Episode 20

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Published on:

19th Mar 2024

1.20 - Dara Taylor

Join Jason this week as he welcomes composer Dara Taylor to the show!

Dara Taylor is an American composer for film and television scores. An HMMA-nominated composer, she has composed music for a number of Independent films including thrillers, dramas, and comedies. She has contributed additional music to ABC's Agent Carter,  Galavant and Lifetime’s Child Genius as well as arrangements and score production for studio productions like Bad Moms, Baywatch, Smurfs The Lost Village, Sausage Party, and more. In 2015, she was nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award for her score for the Together Magic film Undetectable. In 2016, she was one of the composers asked to take part in Women in Film’s Women Composers in Media concert.

Taylor was born in Poughkeepsie, New York but spent most of her childhood in Lockport, New York. She studied as a mezzo-soprano under Judith Kellock at Cornell University and sang in the Cornell University Chorus. Also at Cornell, she studied composition independently with Zachary Wadsworth and Steven Stucky. In 2009, she graduated cum laude with a Bachelor's in Music and Psychology. Taylor then received a Masters of Music from New York University in 2011 where she studied Film Music Composition with Mark Suozzo.

Taylor is currently based in Los Angeles, CA.

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About the Podcast

Composer Chats
Composer Chat is a podcast where we talk a little bit about music, a little bit about life, and a whole lot about whatever we feel like at the moment! Each episode I am joined by a special guest composer and we will chat about their pathway towards success in their musical career!

About your host

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Jason Nitsch

Jason Nitsch is a composer for the concert stage, feature and short films, and other media.

In the world of podcasting, he is the writer, producer, and composer for Beyond the Belt: Adventures from the Outer Rim, a science fiction drama podcast with a dedicated cult following. In the film world, he has scored the short film Passing By directed by David M. Chandler, Edward J. Delaney’s feature length documentary Library of the Early Mind, and the celebrated horror short Bedtime produced by Joint Concept Productions. He also served as music supervisor for 2014’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” feature film by director Dallas Burgess.

He has released multiple albums, including Poem at the End of the World, The Season 1 and 2 Soundtracks from Beyond the Belt: Adventures from the Outer Rim, and most recently the chamber music anthology 1000 Steps to Nowhere. His music has been published by several prominent publishers, including Excelcia Music, T.U.X. People’s Music, FJH Music, and Randall Standridge Music.

Jason is a lover of dogs, legos, video games, and all things Star Wars (yes, even the prequels). He is also a husband, father of two budding musicians, and a patron of art forms that stretch traditional boundaries.

You can find Jason’s works for the stage at his publishing company Suburban Zombie Music