Celebrating Black History Month: Composer Showcase
Spectra Creative Agency values the importance of promoting visibility to underrepresented composers to broaden narrative horizons and multicultural authenticity within the film and television industry. This Black History Month we proudly showcase and celebrate three composers for their excellence in the composing community and their work to pave the way for aspiring Black composers, artists, and musicians.
EmmoLei Sankofa (she/her) is an American composer, producer, musician, and artist whose work spans music, visual media, and fine art. EmmoLei’s original music can be heard on critically acclaimed Hulu’s The Other Black Girl, the magical Disney Launchpad short Project CC, the stand-out indie comedy Three Ways, and so much more. Her unique approach to rhythmic textures and symbolism reflects the methodical approach to storytelling through her music that is uniquely her sound.
EmmoLei is currently nominated for the 55th NAACP Image Awards® for Outstanding Original Score for Film/TV for her score from The Other Black Girl.
An award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist, Stanley A. Smith (he/him) has a career that spans record production, commercials, short films, web series, documentaries, features, soundtracks, and television. His music can be heard in series such as the second half of Season 2 of Ava DuVernay's award-winning hit, the one-hour anthology series Cherish The Day (OWN), the feature documentary Betye Saar: Ready To Be A Warrior (2022 Winner Best Feature Documentary Studio City Film Festival), as well as the film-festival darling KEMBA, the MPI Original Films and BET feature based on Kemba Smith’s long-awaited, untold life story. This seasoned composer’s music spans a wide emotional range and always strives to achieve authenticity with strong thematic melodies.
Stefan L. Smith (he/him) has written music for concert halls, film, TV, video games, R&B, pop, EDM, as well as maintaining an extensive professional symphonic and recording performance career. He has served as principal (and/or acting principal) violist with the Hollywood Studio Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, The Academy's Oscars Orchestra, and many others. He has recently scored the animated feature Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham, a dark dimensional soundscape portraying the film's haunting, Elseworlds version of Gotham, as well as the new PBS Kids “Super Why’s Comic Book Adventures”, a 2D animated series aimed at strengthening children’s literacy at the pre-school and kindergarten level. Stefan bridges the gap between the classical and contemporary music world, doing so with skillful command of the orchestra’s breadth and artistry.