Jeff Gerson’s Music

As reported on page 66 of the March/April 2009 issue of the Indiana Alumni Magazine, Jeff Gerson, MM’79, has had a long and successful career as a musical composer. Here are the results of the creative whirlwind spinning through his Sound Thinking studio from March to August of 2007.

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  1. When a regional supermarket wanted nostalgic TV commercials to celebrate its milestone 60th anniversary, they trusted a composer whose writing credits also span decades. Gerson delivered evocative musical themes, including this peppy little number from the ’60s/early ’70s and a roller boogie ode to the disco balls of the late ’70s/early ’80s.
  2. For a long-form DVD project based on the career of Sen. Richard Lugar, Gerson wrote 37 minutes of music. (You can bet it would take Led Zepplin a whole lot longer than a few weeks to write and produce 37 minutes of music!) The Lugar documentary included a section devoted to the senator’s personal beliefs and public service. The music is appropriately thoughtful and sincere, reflecting the senator’s personality and reputation, and Gerson’s Midwestern roots.
  3. A world-famous IRL race team hired Gerson to write an original music theme for a multimedia production. They gave him a couple of key words – motion and vitality. Perhaps Gerson’s experience writing for the classic TV series The A Team came in handy? This piece is fast, fun, and (thanks to the gritty guitar), a little dangerous. Hey, sounds just like racing.
  4. A hospital client asked for music to evoke a calm confidence in their cancer center. Problem is the deadline inspired anything but calm. The TV spot’s music had to be written even before filming was under way. Fortunately, nothing scares a man whose résumé includes working with Mr. T. Gerson wrote to storyboards, and the result is a piece that reflects the caregiver’s comforting reassurance.
  5. How do you communicate progressive initiative and forward momentum without implying frenzied business? Press play and you’ll find out. This corporate client had a major meeting and presentation. Client and production company turned edited video over to Gerson, who produced this "let’s get going" score. Piece of cake for a composer who spent years with Grammy award-winner Mike Post, writing music for TV shows like Magnum, PI and Hill Street Blues.
  6. Some editors are as adamant about cutting to music as others are about completing video before the first note of a musical score is conceived. Gerson’s experience working for VH1, ESPN and Telemundo, among others, gives him the ability to write any which way an editor works. For this project, Gerson wrote music first, and then fine-tuned tracks to fit a completed video montage.
  7. This section of the Sen. Richard Lugar documentary includes a montage of the senator at a former Soviet North Sea naval installation, with enormous decommissioned nuclear submarines in the background. Again, Gerson pulled musical themes and instrumental elements that emotional link historical achievement, present leadership, and future legacy.
  8. Gerson has worked with hitmakers Dolly Parton and Bruce Hornsby. It’s no surprise that when an advertising agency awarded Sound Thinking music production for their broadcast campaign for a mid-sized college, he delivered a sharp rock-and-roll ditty you’ll be humming even after the Mp3 stops playing.