Emmy Award-winning composer Bruce Broughton is the COMPOSER of Modular Music II.

QDo you play any musical instruments yourself?
A I’m primarily a pianist, but I also learned to play trumpet and French Horn when I was a kid. I played in school bands when I was growing up and even played for a while in the Monterey Symphony.

QWhat is one of your favorite instruments to compose for, why?
A I don’t have a favorite instrument. I like them all. But I find piano the hardest to compose for, probably because I know it so well.

Bruce, his brother and his dog.

QDo you write music for children to play?
A Not too often. It’s hard for me to write easy-to-play music that sounds really good.

QHow old were you when you started composing?
A I was 12.

QWhat are some of your hobbies?
A I like to write music (that’s a profession and a hobby, too). I like to read, and the subjects vary from historical biographies (I’m finishing U.S. Grant’s Memoirs right now) to political philosophy to literature. I also like to travel, visit art galleries, fool around with my computer, and play with Photoshop on the photos I’ve taken with my digital camera. Every day, for over five years, I’ve been keeping a journal on my computer, no matter where in the world I’ve been at the time. So far I’ve written 3,485 pages.

QWhere were you born?
A Los Angeles.

QWhat is your favorite memory growing up as a kid?
A Being with my grandparents.

QWhat is the most exciting part of writing music?
A Hearing it and knowing you wrote it well.

QFavorite piece of music that you have written?
A Possibly a silly little piece from “Tiny Toon Adventures.”

QHow does it feel to listen to music you have written being played by other people?
A Usually it feels really good, especially after it’s been practiced enough that it’s played really well.

QDo you have children? Pets?
A I have two grown daughters, four grandsons, two stepsons and a dog.

QWhat is your favorite food? Movie?
A I like lots of different foods and can’t think of a favorite. In fact, it’s hard to narrow anything down to a “favorite.” But two of the most impressive movies I ever saw were All Quiet on the Western Front and Wings of Desire.

QWhat kinds of music do you like listening to?
A I listen a lot to classical music of all types, but my favorite type of pop music is heavy metal.

QIf you weren’t a composer, what else could you see yourself doing?
A I’ve often thought it would be really interesting work to be a psychiatrist – especially in Los Angeles; though realistically if I hadn’t become a composer, I would probably be a writer, some sort of artist or perhaps a teacher.

QWho do you look up to?
A I look up to and admire anyone who is brave enough to do what he or she thinks is right, even if that person may not directly benefit from the doing of it.

the end of the interview!