Carlos Garza and Rich O'Meara are collectively known as Silent Orchestra. In their own words, they seamlessly fuse contemporary and traditional idioms to create a new sound for silent films. Silent Orchestra is expanding the art of pre-talkie films through their spontaneous and dynamic live performances and and their state of the art synchronized recordings. Seeing as how we cover classic films from the silents through the golden age, we thought it would be interesting to find out where these innovators draw their inspiration from. A score can breathe new life into a classic as well as an otherwise forgotten film. It's of vital importance that newer generations find a way to appreciate those films that paved the way for cinema as it's currently known. Carlos and Rich recently agreed to speak with us about their work, aspirations and humble beginnings. Make sure to visit the official website of Silent Orchestra at www.silentorchestra.com.

MP: Carlos and Rich, thank you for the interview, I really appreciate it.

Rich: Thanks for the opportunity.

MP: The both of you have an extensive musical past, which transcends many different genres of music. Can you give a synopsis of all the work you’ve done individually?

Rich: I studied classical percussion and received a Bachelor of Music from Catholic University in Washington DC in 1979. Around the same time I discovered free improvisation in a progressive rock/jazz type of format with Carlos and mutual friends. I have done freelance classical percussion work, played with various contemporary chamber groups and joined a few jazz and rock groups through the years. I have composed several works for marimba solo and in ensemble. I co-founded the percussion groups One Earth Percussion Theatre and ko'mm. I am dedicated to performing and composing new music for percussion.

Carlos: Mostly jazz and electronic music in the 70's, modern rock in the 80's and then a variety of things in the 90's, including contemporary jazz and music for live comedy theater. I've studied music theory, orchestration and jazz piano.

MP: How did you meet each other and decide to form Silent Orchestra. Was it based on your love for silent films or did you feel the silent film scores you’d been hearing were lacking?

Rich: We met to play music in the mid-1970’s through a mutual friend. There was an immediate connection that has lasted and developed over the years, even with some lapses in contact. After one of those periods Carlos told me about some of the film scoring work he was doing. We got together to improvise and used the silent classic “Nosferatu” for inspiration. We rolled the film and recorded many sessions. There was a lot of spontaneous magic there; the film seemed to take us places we may not have gone otherwise. This was the birth of Silent Orchestra and for me a new source of musical inspiration. There was a body of classic silent film that was crying out for re-interpretation with new music. We were also inspired by the work of Alloy Orchestra (keyboard and 2 percussionists) and we felt we could bring our own voice to this genre. From the start we thought our music could bring classic silent film to a new audience and stay true to the director’s intent at the same time.

Carlos: Yea, more percussion, that's what I'm talking about!

MP: What was the very first film you scored, and were you at all nervous about taking on the new endeavor?

Rich: Again, “Nosferatu” was our first film and it was definitely a labor of love. After spending the better part of a year recording our improvised music for the film, we fell into a deal with Film Preservation Associates (through Carlos’ contact with David Shepard) to include our score on their DVD re-release of “Nosferatu”. We promised a surround score and Carlos came through by learning the process during our sessions.

Carlos: No one asked us to do Nosferatu. It was suggested by a friend. We thought silent film scoring would give our improvisations a focus and at the same time provide a bit of freedom.

MP: When you do score a film, do you have to sort of “audition”, or are you approached by the movie companies who are already familiar with your work?

Rich: We have never been through an audition, but we have received work based on the strength of our recorded music. Both of our scores on DVD (“Salome” and “Nosferatu”) came about because David Shepard liked our work. Most of our scores have been developed for live performances with the films. After a few initial successes we have been fortunate to have been invited back to the National Gallery of Art, AFI Silver and other galleries, movie houses and festivals.

MP: One of my personal favorites is your score on the Image release of “Nosferatu” (1922). I’d seen quite a few releases of the film, but no score seemed to capture the ambiance the way yours had. In fact, I made it a point to mention that in my review of Nosferatu. When you prepare to score a film, what factors determine the actual music? Do you go by a particular feeling you get while watching the individual scenes?

Carlos: Thanks. We always start by creating a cue sheet for the film. We talk about the kind of mood and possibly a tone pallet for each scene or section of the film. Then we improvise together with the film rolling and listen back to see what works with the picture. In the case of Nosferatu, we ended up with a leitmotif for the vampire based on a cello theme. The deranged, bug eating character, Knock, is associated with the "werewolf" through the use of woodwinds and odd melodies.

MP: In addition to “Nosferatu”, you also scored “Der Golem” and “Faust”, which are two more examples of German Expressionism. You’ve done a few of F.W. Murnau’s films. Do you gravitate towards those for a reason?

Carlos: We were asked to score these films for a Murnau retrospective at the National Gallery of Art. Our approach to sound design mirrors his use of natural elements to denote the character's emotions -- the idea of taking something that is familiar and making it unfamiliar or using it in an uncommon way. For example, Rich has some samples of bowed tam tam that have been electronically mutilated. The result is something very frightening that also resonates with the subconscious. Also, Murnau's film, "The Last Laugh" has no intertitles, so the score was more important than usual as far as helping the audience get the story.

MP: You also perform some of your scores live if I’m not mistaken. When you perform them for an audience, do you ever have the movie playing in the background so that the crowd can get the visual?

Rich: Live performance with classic silent films is very rewarding for us. It is very exciting to have an audience right there with us as we interpret the film for them. Sometimes we get unexpected reactions and it keeps it very organic.

Carlos: Right, our performances are always in movie theaters and it is treated is a movie experience more than a concert. It certainly keeps us on our toes because we are sometimes reading music and also watching the film and each other for cues. Usually we are between the screen and the audience. However, when we started performing to silent films at the National Museum of Women In the Arts in Washington, DC, we were watching the film backwards on the back side of the screen! Obviously, the picture and titles were reversed and the picture was very dark so we had to keep the lights on our sheet music very low to stay in sync with the film.

MP: What part of your work is the most rewarding?

Carlos: It's great when people come up to us after a show and tell us that it was like seeing the film for the first time (especially when it really wasn't the first time). Some of the classic scores generate the wrong mood for today's audience. For example, we like the idea of making horror film really scary for a modern audience.

MP: Is there any film that each of you, if given the opportunity, would love to score? If so, what is your reason for choosing that film?

Carlos: We'd love to do a score for Metropolis. In fact, we've already scored a few scenes. Some of the early films, just like modern films, are given a score as almost a second thought. So the composer had very little time to come up with a score. That means that someone with more time on their hands, like us, can come in (80 years later) and develop the thematic concepts a bit more.

MP: Is there any film that you wouldn’t score, either because of its notoriety or lack thereof?

Carlos: Sometimes an obscure film lends itself to musical experimentation, and that's a good thing. We've never turned down a gig. For that matter, there are a lot of great scores for not-so-great modern films.

MP: Would either of you like to branch out into different areas of film? For example, how would you feel about re-scoring the old gangster films of the 30s or the Films Noir of the 40s underneath the dialogue?

Carlos: Working around dialog offers a different perspective. We've already scored a bunch of short films for the 48 Hour Film Competition in Washington DC including romance, film noir and detective genres. One of the problems in rescoring a Golden Age film is the fact that there were so many great composers working at that time -- Korngold, Waxman, Steiner and so on.

MP: Are your scores available to purchase on CD? If not, will they be available at some point?

Carlos: Yes, they will be available at some point…

MP: Do you have any upcoming projects, collectively and/or individually?

Carlos: We are always on the lookout for new projects, including new independent films and classic silent films. We plan to perform Nosferatu again around Halloween. It would be great fun to work with Guy Maddin, a Canadian director who is making silent films today.

MP: Would you like to add anything?

Carlos: It's great to see so many new bands doing scores for classic silent films. I recently saw The Iron Fist (1927) with live score by Nortec Collective, an electronic music group from Tijuana. I think there is a large and mostly untapped audience for new interpretations of classic film arts.

MP: Carlos and Rich, again, thank you so much for taking time out if your schedules and speaking with me!

Carlos/Rich: No, no thank you!

*** I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Silent Orchestra for taking time out of their schedules to speak with me. Please make sure to visit their official website www.silentorchestra.com and listen to some samples of their work! ***