Sounds Of Berklee

By Lesley Mahoney April 25, 2012 The Artist captured audiences and critics, earning it the Oscar for Best Picture and the distinction of bringing newfound attention to silent films. The Berklee Silent Film Orchestra has been carving a corner on that market, too. Under the direction of film scoring professor Sheldon Mirowitz, students compose original scores to classic silent movies and perform them live-to-picture on the big screen. The without-a-net element adds another layer to the communal movie-going experience. Each semester Mirowitz's class, Scoring Silent Films, takes on a new project. Students have composed and performed three silent scores: Sunrise (1927), It (1927), and Battleship Potemkin (1925). They debuted at Brookline's Coolidge Corner Theatre, which commissioned the works, and Berklee took Sergei Eisenstein's Potemkin on the road for a packed performance at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center. For Potemkin, five students each conducted the reel they composed, passing the baton between reels, a