviewed for this study. These include orchestrators-some of whom also compose-and composers-some of whom orchestrate or have orchestrated-thus also enabling consideration of the ways in which the backgrounds and training of composers and orchestrators working in the contemporary industry coincide and vary.
