FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 6, 2007
ROBERT ISRAEL - World Famous Movie Composer at Harold Lloyd Comedy Fest, Riviera Theatre April 18-20, 2008
Buffalo, New York / North Tonawanda, New York / Hollywood, California
[ Robert Israel is available for phone and in-person interviews ]
Robert Israel
has been hailed as "...one of the world's finest practitioners of the
art of silent film accompaniment." A protégé of the legendary theatre
organist Gaylord Carter, he made his professional debut at the age of
17, only six months after his formal studies on the piano and organ had
commenced.
Opportunities to see Mr. Israel perform in person are special and rare occasions!
Mr.
Israel will arrive from Stockholm, Sweden to perform at the Harold
Lloyd Comedy Film Festival, April 18-20. 2008 at the Historic Riviera
Theatre. He will accompany several of the 10 films, including the area
Premiere of his score for Welcome Danger on Saturday, April 19, 2008 at
1PM.
Robert Israel
has performed before such silver screen greats as Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
and Charles "Buddy" Rogers as well as entertaining contemporary
audiences in such venues as UCLA's Royce Hall and the Los Angeles
Conservancy's "Last Remaining Seats" series-to which he has performed,
for the last twelve years, to sell out houses of over 2,000 people! In
March 2005, Robert was
named music director of special events, for the twelfth year in a row,
by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. In 2006, Maestro Israel was invited to Ljubljana, Slovenia
to conduct the Gottfried Huppertz score for Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS.
This event marked the first time in more than twenty five years that
Cankarjev Dom was sold out for a silent film with orchestra event. In
2007, Robert Israel conducted another sell out program at Cankarjev Dom for Charlie Chaplin's CITY LIGHTS.
In addition to live performances, Maestro Israel
and his orchestra have recorded musical scores for films released by
Warner Bros. Home Video, Turner Entertainment, Sony Pictures
Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios, Flicker Alley, and Kino
International in cooperation with Film Preservation and Associates.
This also includes the release of over twenty new scores for the films
of Harold Lloyd for the Harold Lloyd Trust and Turner Classic Movies;
included are nine Lloyd feature films and several Lloyd short subjects.
These films have been issued in a DVD collection from New Line Cinema.
The New York Times hailed them as "The DVD release of 2005." Mr. Israel's
television work has included composing scores for the popular
television series "Biography" on A & E Channel, American Masters on
PBS and for director/producer Gregory Nava.
In September 2006, Stockholm University of Sweden awarded Robert Israel an Honorary Doctorate for achievements in his field of practice. This was in recognition of Maestro Israel's
music compositions and his contributions to the field of early cinema.
It is worth noting that most honorary degrees are awarded to people
past 60 years of age; Maestro Israel is 44 years old.
Robert Israel has performed as soloist and orchestra conductor throughout the United States, Japan, and Europe, including film festivals in the Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Slovenia and Sweden. He also appears throughout the world as lecturer on the subject of music and the moving image.
The Harold Lloyd Comedy Film Festival is co-presented by The
Historic Riviera Theatre, The Buffalo Film Festival, The Buffalo Film
Society, George Eastman House, Off-Beat Cinema, WKBW Channel 7, SONY
Classics, The Harold Lloyd Trust on April 18-20, 2008 at the Historic
Riviera Theatre, 67 Webster Street, N. Tonawanda, NY.
Buffalo International Film Festival, Inc. is a 501c3
not-for-profit charity serving Western New York and the world film
community. It depends upon tax-deductible donations from the general
public.
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