College of Music Alumni Carl Rydlund听
Since completing a bachelor鈥檚 in music at the CU 麻豆影院 College of Music, composer, orchestrator, arranger, conductor and guitarist Carl Rydlund (Guitar, 鈥�89) hasn鈥檛 missed a beat.
Continuing his education at the Grove School of Music (composition, film composition and arrangement) and privately (more composition, along with orchestration, conducting and guitar), Rydlund thrived in Los Angeles. He started performing for record, TV and film dates on guitar, and worked as an arranger and copyist at Joann Kane Music and Disney.
鈥淒uring the last 10 years or so, I鈥檝e been focusing on film and live orchestral work as an arranger and orchestrator, conductor and guitarist,鈥� he says. Indeed, his broad experience makes him one of the most sought-after studio musicians in Los Angeles with credits that comprise everything from video games and TV series to a long list of films鈥攆rom 鈥淟ife of Pi鈥� and 鈥淏atman鈥� films to 鈥淚nception,鈥� 鈥淒unkirk,鈥� 鈥淭he Matrix鈥� and 鈥淭oy Story 2鈥� to 鈥淯nfaithful,鈥� 鈥淲hat Women Want鈥� and 鈥�101 Dalmatians鈥� to hundreds more familiar titles. Not to mention, his concert credits鈥攁nd credits for albums and live performances鈥攊nclude, among others, Hans Zimmer Live, Interstellar Live at Royal Albert Hall, the 2012 Academy Awards and Barbra Streisand鈥檚 鈥淎 Christmas Album鈥� and 鈥淭imeless鈥� live performance; as well as various stints as arranger and composer for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the erstwhile Denver Symphony Orchestra.
Rydlund recalls making crucial career connections as a student at the College of Music. 鈥淚 probably wouldn鈥檛 be where I am today without making good connections along the way,鈥� he says. Specifically, having studied with William听"Doc鈥澨鼺owler at CU led to connecting with his son, Bruce Fowler, who happened to be Hans Zimmer鈥檚 lead orchestrator. 鈥淲hen the opportunity arose to work with Hans, Bruce gave me the benefit of the doubt because I had studied with his dad at CU.鈥�
That said, Rydlund鈥檚 original plan wasn鈥檛 to land in Los Angeles鈥攔ather, The Juilliard School. 鈥淔or a kid from Denver, going to New York in the mid-80s was a hair-raising experience,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 auditioned on clarinet, but also said I might want to minor in guitar.
鈥淚 was told I鈥檇 be offered a full ride on clarinet, but that the guitar was鈥攍iterally鈥斺�榥ot a musical instrument.鈥� So I decided to check out CU because it seemed like a better fit for me, and I was still close enough to home to play in my dad鈥檚 band on the weekends and do local session work.鈥�
Rydlund says he appreciated the 鈥渙pen, progressive nature鈥� of the College of Music that allowed him to follow his interests in composition, clarinet 鈥� and guitar. He also benefited from the then-nascent music business program 鈥渨hen no one else was talking about that aspect of having a career in music.
鈥淏esides Doc Fowler鈥檚 huge influence on me, the College of Music also created an environment to learn from guest artists that Doc Fowler brought in, who were active in the business and who could really talk about what it鈥檚 like in LA,鈥� adds Rydlund.
But he doesn鈥檛 sugarcoat the challenges of his chosen career path. 鈥淭he tough news is that it鈥檚 becoming more challenging for people to find work in the studios the way I did when I came to LA. But on the positive side, there are no rules or ladders to climb now.
鈥淚t used to be that you started out as I did鈥攁s a player, proofreader听or copyist and then became an orchestrator, then a conductor and composer鈥攚hich is the path I鈥檓 still on. But today, that鈥檚 changed. If you want to be a composer, you can just go out and do that. Because there are no rules, you might as well do what you want to do from the outset.鈥�
Concludes Rydlund, 鈥淚 am the biggest proponent of making a living at this. To do so, you have to get to a point where you are so good at your craft鈥攁t solving problems and meeting challenges. From the time I wake up in the morning, my job is providing solutions 鈥� and I love that.鈥�
