Applications Now Open for 2021 Universal’s Global Talent Composer Initiative

Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG)’s Global Talent Development & Inclusion (GTDI) department announced that the application period for its Composers Initiative is now open. The was created in 2018, when GTDI in partnership with the studio’s film music department, set out to identify up-and-coming and novice talent at various points of their creative journeys for music production opportunities across the studio and its wide industry network. It seeks to find artists from both traditional and unconventional backgrounds that possess unique, global perspectives they can translate into distinctive musical expressions.

Originally, a one-year program launched with DreamWorks Animation, GTDI recognized the benefit of expanding across the NBCUniversal portfolio and extending the duration. Participants will now be exposed to more potential opportunities and have more time to develop key industry relationships.

The two-year initiative welcomes applicants from all creative and professional backgrounds seeking to enhance their current career efforts in film and TV music.  Participants will have access to the studio and network process, while the GTDI team increases the awareness of this underrepresented talent among NBCUniversal’s network of executives, producers, and directors, leading to additional industry connections and mentors.

See an inside look at the Universal Composers Initiative:

In its first year, the Universal Composers Initiative yielded the following wins:

• Amie Doherty scored Focus Features’ The High Note and the Jurassic short film Battle at Big Rock, directed by Colin Trevorrow. She has recently been chosen to score DreamWorks Animation’s Spirit Riding Free feature film, which is set to release on May 14, 2021.
• Orlando Perez Rosso scored the theme music for an NBC Sports show as well as two silent films for Universal’s film restoration program.
• Two female composers scored award-winning short films for DreamWorks Animation.

Since GTDI’s launch in 2017, the department has created and cultivated programs and initiatives that have led to real institutional change across the Studio and throughout the industry. The team’s creative talent development work includes the Universal Writers Program, Universal Directors Initiative and Universal Animation Writers Program, a first-of-its-kind animation writing program for both feature film and television content.  GTDI now has nearly 100 alumni and current program and initiative talent with 40% of them having secured production credits, 50% of the produced credits are within NBCUniversal.

The application can be found on the initiative’s website. The deadline is August 23, 2020.

Source:            NBCUniversal