Michael Montes is a Peruvian-American composer for films, album projects and all other media.

Life and career

Michael Montes was born in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, the son of American nurse Anne Pryor and Peruvian doctor Mario Montes who came to the United States in the early fifties. The family eventually settled in Eden, NY.Michael Montes Bio
He began

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

studies at age seven, quit in frustration with his teacher's methods, returned feverishly on his own at age thirteen and later dropped out of medical school in order to pursue composition as his life's work. As a child his first

film music A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...

experience occurred while watching the Jules Verne classic '' Mysterious Island''. Years later he discovered that

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely r ...

had composed the score. Later on Pink Floyd became an influence, specifically their innovative

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

techniques and use of hallucinatory textures. While studying at

Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1860, ...

he joined the

chamber choir A chamber choir is a small or medium-sized choir of roughly 8 to 40 singers (occasionally called 'chamber singers'), typically singing classical or religious music in a concert setting. (This is distinct from e.g. a church choir, which sings in rel ...

that specialized in the works of Renaissance composer Josquin des Prez. After school he steeped himself in the worlds of Brian Eno,

tape loop In music, tape loops are loops of magnetic tape used to create repetitive, rhythmic musical patterns or dense layers of sound when played on a tape recorder. Originating in the 1940s with the work of Pierre Schaeffer, they were used among cont ...

s and musique concrète while working on his first commissioned piece, ''A Porcelain Dream'', for

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

troupe Floorplay. Moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

he began an extended period of composing in every possible genre for thousands of

television commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

while collecting multiple

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; el, Κλειώ), also spelled Kleio, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre playing. Etymology Clio's name is etymologically derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλεί ...

and AICP awards. Several of his pieces are included in the permanent collection of New York's

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

. He was brought in to work with

Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...

's band

'Til Tuesday Til Tuesday (often stylized as til tuesday) was an American new wave band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The band, consisting of Aimee Mann (lead vocals, bass), Robert Holmes (guitar), Joey Pesce (keyboards), and Michael Haus ...

as keyboardist for their studio album ''

Everything's Different Now ''Everything's Different Now'' is the third and final studio album by the American band 'Til Tuesday, released in 1988. (see 1988 in music). Track listing # "Everything's Different Now" (Jules Shear, Matthew Sweet) – 3:56 # "Rip in Heaven" (Ai ...

'' and subsequent tour. He created the Zoar project, a series of dark atmospheric albums. The debut album, ''

Cassandra Cassandra or Kassandra (; Ancient Greek: Κασσάνδρα, , also , and sometimes referred to as Alexandra) in Greek mythology was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god Apollo and fated by him to utter true prophecies but never to be belie ...

'', was released on the Philip Glass

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

Point Music. He began a collaboration with noted filmmaker Bill Morrison scoring his films ''Ghost Trip'', ''Trinity'' and ''Her Violet Kiss'' He conceived and produced cellist

Erik Friedlander Erik Friedlander is an American cellist and composer based in New York City. A veteran of New York City's experimental downtown scene, Friedlander has worked in many contexts, but is perhaps best known for his frequent collaborations with sax ...

's breakthrough solo album '' Maldoror''.

Allan Kozinn Allan Kozinn (born July 28, 1954) is an American journalist, music critic, and teacher. Kozinn received bachelor's degrees in music and journalism from Syracuse University in 1976. He began freelancing as a critic and music feature writer for '' ...

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

called his ''String Quartet No. 2'' "an experiment in intensity...a forceful wave of sound." Subsequently he has composed scores for numerous films including Joan Stein's Oscar® nominated ''One Day Crossing'', Alexander Olch's ''The Windmill Movie'', Michael Tully's ''Don't Leave Home'' and Sophia Takal's '' Always Shine''. He has been the composer of choice for The TED Conference, The Nobel Prize Summit, The World Science Festival and The AICP Show. His TedTalks opening title music has enjoyed billions of views.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
His latest personal albums are ''Persona Ficta'' and ''When the World Was Now''. Favorite authors include Charles Bowden,

John Berger John Peter Berger (; 5 November 1926 – 2 January 2017) was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet. His novel '' G.'' won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism '' Ways of Seeing'', written as an accompaniment to the ...

Cormac McCarthy Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr., July 20, 1933) is an American writer who has written twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays and three short stories, spanning the Western and post-apocalyptic genres. He is known for his gr ...

and

Karl Ove Knausgård Karl Ove Knausgård (; born 6 December 1968) is a Norwegian author. He became known worldwide for six autobiographical novels, titled ''My Struggle'' (''Min Kamp''). Since the completion of the ''My Struggle'' series in 2011, he has also publis ...

. He lives in New York City with his son Mario.

Filmography

*''Her Violet Kiss'' (short) (2021) *''Scenes From an Empty Church'' (2021) *'' Tes Yeux Mourants - That Cold Dead Look in Your Eyes'' (2021) *''The Oil War'' (2020) *'' Into the Dark: New Year, New You'' (2019) *''Saeed'' (short) (2019) *''The Changing Same'' (2018) *''Don't Leave Home'' (2018) *''City of Joel'' (documentary) (2018) *'' The Sweet Requiem'' (2018) *''Funeral'' (short) (2018) *''Don't Leave Home'' (2018) *''

Brigsby Bear ''Brigsby Bear'' is a 2017 American comedy-drama film directed by Dave McCary in his feature directorial debut, written by Kevin Costello and Kyle Mooney, and starring Mooney, Claire Danes, Mark Hamill, Greg Kinnear, Andy Samberg, Matt Walsh, ...

'' (additional music) (2017) *'' Always Shine'' (2016) *''To Die or to Dream'' (short) (2015) *'' King Georges'' (documentary) (2015) *''

Applesauce Apple sauce or applesauce is a purée (not necessarily served as a true sauce) made of apples. It can be made with peeled or unpeeled apples and may be spiced or sweetened. Apple sauce is inexpensive and is widely consumed in North America and s ...

'' (2015) *'' Wild Canaries'' (2014) *''

Ping Pong Summer ''Ping Pong Summer'' is a 2014 American independent coming-of-age comedy film written and directed by Michael Tully. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014. Gravitas Ventures acquired the distribution ...

'' (2014) *''35 Year Old Man'' (short) (2012) *''Welcome to the Machine'' (documentary) (2012) *''Danland'' (documentary) (2012) *'' Septien'' (2011) *''Consent'' (2010) *''Prescott Place'' (short) (2010) *''Private Party'' (short) (2009) *''The Windmill Movie'' (documentary) (2008) *''Kung Fu Granny'' (short) (2008) *'' Slaying Goliath'' (documentary) (2008) *''Able Danger'' (2008) *''Red Dog. Scooter. Applesauce.'' (2006) *''The Lovers'' (short) (2006) *'' 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America: Gold Rush'' (TV series documentary) (2006) *''Solidarity.'' (short) (2005) *''Live at Five'' (short) (2005) *'' A Perfect Fit'' (2005) *''City Minutes'' (short) (2005) *''America Brown'' (2004) *''Belle'' (short) (2004) *''Sunset Town'' (short) (2003) *''Trinity'' (short) (2002) *''

Secrets of the Dead ''Secrets of the Dead'', produced by WNET 13 New York, is an ongoing PBS television series which began in 2000. The show generally follows an investigator or team of investigators exploring what modern science can tell us about some of the great ...

'' (TV series documentary) (2002–2011) *''One Day Crossing'' (short) (2001) *'' Majestic'' (video game) (2001) *''Ghost Trip'' (short) (2001) *''Remembering Marshall: Thirty Years Later'' (TV documentary) (2000) *'' Whipped'' (2000) *''Cusp'' (short) (2000) *''I Remember'' (short) (1999) *''The Headhunter's Sister'' (1997) *''MugShot'' (1996) *''Covert Action'' (1988) *''

Firehouse __NOTOC__ A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...

'' (1987) *'' Hangmen'' (1987) *'' Pumping Iron II: The Women'' (1985)

Discography

Solo

*''When the World Was Now'' (2021) *''That Cold Dead Look in Your Eyes (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (2021) *''The Oil War (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (2021) *''Scenes From an Empty Church (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (2021) *''Don't Leave Home (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (2018) *''Persona Ficta'' (2017) *''Always Shine (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (2017) *''King Georges (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (2016) *''Wild Canaries (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (2015) *''Ping Pong Summer (Original Motion Picture Score)'' (2014) *''Welcome to the Machine (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (2014) *''Danland (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (2012) *''The Earlier Time'' (2011) *''Septien (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)'' (2011) *''Filmscores'' (2010) *''Chamber Works'' (2009) *''Piano at Dusk'' (2009) *''Such Siren Worlds'' (2008)

Zoar

*'' Clouds Without Water'' (2003) *'' In the Bloodlit Dark'' (2001) *''

'' (1997)

References

External links

Michael Montes official site

Zoar official site

Sacred Noise official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montes, Michael 1958 births 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American composers 21st-century American male musicians American film score composers Living people American male film score composers 'Til Tuesday members