Popular with both audiences and filmmakers for his stylistic versatility and dramatic touch, Sam Parmelee is a passionate young composer whose love of great music may be equaled only by his love of great storytelling. Fortunately, for both the listener and the collaborator, the two loves are fused together in his work.
As a musician, Sam has the benefit of experience in several roles. Whether as a composer, orchestrator, arranger, "synthestrator", or conductor, he has been a part of dozens of projects. His musical work for various independent films, A&E, Bravo, Group101 Films, theater and the live stage, libraries, and web-based multimedia content have all contributed to shaping Sam into the versatile composer and musician that he has become.
Sam has had years of formal training and education in his field. Initially studying music theory and composition at Pepperdine University, after graduation he went on to study film scoring at UCLA (where he received the BMI Jerry Goldsmith Film Scoring Award), and then completed graduate studies in film scoring at USC's Thornton School of Music. He's had the privilege of working and studying with some of Hollywood's best, notably Christopher Young, David Raksin, Jack Smalley, Joe Harnell, David Spear, Ed Kalnins, Brian King, and Robert Drasnin.
Philosophically, Sam's approach to his work represents the blending of different schools of thought. He is able to incorporate and apply the newer trends in dramatic music (technological savvy and flexibility, out-of-the-box thinking, non-linear structure and workflow, stylistic variety and juxtaposition). At the same time, he is also a firm believer in the far-too-oft-neglected classical ideals held by the great composers of the past (mastery of craft, historical knowledge, formal training, disciplined decision-making, subtle sensibility, respect for the art). Most importantly of all, Sam understands storytelling, and goes about all his work with the main goals of collaborating with his creative partners and contributing to the storytelling process in the most appropriate, dramatic, and entertaining way possible.
Always looking to add new ideas and experiences to his artistic repertoire, Sam is comfortable working on projects both large and small in scope. Whether the ultimate product is composed, performed, recorded, and produced entirely in Sam's home studio, or whether it is created with the cooperation of a full orchestra of live players in a large commercial studio, Sam is always looking for creative challenges and interesting opportunites in the work at hand.
Born and raised in Southern California, Sam grew up as a true "film buff", due in large part to his father's influence and the time they spent together watching hundreds and hundreds of films. Needless to say, he's a big fan (and critic) of movies! He is both right- and left-brained, having completed (in addition to his musical studies) a double-major in Computer Science and Mathematics while in college. A healthy sense of humor has always been extremely important to Sam, and his approach to life is rather low-key and "big-picture-oriented." When not working, he likes to spend his time on sports (both as a fan and as a player), board and video games, traveling, reading, goofing around with friends and family, and eating tri-tip barbeque.
Sam and his wife, Jenny, currently live in Thousand Oaks, California.
