Film Composer Rob Teehan Lends His Unparalleled Skills to Several Upcoming Films
Rob Teehan brings the films "The Babushkas of Chernobyl," "Flor de la Mar," and others to life with his musical compositions.
LOS ANGELES, CA, USA, January 15, 2015 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In 2014, Rob Teehan worked as the composer on the films "The Babushkas of Chernobyl," "Flor de la Mar," "Life as a Coin," and "The Unsinkable Captain John," which are scheduled for release this year."The Babushkas of Chernobyl" is highly anticipated documentary film that follows three women in their attempt to hold onto their roots and their home, despite the fact that over 160,000 people were evacuated from the area after Chernobyl’s Reactor No. 4 exploded in 1986, and it is still considered the most toxic place on earth.
Teehan says, "[The Babushkas of Chernobyl] tells the story of the hundreds of old women who snuck back into the radiation zone following the nuclear disaster to live out their final days on their home soil, radiation be damned. Their spirit and zest for live is inspiring and, it seems, they live a happier and more fulfilled life than their counterparts who were evacuated to strange concrete cities."
"The Babushka's of Chernobyl" feature documentary dives into the babushkas' motivation to cultivate a community within the toxic area, and how the idea of risk is purely subjective. On a musical level, Teehan composed a score that adds authenticity to the film's portrayal of the women's struggle to hold onto their roots and the vibrant culture in which they surround themselves. He says, "For the score I used traditional Ukrainian folk instruments mixed with some dark, ambient electronics, illustrating the tension between the vibrant traditional lifestyle and the modern, synthetic world with all its dangers."
Los Angeles based producer and director, Anne Bogart, who directed and produced “The Babushkas of Chernobyl" alongside Holly Morris, says, "We met Rob when he was just back from an extensive tour in Ukraine, and we got excited to hear about his immediate brainstorm of ideas of blending Ukrainian folk elements with a nonetheless contemporary feel to reflect the unique post-nuclear disaster atmosphere of Chernobyl. And he delivered beyond our expectations. His soundtrack was inspiring. It manages to touch both the heart and soul of our main subjects, (the Babushkas) while delivering, when needed, an edgy bite to the deceptively folkloric look."
Teehan also scored the music for the upcoming documentary film "The Unsinkable Captain John," a film that follows Captain John, a real life captain who refuses to be ousted from the place he has called home for decades. The film takes place in Toronto, Canada, where Captain John's boat and maritime home, known as the Floating Seafood Restaurant was once a part of the waterfront's most flocked to scenes, but having fallen on hard times the city is now trying to evict him. About the film's score Teehan says, "Since this story was based so much in memory and the passage of time, the director Rich Williamson and I decided to go with the deep, expressive gestures that only an orchestral score can provide."
Originally from Toronto, Canada, Rob Teehan began is music career in his youth and he has since gone on to reach an incredible level of success as both a musician and a composer for film. Before embarking on a career as a composer for film, Teehan worked as a freelance tuba player and a composer for classical music; and, while he could have easily maintained a successful career as a musician without needing to pursue other career paths, a testament to his skill considering the competitive nature of the music industry, he knew there was more to his musical talents and creative abilities. "I started playing in a few bands, playing jazz, folk, pop music. And after realizing that I liked doing all these things, but didn’t feel like any single one of them represented the focused career I wanted to have, I decided to become a film composer, which is a hugely challenging job that draws on all my skills and training."
As a musician Teehan has been nominated for an impressive list of awards for his work as both a composer, as well as for his integral contributions to the Lemon Bucket Orkestra, which was nominated for a Juno Award (Canadian Grammy's) for "World Music Album of the Year." In 2010, his composition "Dreams of Flying" garnered him the Juno Award nomination for Classical Composition of the Year, making him the youngest composers to be nominated for the award. He was nominated for another Juno Award in 2012 for his work with the Elora Festival Singers on the record "I Saw Eternity."
"I see the composer’s job as a kind of spiritual guide, almost a mystical role - they have to be able to inhabit both the real world and the emotional world, and be able to build a bridge for others to cross," says Teehan.
Teehan also scored the films "Life as a Coin" and "Flor de la Mar," which will be released this year as well. An Italian animation film by Franco Dipietro, "Life as a Coin" follows a two-euro coin named Dante who embarks on a series of adventures as he is spent and sent all over Europe. Teehan's other film "Flor de la Mar," a documentary by Venezuelan director Jorge Thielen-Armand, reveals a paradisiacal island in Cubagua, Venezuala, which marks the first Spanish settlement in the new world.
About his work as a composer for film, Teehan says, "Music is the language of the soul. We all respond to storytelling but the picture is a flat piece of technology that we can only interact with visually. With the added emotional guidance of a great score, we are guided along an emotional journey that cuts underneath the surface of our psyche. This journey is what every audience member seeks in a film experience."
Press release courtesy of Online PR Media: http://bit.ly/1IOgKxE
Portia Leigh
Q27 Media
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