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Brian Satterwhite Residence: United States of America Official site: Nuance Music |
“I’m a filmmaker, not a musician.” says Brian Satterwhite, an internationally acclaimed award-winning film composer and conductor based in Austin, Texas. As one of the most sought-after composers for film in the Lone Star State, Brian has amassed a collection of original scores for an impressive array of feature and short films for a variety of narrative and documentary genres including SUSHI: THE GLOBAL CATCH (2011), SWITCH (2011), MAN ON A MISSION (2010), ARTOIS THE GOAT (2009), THE RETELLING (2009), COWBOY SMOKE (2008), THE CHILDREN’S WAR (2008), MR. HELL (2006), MAKING THE MODERN (2003), NASCENDO NO BRASIL (2001), the IMAXTM feature RIDE AROUND THE WORLD (2006), FUNKY PICKLES (2009), EULOGY MAKER (2010), SHOT (2008), and TWINKLE, TWINKLE (1999), COMFORT (2003), YOUNG MUTT (2005), QUARTER TO NOON (2008), and LOVE BUG (2009) which were included in the 2000, 2004, 2005, 2009, and 2010 Texas Filmmaker’s Showcase respectively.
Brian graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, earning a Bachelor of Music with dual majors in film scoring and composition. Among honors awarded him were the Scholarship Award for Excellence in Music Composition and the Robert Share Award in Film Scoring which acknowledges the top film scoring student of the year. Brian was further recognized as the lone representative of the Film Scoring department in the annual Student Writing Awards Concert. He assembled and conducted a forty-five piece orchestra in a performance of one of his original film music compositions at the famed Berklee Performance Center in downtown Boston.
Upon graduation, Brian relocated to Austin, Texas. Among the first wave of projects he tackled was the award-winning short film TWINKLE, TWINKLE (1999) and the debut feature film from popular Austin writer/director Kat Candler entitled CICADAS (2000) which screened at twenty-two film festivals across the country.
Brian was one of ten semi-finalists in the 2001 Young Film Composer's Competition sponsored by Turner Classic Movies.
After scoring two more narrative feature films, AMERICAN GENERATOR (2002) and DOGS BARK (2002), in the spring and summer of 2002 respectively, Brian was interviewed about his career as a film composer for an article published in the July- August issue of Fortissimo Magazine.
In 2003, Brian composed the original score for the feature documentary MAKING THE MODERN (2003) which earned Brian a Bronze Telly Award for Music. The film chronicles the design and construction of the Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth, Texas. It aired on PBS across the country along with screenings at several domestic and international film festivals.
Brian’s music can be heard on an array of short films from 2004 including ONCE A NATION (2004) which is currently on permanent exhibit at the Star of
Film Composer the Republic Museum in Washington, Texas. The
DREAMER (2008), THE BAREFOOT BULL RIDER (2007), and QUARTER TO NOON (2008) at the Park City Film Music Festival. In March, Brian wrapped up his eclectic score for ARTOIS THE GOAT (2009) which screened to three sold-out audiences at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. The film was released on DVD by Indipix Films in April, 2010. Later that summer, Brian composed the score for THE RETELLING (2009) written and directed by teenage wunderkind Emily Hagins.
On May 28, 2009, the Austin-American Statesman published a featured article written by film critic Chris Garcia about Brian's life and career as a prominent film composer in Austin.
Brian also maintains an active lecturing schedule and frequently writes for film music web sites as well as writing liner notes for several CD soundtracks including RUNAWAY TRAIN (1985), CHILD'S PLAY (1988), BATMAN: THE MOVIE (1966), THE YOUNG RIDERS (1989-1992), and THE BLOB (1988) for La-La Land Records, the PUPPET MASTER (1989-2010) Soundtrack Collection and NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER (1986) for Perseverance Records, and STAY TUNED (1992) for Intrada Records.
In 2010 Brian completed scores for two more feature documentaries; the first about survivors of breast cancer entitled SURVIVE & THRIVE (2010) and the second, a SXSW Audience Award winner called RICHARD GARRIOTT: MAN ON A MISSION (2010) chronicling the story of video game pioneer Richard Garriott who trained for two years to spend ten days aboard the International Space Station. The Pflugerville Pflag published a front page headline story about Brian's work scoring this amazing film.
Brian also composed music for the extremely popular CELL: THE WEB SERIES (2010) which won him an Indie Intertube Award for Best Score in a Web Series and Outstanding Achievement in Music at LA Web Fest. All thirteen episodes are available online at koldcast.tv.
In August 2010, Brian was interviewed for a new book titled Soundtrack Nation: Interviews with Today's Top Professionals in Film, Videogame, and Television Scoring written by Tom Hoover. The book was published in September and is available on Amazon.com Brian's picture is on the cover just under the 'S' in the title. Later that year Brian was selected as a member of the prestigious International Film Music Critics Association in December, 2010.
2011 found Brian scoring two more major documentaries: SUSHI: THE GLOBAL CATCH (2011) which won a top award at the Seattle International Film Festival and SWITCH (2011) which is scheduled for release later this year. Brian continued to refine his editing skills by serving as an additional editor on both docs.
Three of Brian's soundtracks are currently available on iTunes, Amazon.com and other online digital music retailers: AMERICAN GENERATOR (2003), COWBOY SMOKE (2008), and SUSHI: THE GLOBAL CATCH (2011).
Brian lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife Maria and his two sons, Holden and Maxwell.