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By Katy Doyle
“Composers don’t fill silence, they tell the story,” musician Gregory Hinde of Canyon Country says. “Most of the time, characters are defined by music.”
With this in mind, Hinde has created musical character themes and scored numerous television shows, cartoons, and short films from his in-home studio. He was nominated for an Annie Award, animation’s version of the Oscars, and a Golden Reel Award for his work on Cartoon Network. He also composed for the final season of Nickelodeon’s The Wild Thornberrys.
“Animation demands versatility,” Hinde explains. “You have to be able to do so many different styles of music.”
Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Hinde studied traditional performance, composition and arranging at the Birmingham School in England. Of his schooling, he says, “They taught not just music, but how to be a real-world musician.” After a semester studying improvisation at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Hinde began to play out in the real world himself. He accepted an offer to perform as a keyboard player for a stage show in Los Angeles and never left the area, moving to Santa Clarita 11 years ago.
“I love it up here,” he says. “After living in the valley where you only see cars going in and out of garages, we wanted to actually know our neighbors. Within two weeks of moving in, I knew almost the entire street.”
He lives with his daughter, Emily, 17, a senior at Canyon High School, and his wife of 21 years, Janet. The family has formed close friendships with many of their neighbors, including children’s book author, T. Katz, whose book trailer Hinde recently scored. “She wanted something ominous that became light and then ended on a serious note,” he says.
His approach to the trailer and to all of his projects is to view the “locked picture,” which means a final edit, to get theme ideas. Then he starts scoring, marrying the music perfectly with the picture. He records all of the instruments in his studio and then sends the piece to the producers for their feedback. Occasionally, he will compose music to which a songwriter will add lyrics. One of his lullabies was recently picked up by an Australia’s Got Talent finalist named Grace Bawden who is recording it for her debut album.
Hinde is finding much of his work internationally in these budget-conscious times. He says, “Many overseas producers are now considering American composers. The Internet is a great tool to establish those relationships and to handle production requirements.”
And while Hinde’s music may be heard accompanying shows as far away as the Netherlands and Mumbai, he intends to make Santa Clarita his permanent home. He remarks, “People here are not defined by their professions. They take care of each other.”
For more information, visit www.gregoryhinde.com.
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