Berklee College of Music alumni Alf Clausen, Ernest Troost, and David Schwartz, and Berklee faculty member Sheldon Mirowitz, have been nominated for a total of five 2004 Primetime Emmy Awards. The nominations include two for Simpsons’ composer Clausen, marking his 25th Emmy nomination. There are also two nominations in one category: Mirowitz and Troost for Outstanding Music Composition For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special (Dramatic Underscore). The 56th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be broadcast on ABC TV, Sunday, September 19.

Alf Clausen, who leads one of the last remaining live orchestras on television, is nominated in two categories: Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Dramatic Underscore), The Simpsons’, “Treehouse Of Horror XIV;” and Outstanding Music And Lyrics, The Simpsons’, “The President Wore Pearls,” lyrics by Dana Gould. Clausen has been the composer for several television series, including Moonlighting, for which he received six Emmy nominations; The Simpsons, for which he has received two Emmy awards and 16 additional Emmy nominations. His feature film credits include HALF-BAKED, FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF, SPLASH, and WEIRD SCIENCE. Clausen, class of 1966, studied arranging and composition at Berklee and has also been an instructor at the College.

David Schwartz, Berklee class of 1974, is nominated in the category Outstanding Main Title Theme Music, Deadwood, HBO. Schwartz began composing music for film and television in 1990. His first network television series, Northern Exposure, earned him a Grammy nomination for its memorable theme song. Schwartz scored every episode of the show for its entire seven seasons. Over the past decade, he has scored numerous television themes and series, including Maximum Bob, Leap of Faith, Beggars & Choosers, Wolf Lake - for which he earned a 2002 Emmy nomination- The Ellen Show, The Oblongs, The John Larroquette Show, Beverly Hills 90210, and Murder in Small Town X (see IMAGINE April 2001), among others.

Ernest Troost is nominated in the category Outstanding Music Composition For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special (Dramatic Underscore), Fallen Angel (Hallmark Hall Of Fame Presentation), CBS. Troost, Berklee class of 1978, has scored many projects for film and television, including Tremors, Sweet Revenge, One Man's Hero, The Scoundrel’s Wife, and Beat. He also won acclaim and earned Emmy awards for original scores to The Canterville Ghost, and A Lesson Before Dying, and nominations for Martin and Lewis, and Beyond the Prairie: The True Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Sheldon Mirowitz, a resident of Sherborn, MA, is also nominated in the category Outstanding Music Composition For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Special (Dramatic Underscore), The Nazi Officer’s Wife, A&E. Mirowitz, an associate professor of film scoring at Berklee, has scored more than 50 film and TV projects. He was previously nominated for Emmy Awards in 1993 for his score to the mini-series Columbus and The Age of Discovery, and in 2002 for the six-part series Evolution. Other credits include the score to the Oscar-nominated TROUBLESOME CREEK; the Farrelly brothers film OUTSIDE PROVIDENCE, and the Larry McMurtry mini-series Johnson County War. Mirowitz is also a multi-instrumentalist who has recorded with or produced a wide range of artists, including Livingston Taylor, Patty Larkin, Reeves Gabrels, John Lincoln Wright, and Aine Minogue.

Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through the study and practice of contemporary music. For over half a century, the college has evolved to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. With over a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing over 70 countries, and a music industry "who's who" of alumni, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today - and tomorrow.

Over the summer Carl Hansen, a frequent contributor to IMAGINE, was on location in New England as the coordinating producer for Fox TV’s “Trading Spouses.” The show remained anonymous during the time he was here. We didn’t have a clue what show he was shooting for. And, we know now that he didn’t know he would be on location in New England as casting dictates locations and Carl is required to travel wherever the families reside. It was pure luck and happenstance that two of the families were from Massachusetts and Carl was able to work here quietly for more than a month.”

“On ‘Trading Spouses,’ we trade one mother or father from one household with another family for one week, and see how everyone reacts,” Hansen told IMAGINE. “A major location, then, is the airport because it usually is a long-distance switch. The closest airport to one of our families was Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. It was perhaps one of the easiest airports to work with and they were as accommodating as they could be for our production. I would gladly work there again if I could and am very grateful to the airport for all their assistance. Guy Ortoleva of the Connecticut Film, Video and Media Office was extremely helpful in helping us secure the airport and he even came down very early one morning to make sure everything was operating smoothly. The shoot went off without a hitch.”

The ratings have been so good Fox has ordered a second season, so perhaps Carl will be returning. He is hoping so. His position as coordinating producer is multifaceted as he oversees production for one particular family’s experience during two one-hour episodes. “I work with my production team during pre-production to secure local hotels and vendors to run a production office. We contact local restaurants and stores to clear them for our cameras to shoot inside. This early work must not be broadcast to be effective.

Carl Hansen is from Beverly, Massachusetts, but now lives in Los Angeles. He wouldn’t mind switching with someone if the opportunity presented itself. “Trading Spouses” airs Tuesday nights at 8pm on Fox.

Will Antonio Iannicelli of Wellesley, MA have the chance to compete in ENDURANCE: Hawaii, the third season of the hit reality competition series that airs on “Discovery Kids on NBC?” Iannicelli competed with thousands of applicants to be on ENDURANCE: Hawaii an exciting show that challenges kids to the ultimate tests of mental and physical endurance.

Viewers can tune in on Saturday, September 11 from 11:30-Noon (ET) to see
if this 14-year-old freshman from Wellesley High School made the cut.
ENDURANCE: Hawaii kicks off this year with a two-part casting special
(September 4 and 11), showing the grueling journey just to be selected
to be on this hit reality series for kids.

He clowns around and says he’s goofy but Antonio is passionate about
school, his books, his guitar and his semi-pro soccer team. This
big-hearted rock ‘n’ roll buff aims to be in the spotlight and promises
that he’ll give his usual 110 percent if he makes it on ENDURANCE: Hawaii.
Antonio has been seen with his twin Sister recently in Midnight Chimes Productions’ RESTIVE ESTATES and as a baseball player in NOT SO BREAKING NEWS.

On September 25, the series will officially kick off with the most diverse cast
ever of 20 tweens who say “Aloha” to the lush tropical paradise of Kauai
Island to compete in a series of physical and mental challenges, vying for
a Grand Prize trip to the Galapagos Islands.

ENDURANCE: Hawaii features more episodes (21, not 13), more suspense and
more daunting challenges. But kids who think they’ve got the game figured
out from watching the first two seasons are in for a huge surprise.
ENDURANCE: Hawaii features non-stop twists that will turn their world and the game as they know it upside down and on its head.

Friendships are built and loyalties tested as teams try to beat the odds and those who can think on their feet and adapt to change stand the best chance of becoming ENDURANCE champions.

And, if the grueling physical trials weren’t enough, the kids of ENDURANCE:
Hawaii had to endure torrential rain storms, intense heat, and sparse
accommodations (their beds consisted of wooden slabs in huts!). Host J.D.
Roth and his team have devised new games this season that test brains and
brawn, all to earn the 12 pyramid pieces to become ENDURANCE champions.

We’ll be watching to find out if Antonio is on his way to Hawaii.

The short-which was shot on 16mm-will primarily be distributed online as a way of raising money for Spear’s feature. “I wanted to take an elemental approach with this, which you really can’t get with DV,” she observes. “Since the story is set in the 1920s, film would be more period appropriate. Plus, it just looks better.” Based on the Celtic ballad “Tam Lin”, the feature portrays a friendship between two troubled adolescents in the years before the depression.

Director Chelsea Spear has directed several short films. ALPHABET, her best known short, has played in festivals from Austin (Texas) to Zurich (Switzerland), and was hailed as “very very beautiful” by acclaimed director Guy Maddin. Emily Sweeney (Fay Stinson) previously appeared in the silent film satire FLAPPER! (I HARDLY KNEW HER!), which screened at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. Ian Cardoni makes his film debut as Tom Lane. The young actor has cut his teeth in stage productions of Les Miserables and Peter Pan, and in environmental theatre events with Pastimes.

Founded in 2001, Boston-based Pixievision Films has also produced THE HIDDEN. The company aims to give voice to emerging female filmmakers through production and networking opportunities. You can contact Pixievision Films at ogygia.ave@gmail.com.