Film Music Reporter

Last night, the Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL) hosted its annual reception honoring the Emmy Award-nominated composers and songwriters in the music-related categories at the Montage hotel in Beverly Hills. SCL president Ashley Irwin, as well as Television Academy music peer group governors Rickey Minor and Michael A. Levine introduced the nominees who briefly spoke to the audience. Among the composers in the Outstanding Music Composition for a Series category present at the event were previous Emmy winners Jeff Beal who received his fourth Emmy nomination this year for his music for Netflix’s House of Cards and his fifteenth nomination overall, as Bear McCreary who received his first nomination for Starz’s Outlander and his fourth nomination within the past six years. Also attending from the same category were Abel Korzeniowski who received his first nominations for his music and main titles theme for Showtime’s Penny Dreadful, Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna who were nominated for the their score and theme for FX’s Tyrant, Maurizio Malagnini who was also honored for the first time for his music for BBC’s The Paradise, as well as another first time nominee, Duncan Thum for the Neflix show Chef’s Table. Among the nominees in attendance in the Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special category were three Primetime Emmy Awards first time nominees, Mac Quayle who was honored for his work on FX’s American Horror Story: Freak Show, Dominik Scherrer who received a nomination for his music from Starz’s The Missing and Kevin Kliesch who is up for an Emmy for Disney Channel’s Sofia the First. Also attending were previous Emmy winners Sean Callery who is nominated 24: Live Another Day, following nine previous nominations and three wins for his work on the hit series, as well as William Ross who was honored with his sixth Emmy nomination for the Hallmark movie Away and Back. Among the composers in the Best Main Title Theme Music category who attended the event in person were the previously mentioned Abel Korzeniowski for Penny Dreadful, Mychael & Jeff Danna for Tyrant, Jeff Beal who received another nomination for his theme for CBS’ The Dovekeepers, as well as first time Emmy nominee Dustin O’Halloran who was recognized for his main titles theme music for Amazon Studios’ Transparent.

Back row (from left to right): Walter Murphy, Dustin O’Halloran, Abel Korzeniowski, Maurizio Malagnini, Jeff Beal, Jim Roach, Ashley Irwin, Christopher Guardino, Matthew Sklar, Bear McCreary, Jeff Danna, Kevin Kliesch
Middle row: Kyle Dunnigan, Dominik Scherrer, Mac Quayle
Front row: Darren Criss, William Ross, Sean Callery, Mike Reiss, Duncan Thum, Rickey Minor, Greg Phillinganes, Michael Levine, Mychael Danna

Also in attendance at the cocktail reception were four nominees in the Original Music and Lyrics category, including Darren Criss who wrote the music and lyrics for the song This Time from the Glee episode Dreams Come True, Walter Murphy and Mike Reiss who are up for an Emmy for a song from the holiday special How Murray Saved Christmas, as well as Kyle Dunnigan and Jim Roach who are nominated for the song Girl You Don’t Need Makeup from Inside Amy Schumer. The only nominees in attendance in the Outstanding Music Direction category were Matthew Sklar and Christopher Guardino who are nominated for the holiday special Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas and Greg Phillinganes who received nomination for Stevie Wonder: Songs In the Key of Life. The Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards (including all music categories) will be presented tomorrow at the Microsoft Theatre L.A. LIVE. Check back on this page for the winners.