For as long as I can remember, I've been passionate about music. I can't recall a time when I didn't have music playing in my head.

One of the earliest memories I have of feeling the power of film music was watching Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. That was a really clear epiphany for me, when I realized that each film has its own music, and that there was someone out there who wrote this very specific music for just this one film.

I prefer live musicians whenever possible. And I tailor the ensemble to what is appropriate for the film and the score I'm writing.

In a recording, your ear believes and accepts the trumpets as part of the ensemble, but you can't do that in a concert hall.

I'm also always thinking about the score as a recording, as opposed to a performance that can be recreated in a live environment. Some of what I write could of course be played in a concert hall, but for the needs of a film I don't consider that.

Each culture might lend its own dialect, but above all that is the language of music itself, and it doesn't care about politics or boundaries.