As part of the ongoing celebration of the campus’s 80th anniversary, a two-day Film Music Workshop has been scheduled at Penn State Schuylkill on Wednesday, April 30 and Thursday, May 1. The workshop will feature academic presentations and a full-length concert of film music. The workshop will focus on the contributions made to film music by natives of Schuylkill County. Topics of particular interest include “1934 – A Year in Review” (coinciding with the year of Penn State Schuylkill’s founding); “Victor Who?”, a look at the incredible life, art and influence of Mahanoy City native Victor Schertzinger, one of the most significant pioneers in the Hollywood film industry; and “The Film Music Process – A Detailed Look at the Making of a Film Soundtrack”.
Presenters include Cynthia Lucia, professor of English and director of the film and media studies program at Rider University; Gary Nesteruk, prominent Los Angeles studio musician; and Paul W. Miller, assistant professor of music and humanities at Penn State Schuylkill.
The workshop will begin at 7 p.m. April 30 in the R. Michael Fryer Conference Center. Paul W. Miller with “1934 – A Year in Review” followed by a concert with the Gary Nesteruk Sextet, featuring Vicky Doney, vocals, and John Swana, valve trombone and EVI.
On May 1, at 10 a.m. in room 100 in the classroom building, Cynthia Lucia will present “Victor Who? The Remarkable Life, Art and Influence in the Hollywood Film Industry of Mahanoy City Native, Victor Schertzinger” and at 12:30 p.m. Gary Nesteruk will present “The Film Music Process – A Detailed Look at the Making of a Film Soundtrack”.
For more information, contact Paul W. Miller at 570-385-6073
Cynthia Lucia is a professor of English and director of the film and media studies program at Rider University. She has been an editor of Cineast and of the magazine’s film review section for more than two decades and is the author of Framing Female Lawyers: Women on Trial in Film (University of Texas Press, 2005). She is the co-editor of The Wiley-Blackwell History of American Film, a four volume series named an Outstanding Academic Title of the Year by Choice, of the American Library Association. Lucia earned her bachelor’s degree in English eduction at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in English at New York University, a master’s degree in cinema studies at N.Y.U. and a doctoral degree in cinema studies at N.Y.U. A native of Pottsville, Lucia is a 1972 graduate of Pottsville Area High School.
Pianist and keyboard artist Gary Nesteruk is a prominent Los Angeles Studio musician who can be heard on over 100 feature films and television soundtracks, including Spiderman 3, Nightmare on Elm Street, Rounders, Beauty Shop, Twilight Zone, and countless others; Nesteruk also had a cameo appearance as an actor as the pianist at the dramatic conclusion of Get Smart. Also active as a performer, Nesteruk has toured with Jack Jones, Mitzi Gaynor, and Roger Williams. A native of Pittsburgh, Nesteruk earned his bachelor’s degree in music education and his master’s degree in music (piano performance) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.