Mladen Milicevic (born 1958) is a composer of

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

sound installation Sound art is an artistic activity in which sound is utilized as a primary medium or material. Like many genres of contemporary art, sound art may be interdisciplinary in nature, or be used in hybrid forms. According to Brandon LaBelle, sound art ...

, and

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 ...

. He is a professor and has been for many years the Chair of the Recording Arts Department at

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

in Los Angeles. He is best known for composing the score to the cult film ''

The Room ''The Room'' is a 2003 American drama film written, produced, executive produced and directed by Tommy Wiseau, who stars in the film alongside Juliette Danielle and Greg Sestero. The film centers on a melodramatic love triangle between amiable ...

''.

Early life and education

Born into a family of film-makers (his fathe
Ognjen Milicevic
was a

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

and his mothe
Zlata Milicevic
was a

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...

), Milicevic started playing piano when he was 6. He received a B.A. in music composition (1982) and an M.A. (1986) in music composition and multimedia arts from the

Sarajevo Music Academy The Sarajevo Music Academy or Music Academy , University of Sarajevo ( bs, Muzička Akademija Univerziteta u Sarajevu or MAS) is a Faculty of Music of University of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. History Sarajevo Music Academy was foun ...

, in his native

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, where he studied with Josip Magdic. Milicevic came to the United States in 1986 to study with

Alvin Lucier Alvin Augustus Lucier Jr. (May 14, 1931 – December 1, 2021) was an American composer of experimental music and sound installations that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University in Mi ...

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

in Connecticut, where he received his master's degree in experimental music composition (1988). After Wesleyan, he went to study wit
Dennis Kam
at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

in Florida, where he received his doctorate degree in computer and experimental music composition in 1991. He also studied for several summers at the Aspen Music School/Festival wit
Michael Czajkowski

Career

In the nineties, Milicevic has concentrated on live interactive

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

composition utilizing hyperinstruments. He was awarded several music prizes for his compositions in the former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

as well as in Europe. Milicevic worked in Yugoslavia as a freelance composer for 10 years, where he composed for theater, films, radio and television, also receiving several prizes for this body of work. Since he moved to the United States in 1986, Milicevic has performed his live electronic music, composed for modern dances, made several experimental animated films and videos, set up installations and video sculptures, had exhibitions of his paintings, and scored for films. His film music can be heard at his website. He presents on variety of topics at many international conferences ranging from film, music, religion, psychology and neuroscience of (film, music, and religion,) sociology, aesthetics, cultural studies, and education. Milicevic is very interested in interdisciplinary connections among all these disciplines. For example, in education, he is using brain based learning in order to improve his teaching effectiveness. Milicevic's most popular class at Loyola Marymount University is Movie Music class, where he approaches film music from the neuroscientific and psychological point of view.

Commercial work

In the former Yugoslavia, Milicevic (using the alias Igor Krik) produced the 1985 pop band, VALENTINO, that sold platinum. In 2003, he composed the score for the cult film ''

'', directed by

Tommy Wiseau Thomas P. Wiseau ( or ) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for writing, producing, directing, and starring in the 2003 film ''The Room'', which has been described by many critics as one of the List of films considered the worst, w ...

. He later wrote the score for Wiseau's 2004 documentary ''Homeless in America'', and in 2015, scored a documentary about ''The Room'', titled '' Room Full of Spoons''. In 2009, he also produced an album entitled ''I’ve Got a Song for You'' by

Rade Šerbedžija Rade Šerbedžija ( sr-Cyrl, Раде Шербеџија, ; born 27 July 1946) is a Croatian actor, director and musician. He is known for his portrayals of imposing figures on both sides of the law. He was one of the best known Yugoslav actors i ...

and

Miroslav Tadić Miroslav Tadic solo performance. Miroslav Tadić (born 1959) is a Serbian guitarist, composer, improviser and music educator. Career He performs regularly in Europe, Japan and the United States and made over 30 CDs for numerous labels including ...

. For this work, he was nominated for the Porin award in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

as the best-produced album. He scored a documentary,
Cuba: The Forgotten Revolution
', which won an Emmy in 2016.

References

External links

* * Ognjenka Milicevic (aunt) Nika Milicevic (grandfather) {{DEFAULTSORT:Milicevic, Mladen 1958 births Living people 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Experimental composers Aspen Music Festival and School alumni Loyola Marymount University faculty University of Miami Frost School of Music alumni Wesleyan University alumni Musicians from Sarajevo Yugoslav emigrants to the United States Bosnia and Herzegovina composers Bosnia and Herzegovina film score composers American classical composers American experimental musicians American film score composers