Mark Kilian
Mark Kilian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Origin | South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Years active | 1994 – present (films) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | markkilian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mark Kilian is a South African-born American music composer and musician. He is best known for his work in American films, such as Tsotsi, Eye In The Sky, Traitor, Rendition, The Ward, and Pitch Perfect.
Early life[edit]
Kilian was born in Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa. He received his musical education at school, where he studied piano and guitar. He further pursued his studies at the University of Natal in Durban under professor Darius Brubeck. In 1990, he graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Performance with honors (cum laude and Dean's commendation). Kilian then continued his studies at the Natal, focusing on his thesis. His thesis synopsis was published in The Score magazine. In 1994, he completed his Master of Music degree in composition.[1]
Career[edit]
Early stint[edit]
During his studies, Kilian took on various teaching roles. He served as a lecturer at the Gerald LaPierre electronic music studio within the Department of Music. Additionally, he taught piano at the Shell School for underprivileged children. In 1994, Kilian was selected to be a member of the board of directors of the PWV Music Academy in Johannesburg. Later, he has also lectured in electronic music at Occidental College and University of Southern California in Los Angeles. In early 1990s, Kilian was a member of the Durban-based band Shades, which performed at jazz clubs. He performed with artists such as Shirley Bassey, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Airto Moreira, and the Brubeck brothers. Kilian toured across the United States and Europe, where he recorded two albums with Darius Brubeck under the names Gathering Forces and the NU Jazz Connection. In addition, he arranged shows for bands in South Africa, including the Sammy Davis Tribute and Tom Waits Review Show.[1]
Kilian pursued further studies in the United States, enrolling in the Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television graduate program at the University of Southern California (USC). After completing his studies at the USC, he was recruited by film composer Christopher Young. Kilian spent almost three years working with Young, as an electronic score producer and composer's assistant on films such as Species (1995), Copycat (1995), Virtuosity (1995), and Hard Rain (1998). In 1998, Kilian was hired as a staff composer by the California-based band Machine Head. He scored and wrote music for TV commercials for Apple, Toyota, Budweiser, Microsoft, Mastercard, and United Airlines.[1]
Film and TV scoring[edit]
In 1997, Kilian composed his first film score for Lover Girl, starring Sandra Bernhard. Since then, he has written scores for several feature films, including Blind Horizon (2003), The Animatrix (2003), King Solomon's Mines (2004), The Skulls III (2004), Raise Your Voice (2004), and Icon (2005). His television credits include shows such as F/X: The Series (1996 – 1998), Boarding House: The North Shore (2003), Day Break (2006), Jake in Progress (2005 – 2006), and Kitchen Confidential (2005). In addition to his composing work, Kilian has collaborated with other composers in various capacities. He has worked as an orchestrator, arranger, and conductor for Paul Oakenfold, Rob Dougan, and Juno Reactor on the film The Matrix: Reloaded (2003). He has also collaborated with composer Christophe Beck, providing electronically manipulated percussion for the score of Elektra (2005).[1]
In 2004, Kilian scored Gavin Hood-directed Tsotsi (2005) alongside composer Paul Hepker. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Mark and Paul continued their collaboration on Hood's next film, Rendition (2007), they also scored The Bird Can't Fly (2007) directed by Threes Anna. In 2007, Kilian went to India to compose the film Before the Rains. He also composed music for the documentary Without the King (2007).[1]
He composed Traitor (2008) starring Don Cheadle. He composed the 2010 horror film The Ward directed by John Carpenter. Other films include La Mission (2009), The Least Among You (2009), Legacy (2010), and Repentance (2013). He composed Pitch Perfect (2012), for which he has received a platinum album for the soundtrack sales. In 2014, he also wrote scores for Martin Scorsese-executive produced gangster drama Revenge of the Green Dragons. Kilian has composed music for films also include Official Secrets (2019), Replicas (2017) starring Keanu Reeves, The Shanghai Job (2017) starring Orlando Bloom, and Dolores (2017), which received a Peabody Award. In recent television, he has contributed music to CNN documentary President in Waiting and HBO's 41, and ABC's Killer Women.[2][3][4][5][6]
Music albums[edit]
In 2008, Kilian released his debut solo album titled Daisy Confused under the name The Gravy Street.[1] Kilian has released a total of three albums under the name The Gravy Street, which have received airplay in Los Angeles. He has also collaborated with Christophe Beck in the electronica duo Ape Quartet, resulting in two albums. In addition, Kilian has independently released four album projects: Gethsemane, Love Like, Beyond Walls, and Los Ancianos. He wrote and recorded string arrangements for Glenn Hughes' solo album Music for the Divine (2006) and worked on a KCRW-sponsored remix of an Ozomatli song with Anne Litt.[7]
Other projects[edit]
Kilian has also composed music for video games such as The Matrix: Path of Neo and Full Spectrum Warrior. Kilian has provided music for the exhibit The Aztec Pantheon at the Getty Museum.
Personal life[edit]
Kilian is an American citizen. He is married to Anneli Gericke.[8]
Discography[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Mark Kilian - Biography". Filmmusicsite.com. 6 February 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ↑ https://www.apmmusic.com/artists-composers/mark-kilian
- ↑ https://www.musicinafrica.net/node/7911
- ↑ https://www.soundtrack.net/news/article/?id=1443
- ↑ https://www.ascap.com/news-events/Events/2021/Sundance/composers/Kilian_Mark
- ↑ https://www.ascap.com/news-events/Events/2019/sundance/composers/Hepker-Paul-Kilian-Mark
- ↑ https://kraft-engel.com/clients/mark-kilian/
- ↑ https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/us-man-and-wife-make-journey-to-queensland-to-see-dying-father-20210624-p583y5.html
External links[edit]
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