Congratulations L.A.-musician Emmy winners and nominees!

by Linda A. Rapka

Local 47 composer Bear McCreary took home his first Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music at the 2013 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards for his work on “Da Vinci’s Demons,” scored here in Los Angeles.

File photo by Linda A. Rapka
A friend to our local scoring community, composer Bear McCreary was honored by the Recording Musicians Association of Los Angeles in February 2011 for his efforts in keeping orchestral music alive in film and TV. The composer earned his first Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for “Da Vinci’s Demons” at last month’s awards ceremony

“I’m still so overwhelmed by this that I can barely process it,” Bear posted on his blog. “If I didn’t have this winged golden lady sitting on my table right now, I’d hardly believe that it happened at all. At Sunday’s award ceremony, I almost felt like I was watching my speech from an out-of-body experience.”

Garnering nominations were several shows scored here in Los Angeles. In the running alongside McCreary for best theme song were Local 47 composers David Schwartz for “Arrested Development” and Jeff Beal for “House of Cards,” both series released by Netflix. Local 47 music director Bill Ross received an Emmy nod for his work on the “85th Annual Oscars,” as did Ian Fraser for “Christmas in Washington.” In the Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics category, the music of “Smash” received two nominations: “Hang the Moon” by Local 47 member Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, and “I Heard Your Voice in a Dream” by Andrew McMahon. Also in this category, Sarah Jane Buxton and Kate York were nominated for “Nothing in This World Will Ever Break My Heart Again” as heard on “Nashville.”

The Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, traditionally held the weekend before the live Primetime Emmys telecast, are largely dedicated to key technical disciplines and behind-the-scenes crafts essential to television production including music, art direction, cinematography, picture and sound editing/mixing, special visual effects, and more. The 2013 Creative Arts Emmys took place Sept. 15 at the Nokia Theater at LA LIVE! and was broadcast on FXX Sept. 21.

The 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards took place Sept. 22, and once again featured an incredible Local 47 live house band. Up for awards this year were several productions scored in Los Angeles:

Local 47-Scored 2013 Emmy Nominated Shows:

• American Horror Story: Asylum (FX Networks)
• American Idol (FOX)
• Arrested Development (Netflix)
• Bates Motel (A&E)
• Battlestar Galactica (Syfy)
• Behind the Candelabra (HBO)
• The Bible (History)
• The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
• Bob’s Burgers (FOX)
• Canon “Inspired” (commercial)
• Conan (TBS)
• Da Vinci’s Demons (Starz)
• Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
• Defiance (Syfy)
• Family Guy (FOX)
• Glee (FOX)
• Golden Globe Awards, 70th Annual (NBC)
• Grammy Awards, 55th Annual (CBS)
• Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (web series)
• House of Cards (Netflix)
• How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
• Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)
• The KennedyCenter Honors (CBS)
• Mad Men (Lionsgate TV)
• Mike & Molly (CBS)
• Modern Family (ABC)
• Nashville (ABC/Lionsgate TV)
• NCIS (CBS)
• The Newsroom (HBO)
• Nikita (The CW)
• The Office (NBC)
• Once Upon a Time (ABC)
• The Oscars, 85th Annual (ABC)
• Parks and Recreation (NBC)
• Political Animals (USA)
• Revolution (NBC)
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony (HBO)
• Scandal (ABC)
• The Simpsons (FOX)
• Smash (NBC)
• Southland (TNT)
• Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show Starring Beyoncé (CBS/NFL Network)
• Two and a Half Men (CBS)
• The Voice (NBC)
• The Walking Dead (AMC)