This wasn’t a typical Friday at the Nativity School situated in the heart of lower East Los Angeles. On March 12th, 2010, the 7th and 8th graders were visited by an individual whose resume includes work on some popular movie titles like Disney-Pixar’s Up, The Incredibles, Pirates of the Caribbean and Iron Man 2. As Head of Music Preparation for Walt Disney Studios, Booker White has a truly important job, one that includes working with film composers and orchestrators to get the printed music in front of the orchestra for the movie recording sessions. He also maintains the library of original film music for Disney studios which goes all the way back to Steamboat Willie and Plane Crazy from the late 1920s. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for Education Through Music-LA ( ETM-LA ), a non-profit program dedicated to promoting the integration of music into the curricula of elementary and middle schools with low-income student populations.
The students got a new look into the film music world from White’s perspective -- everything from his background in music theory and experiences to what a finished score cue looks like. They got to read and follow along on " Married Life," a musical cue from Up – and listened to how the music notation and symbols mirror what’s actually heard. White helped to explicate the differentiated symbols and lines that appear in this 2010 Oscar–winning score by Michael Giacchino, including what feelings are being portrayed by various musical techniques such as the ascending lines, trills and piano solos written in the cue.
White was ecstatic to get the opportunity to share his experience. When one student asked what inspired him to pursue his dream, he mentioned that Quincy Jones was a strong influence, saying that “he could do everything, and that was such an inspiration.” White also underscored the importance of having a dream and not giving up: “Hold onto your dreams and don’t ever let go. And work hard at it.” For White, working hard has paid off as he is able to live his dream and inspire others to do the same.
