David Federman

Federmusik
Music Composer, Music Conductor and Musician

Toronto, Canada

Member Since:
March 2012

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About David

Like many in his field, Toronto-born composer and conductor David Federman can claim that music has been a lifelong pursuit. Unlike many musicians, however, David can also claim that his desire to pursue music existed since before he was born – if the stories of his prenatal Vivaldi cravings are to be believed. Since then, there has scarcely been a time in which music has not been part of his life.

As a young violinist, David demonstrated an affinity for and innate understanding of the narrative quality of programmatic music. He would later harness this nascent sensitivity in a fully-fledged and largely self-motivated interest in music composition, combined with an early adoption of music technology and MIDI sequencing for arranging, orchestrating, and crafting of original works. David further developed his professional interest in writing music as a teenager, making his initial forays into screen composition in high school. It was his first film collaboration in 2001 with an ambitious young filmmaker – and resultant Best Soundtrack Award at his school’s film festival – that solidified his desire to pursue this path.

This filmmaking partnership endured through university, with some of their collaborations appearing on television and in film festivals, as David pursued his Bachelor of Music in History and Theory at the University of Toronto. It was also during this time that David had the opportunity to study historical performance practice on the violin, as well as supplementing his East Asian ethnomusicological studies with practical experience on the koto, shamisen, taiko drums, erhu, and the instruments of the Balinese gamelan.

In 2014, David graduated with a Master of Music degree in Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games from Berklee College of Music, Valencia Campus, where he studied under Lucio Godoy and Alfons Conde. In recognition of his achievements during the Master’s program, he was granted the prestigious Outstanding Scholar Award at graduation. David’s experience in Spain was followed by an internship in Los Angeles, working in the studio of composer Bear McCreary.

In 2015, David returned to Toronto to compose the score for the feature film, John Lives Again (dir. Anthony Furey), the video game, Cow Bros: The Final Throwdown (dev. Dotly Studios), and the short, In Utero (dir. Jonathan Krimer). David was also selected to participate in the 2015 NYU/ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop, where he was mentored by Sean Callery, Mark Snow, and Mark Suozzo.

David’s music has been recorded by ensembles around the world, notably in London, Budapest, New York, and Los Angeles. In 2015, His Flight: A Tribute to Hayao Miyazaki, recorded by a 54-piece orchestra under his baton at AIR Studios, was featured as part of a special presentation at the Hemisfèric in Valencia, Spain, from January to June of 2015.

David recently completed scoring The Suitcase (dir. Phil Leung), a fantasy/drama short which premiered at the Reel Asian International Film Festival, and 48 Hour Take Down (dir. Catherine Séguin), chosen as one of the best short films of 2016 for Toronto’s 48 Hour Film Project. Earlier in 2016, David scored Cruzar el umbral (dir. Sergio Hernández Elvira), a Spanish psychological thriller which premiered at the Valladolid International Film Festival, Taking Possession (dir. Peter Campbell), a horror short which premiered at the Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival, and Bvrned (dir. Jeff Preyra), one of Canada’s first scripted virtual reality films. He is also in demand as an arranger and orchestrator, lending his versatile flair to ensembles ranging from Renaissance viols to South American hip-hop. As well, David is the orchestrator and musical director of the new comedy musical, All Great Things (comp. Vira Burmenko).

David is slated to score a series of film and game projects over 2017.

You may listen to samples of his compositions on his SoundCloud.

You can read David’s article on the history and practice of video game music in Perspectives, the newsletter of the International Game Developers Association.

Gender:
Male

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Berklee Valencia - Conducting and Compositions

Credits

Cruzar el umbral (2016)
Film (short) by Sergio Hernandez Elvira/ESCAC Films (Thriller and Short) Music composer A woman awakens one morning to find that her husband has left without saying goodbye, and embarks on a process of healing to come to terms with her loss. CRUZAR EL UMBRAL (dir. Sergio Hernandez Elvira) is a short psychological thriller that explores the stages of grief as the protagonist, Laura, attempts to make sense of her husband's disappearance while cleaving to her relationship with her daughter.
Taking Possession (2016)
Film (short) by Peter Campbell/Spiced Reality Productions (Horror and Short) Music composer Powers within an isolated century-old farmhouse force its new owner to battle his mind, his conscience, and the memories of the house itself.
48 Hour Take Down (2016)
Film (short) by Catherine Seguin/Wolfynix Productions Music composer Made for the Toronto 48 Hour Film Project, 2016. A team participating in the 48HFP find themselves at a loss for ideas, so they decide to take down all of the other participating teams until only they remain.
The Suitcase (2016)
Film (short) by Phil Leung/Folkstar Productions Music composer While a young girl is smuggled from a rural town in China to Canada inside a suitcase, her mother attempts to calm her down as she imagines the outside world and her travel unfolding around her.
John Lives Again (2015)
Film by dir. Anthony Furey (Comedy and Romance) Music composer Meet John. He's a hopeless romantic... or maybe he's just hopeless. JOHN LIVES AGAIN (dir. Anthony Furey) is an independent romantic comedy in stylistic homage to those fun '80s films you remember by such directors as John Hughes and Woody Allen, complete with a rockin' soundtrack and score to match.
Anime North/Gallery Momiji Commercials (2015)
Internet by dir. Gabrielle Darque Music composer
Cow Bros: The Final Throwdown (2015)
Video Game by Dotly Studios (Western) Music composer
In Utero (2015)
Film (short) by dir. Jonathan Krimer (Drama and Short) Music composer An unborn girl must accomplish a series of tasks in order to earn her years of life during her 40 weeks in utero. IN UTERO (dir. Jonathan Krimer) is an independent dramatic short that explores the nature of how certain predilections and life decisions are made during the period of gestation. The narrative (also written by Jonathan Krimer) contains the seeds to be expanded into a potential feature film in the future.
Olly: Dusty Memories (2014)
Video Game by ESAT Music composer
Flight: A Tribute to Hayao Miyazaki (2014)
Music by ed. Veronica Amaya and David Federman Music composer
The Grind (2013)
Video Game by Los Ludo Luchadores Music composer
Boxed In (2013)
Film (short) by dir. Jason Barker Music composer
Immortal Combat (2012)
Video Game by Rogue Badgers (Action) Music composer
Adler C.LODC Trailer (2012)
Commercial by dir. Desh Fernando Music composer
Gemstone: Revenge of the Pirate Monkeys (2010)
Video Game by Clipwire Games Music composer
Voyaging Women (2008)
Documentary by dir. Rebecca Ballen Music composer
Klapp Trapp (2005)
Film (short) by dir. James Martin Music composer
Montgomery's Inn (2004)
Documentary by dir. James Martin Music composer
Distant Connections (2003)
Film (short) by dir. James Martin Music composer
Photo Op. (2002)
Commercial by dir. James Martin Music composer
They Always Listen (2002)
Commercial by dir. James Martin Music composer
The Red Basement (2001)
Film (short) by dir. James Martin Music composer

View all 22 credits

Awards

Outstanding Scholar Award, Scoring for Film, Television, and Video Games
(2014)
Don Was Berkleemusic Celebrity Online Scholarship
(2013)
Finalist and Talent Pool Member, Screen Composers Guild of Canada Mentorship Bursary Program
(2011)
Government of Canada Certificate of Recognition: Winning Video - Racism. Stop It! National Video Competition
(2002)