Jack Lenz

Jack Lenz is a Canadian composer. He has written, performed, and produced music for film, television, and theatre,[1] along with working on non-soundtrack album ventures.[2][3] He is also the founder of Live Unity Enterprises, an organization devoted to the production of music for the Bahá'í community, and dramatic and musical resources to help promote its teachings.[4] For example, Lenz wrote the music for the Expectation opening music for the second Bahá'í World Congress in 1992 with an audience of tens of thousands of Bahá'ís from around the world.[5]

Lenz became well-known in the United States after working on the score for Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ. Among his current projects is working on a movie about the persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran, particularly the story of Mona Mahmudnizhad who suffered under the persecution in Iran,[6] under the title of Mona's Dream.[7][8]

Contents

Background

Jack Lenz was born in Eston, Saskatchewan. His mother was also raised in Saskatchewan, and his father came to Canada from Hungary during the Depression. Still in his youth Lenz took piano lessons from Garth Beckett and later studied composition at the University of Saskatchewan.[9] Lenz became a professional musician when he played keyboards and flute for the soft-rock bands Seals and Crofts and Loggins and Messina touring around the world, performing before large audiences, and recording.[10] Lenz' involvement in children's issues stems partly from having seven children of his own, as well as being an arena which avoids "the conflict between what I believe about music and its sacred nature and dealing with what a lot of programming deals with, which sometimes could be the worst aspects of human nature."[9] Lenz joined the Bahá'í Faith in 1969.[10]

Programs

Lenz has done music production work for over 100 programs for various categories of mass media including television series and information/news programming, feature films, movies of the week, documentaries, live to broadcast, and children's television productions for networks like the CBC, NBC, Nickelodeon, PAX TV, Discovery Channel, Scholastic-HBO, Showtime, and Nelvana / CBS as well as theatrical works.[11][12][13][14]

Awards

Nominated for several Gemini Awards:

Winner of several SOCAN Awards

Albums or songs on albums

Artists

Lenz has done production work for various artists including Ravi Shankar, Paul Gross, David Keeley, Doug Cameron, as well as Adam Crossley, Holly Stell, The Crawling Kingsnakes and Ava Bowers.[2][22][23]

References

  1. ^ Official Website Bio
  2. ^ a b Cherry Lane Music Publishing, Film and TV Composers, Jack Lenz
  3. ^ a b Socan, Archived News 2004, Jack Lenz
  4. ^ LiveUnity.com Official Website
  5. ^ a b c Music for the Second Bahá'í World Congress
  6. ^ Mona's Message
  7. ^ Mona's Dream
  8. ^ Note Mona Mahmudnizhad's story is also the subject of other art works: music artist Doug Cameron's popular song "Mona with the Children" which made the top of the pop charts (#14 for the week of October 19, 1985) according to "Pop Annual 1955-1999: Sixth Edition" "Pop Annual 1955-1999: Sixth Edition" for October, 1985 and as a play A Dress for Mona.
  9. ^ a b Millennnium Arts Society - Jack Lenz in conversation with Joseph Lerner
  10. ^ a b c Bahá'í Community of Canada, Canadian Bahá'ís > In the News > Jack Lenz
  11. ^ ole Expands Agreement with Jack Lenz and Lenz Entertainment
  12. ^ IMBD Entry
  13. ^ Jack Lenz Credits
  14. ^ a b c d James Beveridge, Film Guru, Jack Lenz
  15. ^ 14th SOCAN Awards
  16. ^ 16th Annual SOCAN Awards
  17. ^ Also appeared in the episode All the Queen's Horses in the Canadian series "Due South," in April, 1996
  18. ^ Jewel in the Lotus
  19. ^ Divine Notes - We Are Baha'is, Album Details
  20. ^ Music and The Arts - The Oneness of Humankind
  21. ^ "RPM 50 Singles". RPM (through Library and Archives Canada). September 17, 1983. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.4325&volume=39&issue=3&issue_dt=September%2017%201983&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=v8vde226fvt3oqo5dlg4hm4ck1. Retrieved 2009-06-02. 
  22. ^ Lenz Entertainment Artist Management
  23. ^ Ava: Turning Point

External links