Great things come in threes, and that extends to the TAC Department's late-March visiting artist schedule, which brought Sony Studios Manager of Music Scott Hanau, five-time GRAMMY-nominated electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani, and Netflix Music Creative Director (and SFCM alumnus) Gabrielle Mandel.

The back-to-back visits began with Ciani's. Nicknamed the "Diva of the Diode" and "America's first female synth hero," Ciani has a rich history in the Bay Area. As she explained in her lecture, she studied for a master's degree in composition at UC Berkeley from 1968 to 1970, where she met synth pioneer Don Buchla and began working for him and studying around the Bay Area, along with composing at the San Francisco Tape Music Center, which was briefly housed in the attic of SFCM. 

Ciani started as a jingle and commercial sound artist and composer; the sound of a Coca-Cola bottle being opened and poured, used in the company's ads through the 1970s and '80s, was Cianni's work. In 1981, she became the first solo female composer of a Hollywood film with the soundtrack to Lily Tomlin's film The Incredible Shrinking Woman, and through the '80s and '90s into the new millennium, she earned five GRAMMY nominations for her recorded compositions.

Netflix's Mandel visited with students on the 31st, talking about her career path and offering them feedback on their compositions. "It was great to spend some one on-one-time with Gabrielle," TAC student Declan McLeish says. "After reviewing some of my scores she gave me a lot of praise and constructive criticism. It was very interesting to converse with Gabrielle and look at the music from a studio executive's point of view. She was very uplifting and definitely inspired me to keep on pushing ahead!"

Mandel also spoke on her path that led from an opera performance degree at SFCM to performing internationally as a singer to her current position. She had the following advice for students who might be eyeing a similar track: "Say yes to everything. Be willing and open, make friends with everybody. Bring in light and optimism. Stay curious. Ask questions."

She also had high praise for SFCM's facilities: "They took me through the Bowes Center and I thought, why wasn't this here when I was here? I was like, maybe I wanna go back to school, this is amazing. I love that it's expanded outside of classical music. I felt proud to be an alum of this Conservatory, especially where it's going."

Hanau, who as Sony Studios Manager of Music has worked on video games including The Last Of Us, was the last to stop by SFCM, and was met with fans of the popular game—now a hit on HBO. "The Last of Us is a story that I have loved since high school, and when it was made into a TV show our Sunday night viewings were sacred," TAC Student Natasha Frank said. "Scott offered a direct look into the musical process that brought about the visceral score of The Last of Us, sharing the journey in fascinating detail as well as a number of memorable anecdotes!" 

“Working with SFCM students has been a rewarding experience for both me and my colleagues," Hanau, who reprised his role supervising and editing the musical score for the Last of Us HBO adaptation, says. "The students are engaged, passionate, hardworking, and serious about developing their skill sets and pursuing their love for music. Helping mentor and encourage the next generation of music professionals makes us excited for the future of the industry.”

Learn more about studying Technology and Applied Composition at SFCM.