Emmy Award-winning Bruce Babcock is an amazing composer and orchestrator with an extensive history of major television and film scores and concert music, covering multiple genres. Having studied under such legendary figures as Hugo Friedhofer and Earle Hagen, Bruce went on to score many hit television series, such as Murder, She Wrote the Father Dowling Mysteries and Matlock and wrote and/or orchestrated for blockbuster films, such as the first three Die Hard films, Unfaithful, Spider-Man 2 & 3, King Kong and all four of the Lethal Weapon movies, among many others.

Bruce will share his specialized techniques in scoring films and television and, with musical examples and score excerpts, he will detail his approach to composing and demonstrate how to adapt to multiple genres.

Saturday, 31 January 2026
12pm PST (UTC-08)
Check the time in your local time zone.

Bio

Bruce Babcock

Bruce Babcock is an Emmy-winning composer who has been active in television and film as well as the concert hall. He holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in music composition from California State University, Northridge. Babcock’s mentors in Hollywood include Hugo Friedhofer, Earle Hagen, and Paul Glass.

His television credits include Murder, She Wrote, Matlock, Father Dowling, Falcon Crest, Diagnosis: Murder, and as well as concert music. He has earned a total of eight Emmy nominations, eight BMI primetime television music awards, and the Career Consistent Achievement Award from ASMAC in 2004.

His orchestration credits include work with James Newton Howard, Michael Kamen, James Horner, Alan Silvestri, Chris Young, Shirley Walker, Teddy Shapiro, Jan Kaczmarek, Ed Shearmur, Gabriel Yared, Arthur B. Rubinstein, Mark Watters, and John Debney.

While at CSUN, Bruce’s Impasse was performed for Aaron Copland during his 1975 residency. Copland’s comments on the piece, recorded for posterity, include “an impression of musicality which is very pleasant, indeed ... a convincing sense of an overall mood ... knows what he wants ... sure of what he’s doing.”

In 2011, Bruce’s choral piece All Unto Me, composed for and inspired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, was performed at All Saints Church, Pasadena, with the Archbishop in attendance.

Bruce's concert music has been performed at Carnegie Hall as well as inside the dome of the 100-inch telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory. His music has been recorded by Grammy winners soprano Hila Plitmann, pianist Gloria Cheng, and the choral group The Crossing, and has been performed by the Space Coast Symphony and at the Beverly Hills International Music Festival (2006, 2010, 2011). He was composer-in-residence at the Santa Barbara Chamber Music Festival (2005). His music may be found on the Navona, Klavier, and Centaur labels.

Sylvester Rivers (host)

Composer, producer, arranger and pianist Sylvester Rivers has recorded with numerous hit artists including Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, The Jacksons, Dionne Warwick, Nancy Wilson, Kenny Rogers, New Edition, Smokey Robinson, The Temptations, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Martha Reeves, Lamont Dozier, Barry White, the Love Unlimited Orchestra, Shalamar, Cheryl Lynn, Gloria Gaynor, Candi Staton, The Sylvers, Marc Bolan & T. Rex, Ray Parker, Jr. & Raydio, Deniece Williams, Johnny Mathis, Billy Preston, Syreeta Wright, Michael Henderson, Earl Klugh, Stanley Turrentine, Najee, Maxine Nightingale, Aretha Franklin, The Fifth Dimension and many others.

Sylvester Rivers occasionally toured as music director with artists including Ray Parker, Jr., (“Ghostbusters”), with whom he also recorded, and he conducted the world tour of Soul II Soul (“Back to Life”). Back in the studio, Rivers expanded into composing and arranging television scores, including the syndicated sports program, “The Other Side of Victory,” hosted by the late Arthur Ashe and later by sports commentator, James Brown. He arranged and orchestrated music for the ABC production of Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey’s, “The Nick & Jessica Variety Hour.” Rivers composed and produced the score for MLK: A Dream Deferred, which featured Halle Berry, Regina King and Isaiah Washington.

Sylvester Rivers serves as the Masterclass Chair on the Board of ASMAC.