Making it to The EMMYs …Finally
Congratulations to the wonderful team behind the film Mavericks who won a prestigious EMMY at the recent Northwest Emmy Awards. Director Scott Sterling’s film written by Kelly Gorham is pure cinematography gold celebrating the incredible legacy of Montana’s freestyle skiers.
Mavericks received an impressive five nominations for these awards, including one for my score, so I was delighted to be invited to join Montana PBS at my first ever EMMY Awards Gala earlier this month.
It’s a pretty spectacular event to attend, extra special for me as I’d missed out being there in person back in 2020, when I was lucky enough to win an EMMY for my work on The Last Artifact due to the Pandemic.
Back to 2023 and Seattle was totally buzzing, thankfully not a Covid restriction in sight. I took the opportunity during the night to stand at the back of Fremont Studios so I could take in the atmosphere and absorb the incredible energy in the room as winners went up to receive their awards on stage.
For some reason during those moments, I found myself thinking back to when I was a teenager taking part in school orchestras and bands at the City of Belfast School of Music. I had no idea when I was that young that one day, I would find myself on the west coast of the States at the actual EMMY Awards with my name listed in the programme as a nominee.
That’s why I feel it’s so important to encourage young people starting out in their music careers to reach for their dreams. While giving a Composing for Television Workshop at Leeds Conservatoire this year, I got to hear so many wonderful examples of the students’ music set to pictures as part of their Film Night. I asked that group of 30 plus students ‘who would like to be a composer for film and television?’ and just about every hand went up. To those students at the start of their careers, I then stressed the need for passion, perseverance and dedication to their craft. I told them to expect setbacks but make sure to bounce back quickly, so they can build the tenacity needed to succeed in this business.
Sheridan running a workshop for the Film Music students at Leeds Conservatoire (2023).
My final advice is always the same……that ‘every single person who makes it to the top of Everest starts with one step from Base Camp’. The journey to actually making a living from composing music can still take a long time…it certainly did for me, but I believe there is a need for new composers to create incredible music for our thriving creative industries.
But I’ve digressed, so let’s get back to the actual Awards. Sadly, I did not win this time, but it was an evening I will never forget. Thank you to Scott, Kelly and everyone at Montana PBS for the hard work on Mavericks, it was real privilege to be part of their team and they deserve their EMMY success for a wonderful film.
Scott Sterling (left), Kelly Gorham (middle) & Sheridan (right) at the 2023 NATAS NW EMMY Awards.
