Mark Kilian
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Mark Kilian is a film composer whose deep understanding and appreciation of South African music, jazz, electronica and modern classical music has formed a musical style which has been described as rhythmically sophisticated, evocative and driving, while retaining a raw emotional simplicity that draws on the creative use of everyday sound. His most well known work includes music for films by director Gavin Hood (Tsotsi and Rendition, co-written with Paul Hepker) and for television (Daybreak and numerous commercials).
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[edit] Early years
Mark was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. During the early ‘90s, Kilian spearheaded the popular Durban band Shades, which was one of the foremost club jazz bands to break the color barrier in South Africa at the time. He continued to perform with artists like Shirley Bassey, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Airto Moreira and the Brubeck brothers. He toured the US and Europe and recorded two albums with Darius Brubeck as Gathering Forces and the NU Jazz Connection. He also arranged many shows for big band in and around South Africa including Sammy Davis Tribute and Tom Waits Review Show.
He studied piano and guitar at school, and then continued his studies at the University of Natal in Durban under Professor Darius Brubeck. After graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Performance (cum laude and Dean’s commendation) in 1990, he continued his studies in Natal working on his thesis, “The Relationship Between Music and Sound Effects in Contemporary Popular Hollywood Film.” A synopsis of this thesis was published in the Society of Composers and Lyricists publication, “The Score,” in Los Angeles. He graduated with a Master of Music degree in composition in 1994.
While studying, he lectured at the Department of Music’s Gerald LaPierre electronic music studio and taught piano at the Shell School for underprivileged children. In 1994 he was chosen to be on the board of directors of the PWV Music Academy in Johannesburg. He has also lectured in electronic music at Occidental College and USC in Los Angeles.
His awards include the South African International Composers Competition (twice), the SAMRO (South Africa’s ASCAP) overseas scholarship for pianists, the Creative Arts Foundation of South Africa’s Composer’s Scholarship, the Harry Oppenheimer Memorial Trust for overseas study and a Special Citation Award for outstanding musicianship at the International Association of Jazz Educator’s convention in Miami, Florida.
His concert work includes the symphonic Scenes from a Forthcoming Attraction and So Who Was Here First? His African-influenced String Quartet #1 was recorded in Los Angeles and his chamber works include Mismatch This Match and A La-la La-la Long Time We Have Waited, both of which are competition winners.
[edit] Film and Television Scoring
Upon arriving in Los Angeles he enrolled in the Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program at the University of Southern California where he was recruited by composer Christopher Young, with whom he spent 3 years as an electronic score producer and assistant on many feature films which included Species, Copycat, Virtuosity and Hard Rain.
In 1998, Mark was hired as a staff composer by Machine Head in Venice, California. There he wrote music for hundreds of high profile TV commercials for companies such as Apple Inc., Toyota, Budweiser, Microsoft, Mastercard and United Airlines.
In 1997 Mark scored his first film Lovergirl starring Sandra Bernhard. Since then he has written music for many features including King Solomon’s Mines, Icon, Blind Horizon, Skulls 3, The Animatrix, and Raise Your Voice. His TV credits include Daybreak (ABC), Jake in Progress (ABC), Kitchen Confidential (Fox), FX: The Series (Rysher) and Boarding House: The Northshore (CW). He has also provided music for the video games The Matrix: Path of Neo and Full Spectrum Warrior. Mark has worked as orchestrator, arranger and conductor for Paul Oakenfold, Rob D and Juno Reactor on the film The Matrix Reloaded. His special affinity for percussive music led to producing the electronically manipulated percussion element of the score for Elektra with composer Christophe Beck.
[edit] Recent Work
In 2004 Mark and collaborator Paul Hepker, a fellow South African, went to South Africa to score Tsotsi for writer/director Gavin Hood. The film has subsequently garnered many prestigious awards around the world, was nominated for Golden Globe and BAFTA awards, and won the 2005 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
Recent scoring projects (also with Paul Hepker) include Gavin Hood’s new film Rendition (starring Jake Gyllenhaal) and The Bird Can’t Fly. Mark also recently scored Santosh Sivan's Before the Rains which will receive its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2007. Music For The Divine, a new album from Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple) and producer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), features strings written and recorded by Mark. Along with composer Christophe Beck he recently completed his second record Sedattalite with avant-garde electronica outfit Ape Quartet.
Bewtween February and May of 2008, Mark scored the film "Traitor" starring Don Cheadle, Jeff Daniels and Guy Pearce. Written and directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff and from an idea by Steve Martin, the film will be released in the summer of 2008 through Overture Films.
