“A
baptism by fire” is how Vermont resident Dashiel Rae
describes her first foray into moviedom: editing the
music for Iain Softley’s 1997 picture THE WINGS OF
THE DOVE. But
she withstood the flames well enough to graduate to a
string of projects every bit as sizzling – ranging
from Ridley Scott’s GLADIATOR and Stephen Daldry’s
THE HOURS Terry Gilliam’s THE BROTHERS GRIMM – not
to mention the work she did as both Series Music
Editor and Temp Music Editor on the television
mini-series “Band ofl Brothers” for which she
received a well-deserved Emmy in 2002. Rae is
currently slated as Film Music Editor for The
Weinstein Brothers/Dino de Laurentus co-production THE
LAST LEGION starring acting great Colin Firth and
fiery Sir Ben Kingsley, soon to start post-production.
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| Dashiell Rae is currently slated as Film Music Editor for THE LAST LEGION, a Weinstein Brothers/Dino de Laurentus co-production.
Photo by Lillian Gahagan. |
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| Composer Dashiell Rae with Harley. She divides her time between Vermont and London.
Photo by Lillian Gahagan. |
“Music
is often times overlooked” she says, “but it’s
the glue that binds the whole thing together.
Only when you’ve seen a film in the raw –
without music – do you really appreciate the magic
that music – the right music – brings.”
A
graduate of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester,
NY, Rae began her musical career not in film but on
stage. During the eighties she worked as a vocalist
and multi-instrumentalist touring and recording with
some of the best known British pop names of the time,
including Level 42, Midge Ure, The Style Council, Paul
Young and Julia Fordham.
In 1985 she recorded an album of her own music
- a collection of solo piano pieces entitled “Songs
without Words.”
Two
years later she moved from New York to London -
“permanently”
or so it seemed at the time -
and found herself devoting more and more time
to musical composition.
In
the nineties she began to compose original music for
film and TV in the UK, working frequently for the
innovative Channel 4 as well as the BBC.
She became known for writing strong yet
haunting music in a contemporary classical style;
perhaps one of the most characteristic compositions of
the period being the score for the TV feature length
film ALL MIXED UP for which she received the Royal
Television Society Award (the British equivalent of an
Emmy) for Best Original Score in 1996.
(As
ALL MIXED UP was, in fact, a Welsh language film, the
title of the piece should, of course, be Y’N GYMYSG
OLL I GYD. If
that sounds even a little bit mixed up just remember
there’s only one Welsh word that IMAGINE readers
really need to know and that’s the word for film
which is “ffilm.”
The rest you can bluff.
Except in Wales.)
The
nineties were busy years for Rae.
In addition to Y’N GYMYSG OLL I GYD there was
music for a short film for British Screen called
WIRED, as well as a PBS/BBC drama called WASHED UP and
a whole slew of other television work, including
incidental music for the BBC comedy series “Get Well
Soon.” (One title that might catch an American eye
is a Channel 4 documentary called ART & THE CIA.)
She also found the time to complete several
advanced courses
in film composition and orchestration at Trinity
College of Music in London.
Despite success and recognition for her
television work, the world of classical music still
had a siren hold.
She went to work for legendary tonmeister Tim
Handley. “A
musical apprenticeship” is how Rae describes the
experience, editing classical music for top labels
like EMI, Naxos, Chandos and Virgin Classics.
It
was while preparing a showreel for a friend, Ed
Shearmur, that the movies beckoned.
Shearmur - who has since become an established
film composer with music credits ranging from MISS
CONGENIALITY to the somewhat less congenial DERAILED -
was asked by Miramax to score THE WINGS OF A DOVE.
He accepted the job - and invited Rae to come
on board as music editor.
Eight
years later Rae, a USA/UK dual national, now divides
her time between Vermont and London. The installation
next year of a T1 line to her Vermont home will enable
her to spend more and more time in the Green Mountain
state. She hopes it will also make her more available to pursue
local New England-based projects.
An
avid oarswoman, Rae is seldom far from the water’s
edge. (Was
it coincidence that so much of THE WINGS OF THE DOVE
took place in Venice?) In London, her apartment is
right on the river Thames. In Vermont her home - which
she designed herself - looks out over a lake. When not
composing (are composers ever really not composing?)
she’s likely to be found rowing with the Women’s
Master’s 8 of the Dresden Rowing Club or sculling on
the Connecticut River.
Rowing
is not something Dashiell Rae takes lightly. As with a
lot of rowers, it runs deep. “Rowing is probably
quite the perfect analogy for my life both personally
and professionally.
It’s all about fighting for the balance,
testing my nerve and stamina, marking the course and
holding steadfast - knowing whatever the result I’ve
given it my all when I get to the finish line.”
Donald
Rae frequently follows the independent film scene in
Vermont for IMAGINE. As Deputy Director of the Vermont
Film Commission he has his fingers on the pulses of
production in the state
