The first film-music festival in North America is October 16-18, 2025,
presented by the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY
VISIT SOUNDTRAX WEBSITE | PURCHASE CONCERT TICKETS | REGISTER FOR SPEAKER SESSIONS
UPDATED ON SEPT. 10, 2025
Featured guests, innovative programs, and film-focused concerts have been announced for the Soundtrax Film Music Festival, the first film-music festival in North America. The inaugural event will take place over three days, October 16-18, 2025 in Rochester, NY — birthplace of motion picture film and one of the world’s most renowned music schools, the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. Eastman is presenting the festival on its campus and in its renowned theatres.
Soundtrax will bring together film and music fans with industry professionals — including Academy and Emmy Award-winning composers, video game music pioneers, and innovative leaders in sound from Apple, Sony, Adobe, and Dolby. As the festival explores the intersection of music and technology, the conference and festival are being collaboratively organized by faculty from Eastman and the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
“The Soundtrax Film Music Festival celebrates the magic of music and the movies and we invite audiences behind the scenes to explore the art and technology that make it all possible, to become fully immersed in the world of film-music and sound,” said Mark Bocko, co-director of Soundtrax and director of Hajim’s audio and music engineering program. “There are programs that explore every aspect of film music, and Rochester is the ideal city to host this powerful festival.”
Eastman School of Music continues to honor the cinematic legacy of George Eastman, who founded the school and Kodak and is heralded as the father of motion picture film. Eastman is a “Billboard” Top Music Business School and “Hollywood Reporter” Top Music School for Film Composition, Among Eastman’s distinguished alumni are composers for Star Trek and PBS NewsHour. Alumnus Jeff Beal, a five-time Emmy Award-winning composer (House of Cards, Blackfish) and his wife, vocalist Joan Beal, founded Beal Institute for Film Music and Contemporary Media in 2016. The institute is directed by six-time Emmy Award-winner Mark Watters, who also serves as co-director of Soundtrax.
To register for free events (daytime speaker sessions) and purchase tickets to individual Soundtrax concerts, visit Eastman’s Box Office online, in person (433 East Main Street), or by calling 585-274-3000.
Soundtrax Film Music Festival Programs
Guest bios are online at Soundtrax.org.
THURSDAY
SPEAKER SESSION | “Music for Video Games”
Featuring Guy Whitmore, Garry Schyman, and Seth Wright
Thursday, October 16 at 10:00 a.m.
Music brings excitement and energy to video games! Award-winning composer Guy Whitmore will lead a discussion about music design and composition for video games — focused on the ways music significantly heightens the player experience by enhancing the narrative while creating atmosphere, mood, and emotional engagement with the game world and the story. The session will include excerpts from selected video games that showcase music and sound, plus a panel discussion. Whitmore has been pioneering music for video games for three decades for Xbox, Epic Games, Marvel, and Microsoft, working on such games as Overwatch, Halo, Bejeweled, and Plants Vs. Zombies. He will be joined by fellow video-game composers Garry Schyman (BioShock, Destroy All Humans!, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor) and Seth Wright (Batman: Arkham Shadow). Moderating the discussion will be Andrew Borman of the World Video Game Hall of Fame at The Strong National Museum of Play.
SPEAKER SESSION | Carter Burwell: Composer Conversations
Thursday, October 16 at 1:30 p.m.
Three-time Oscar-nominated composer Carter Burwell has established himself as one of the most unique and highly respected composers in the film and television industry, with feature film credits including Fargo, Twilight, True Grit, The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona, Carol, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, plus Apple TV’s The Morning Show. Hosting the conversation will be author, journalist, and podcast host Jon Burlingame, as Burwell shares an in-depth look at his career, his methodology, and upcoming projects.
SPEAKER SESSION | “The Art & Craft of Music for Animation”
Featuring Mark Watters and Bambi Moé
Thursday, October 16 at 3:30 p.m.
Music has had a starring role in animated features and shorts for more than a century, bringing to life cartoon creatures and animated storylines on screens big and small. Two masters of the craft share stories and secrets of the art of music for animation. Emmy-winning composer Mark Watters has scored hundreds of animations for Disney and MGM and Bambi Moé brought close to 1,000 animated stories to the screen during her 20-year tenure steering movie music at Disney.
PERFORMANCE | Film Scores Live! The Movie Music of Terence Blanchard
Thursday, October 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
“Film Scores Live! The Movie Music of Terence Blanchard” celebrates film music composed by Terence Blanchard, whose work spans four decades and has earned multiple Grammy Awards and Oscar nominations. The screening showcases highlights of Blanchard’s lush soundtracks from more than 80 film and TV credits, including selections from Malcolm X, 25th Hour, Inside Man, and BlacKkKlansman. The live music will be performed by Gateways Festival Orchestra and Blanchard’s quintet, The E-Collective, starring the maestro himself on trumpet. Experience the pathos, complexity, and beauty of Blanchard’s compositions.
FRIDAY
SPEAKER SESSION + PERFORMANCE | “The Mystique of Stradivarius”
Friday, October 17 at 9:00 a.m.
An engaging and entertaining exploration of the Stradivarius, featuring expert Bruno Price, co-owner of Rare Violins of New York, and celebrated violinist YooJin Jang, assistant professor of violin at Eastman. The audience will be treated to music on violin — including 300-year-old Stradivarius violins — and challenged (a la ‘a quiz show’ for keen ears) to “Choose the Stradivarius.”
SPEAKER SESSION | John Corigliano and Jeff Beal: Composer Conversations
Friday, October 17 at 10:30 a.m.
There are not many composers who have been awarded both an Oscar and a Pulitzer Prize for their compositions. In fact, there is only one: John Corigliano, whose celebrated body of work features more than 100 original scores. Soundtrax festival attendees are given the rare opportunity to hear Corigliano discuss his celebrated film career, including the Oscar-nominated score to Altered States, Revolution starring Al Pacino, and his Oscar-winning score to The Red Violin. Joining the conversation is fellow composer Jeff Beal, who will be conducting The Red Violin live-to-picture concert that evening. Hosting the discussion will be Jon Burlingame.
SPEAKER SESSION | “Immersive Sound: New Dimensions, New Experiences”
Thursday, October 16 at 1:00 p.m.
From the cinematic splendor of Dolby Atmos to the revolutionary realms of spatial computing and personal media interfaces like Apple Vision Pro, explore the crafting of compelling auditory landscapes. Featuring speakers from Apple and Dolby.
PERFORMANCE | “Interstellar” in Concert
Friday, October 17 at 3:30 p.m.
Third Presbyterian Church (4 Meigs Street, Rochester)
This film-music concert event features the epic space movie Interstellar and a live performance by Roger Sayer, the original organist for the film’s score. He will perform his arrangement of the inventive and soaring music from the original Interstellar soundtrack on the historic Sanctuary Organ of Rochester’s Third Presbyterian Church, located just a few blocks from Eastman School of Music. Sayer also shares stories of his experiences working with director Christopher Nolan and composer Hans Zimmer.
PERFORMANCE | “The Red Violin” in Concert
Friday, October 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
A live-to-picture performance by the Eastman Philharmonia enhances a screening of the 1998 film The Red Violin, which won John Corigliano an Academy Award for film score. The performance features composer John Corigliano in person, Emmy Award-winning guest conductor Jeff Beal, and celebrated violinist YooJin Jang, faculty at the Eastman School of Music. The Red Violin follows the incredible history of a mysterious antique violin from its creation by a legendary violin maker in 1681 Cremona, Italy, to the present day.
SATURDAY
SPEAKER SESSION | “AI in Music Production: Pioneering the Future”
Saturday, October 18 at 9:00 a.m.
Industry leaders, innovators, and manufacturers form SONY, Yamaha, and Adobe explore how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing music production.
PERFORMANCE | “John Williams Reimagined” — American Premiere
Saturday, October 18 at 1:30 p.m.
Kilbourn Hall at Eastman School of Music
The American premiere of “John Williams Reimagined” — a concert celebrating the film music of legendary composer John Williams ’01E (Honorary), who holds an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Eastman School of Music. The concert will feature pieces from his iconic film scores “reimagined” for cello, flute, and piano, performed by musicians who were invited by Williams to play special transcriptions for him privately: Sara Andon, flute; Cecilia Tsan, cello; and Simone Pedroni, piano. Film scores represented include Star Wars, Schindler’s List, Dracula, Far and Away, Hook, Witches of Eastwick, and E.T.
SPEAKER SESSION | Conrad Pope and Nan Schwartz: Composer Conversations
Saturday, October 18 at 4:00 p.m.
It takes a village to create a film score and one of the most important members of this “village” is the orchestrator. Host Jon Burlingame will lead the conversation with two influential orchestrators who are also composers.
Conrad Pope is one of a handful of elite orchestrators in the industry having worked with virtually every major film composer in the business. His credits include Jurassic Park; Star Wars I, II, III; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone; Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; Star Trek: Nemesis; Catch Me If You Can; The Matrix Reloaded; Seabiscuit; Troy; King Kong; The Life of Pi; Julie and Julia; and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts 1 & 2. Nan Schwartz is a Grammy-winning and Emmy-nominated composer-orchestrator and a true pioneer for women composers. Her credits include In the Heat of the Night (TV series); The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts 1 & 2 The Shape of Water, Argo; and Moonrise Kingdom.
PERFORMANCE | “‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2’ — In Concert”
Saturday, October 18 at 7:30 p.m.
Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre
In the epic finale to the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, the battle between good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war! “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ Part 2 — In Concert” brings the final chapter to the big screen as the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra performs every note of Alexandre Desplat’s celebrated score.
Learn more at Soundtrax.org.
Soundtrax presenting and lead sponsors:
Media only: Lauren Sageer, Assistant Director of Public Relations and Digital Content, (585) 451-8492, lsageer@esm.rochester.edu
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About the Eastman School of Music
The Eastman School of Music was founded in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman (1854-1932), founder of Eastman Kodak Company. It was the first professional school of the University of Rochester. Mr. Eastman dreamed that his school would provide a broad education in the liberal arts as well as superb musical training.
More than 900 students are enrolled in the Collegiate Division of the Eastman School of Music — about 500 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. They come from almost every state, and approximately 23 percent are from other countries. They are taught by a faculty of more than 170 highly regarded performers, composers, conductors, scholars, and educators. They are Pulitzer Prize winners, Grammy winners, Emmy winners, Guggenheim fellows, ASCAP Award recipients, published authors, recording artists, and acclaimed musicians who have performed in the world’s greatest concert halls. Each year, Eastman’s students, faculty members, and guest artists present more than 900 concerts to the Rochester community. Additionally, more than 1,700 members of the Rochester community, from young children through senior citizens, are enrolled in the Eastman Community Music School.
About the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
The mission of the Edmund A. Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is to promote and support the highest quality research that advances solutions to pressing societal problems and to advance education in engineering and applied science through engaging experiences and environments that promote critical thinking, creativity, equity, ethics, and leadership, creating lifelong learners. The Hajim School was founded in 1958, and in 2009, it was renamed after one of its most distinguished alumni, Edmund A. Hajim ’58. Today, the Hajim School encompasses six academic departments and enrolls more than 1,400 undergraduate students and more than 600 graduate students, taught by more than 140 tenure-track, non-tenure-track, instructional, and research faculty. It includes the Institute of Optics—the first optics education program in the nation—as well as departments of biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, computer science, electrical and computer engineering, and mechanical engineering.
About University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is one of the nation’s leading private research universities, one of only 62-member institutions in the Association of American Universities. Located in Rochester, NY, the University gives undergraduates exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College, School of Arts and Sciences, and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Nursing, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, and the Memorial Art Gallery.