Summary: Composer, musician, and producer Megan Cavallari has a knack for creating music that industry legend Richard Kraft recently called “amazing and earworm candy.” From film and television soundtracks to stage musicals to having composed music for the Los Angeles Kings, the award-winning Philadelphia native has managed to land at the top of a her profession (despite the fact that less than 1% of all professional composers are females). Now Cavallari has been tapped to write and produce the soundtrack, songs, and score for the upcoming animated feature “Jacob Marley” with animator and visual effects director Russ Francis. That goes along with her Jonathan McHugh-produced opera “The Righteous One: The Irena Sandler Story,” about a WWII hero who saved 2500 children in the Warsaw Ghetto, and her ongoing collaboration with Grammy-nominated pop producer Eric Robinson. Positive Phil Mentions: Right now, sign up for http://www.stamps.com/radio/positive/ and use my promo code POSITIVE for this SPECIAL OFFER: 4-Week Trial Plus a $110 Bonus Offer – including postage and a digital scale ● go to http://www.stamps.com/radio/positive/ Perhaps Cavallari’s favorite gig is her passion and dedication to ice hockey (she regularly plays left wing in a men’s league). Cavallari is also a committed vegan. While raising an eleven year old daughter with juvenile arthritis, Cavallari has also launched the Talk Foundation Project, where she records the thoughts and observations of terminally ill children. With a tireless positivity grounded in her Jewish faith, her unique professional profile is matched only by her amazing work ethic and generous spirit. Biography So, you think you had a busy day? Consider what a typical working day might be like for composer Megan Cavallari. Start with the fact that Cavallari is one of only a very small handful of women who have established themselves as major creative artists in the professional music industry. But not even most of the men can point to a resume as diverse, eclectic, and impressive as this diminutive Jewish-Italian Philadelphia native: more than a 100 film scores as performer, arranger, conductor, or composer; 25 television shows; 16 stage musicals; and hundreds of songs, jingles, and assorted musical offerings including composing music for the L.A. Kings, have earned her respect, acclaim, multiple professional awards, and a reputation as someone who seemingly creates and produces music in every waking moment of a 37 hour day. Then consider that while music is the dominant focus of Megan Cavallari’s professional life, it’s probably the easiest thing she does. For kicks, she might suit up and play left wing in a men’s hockey league, where she might find herself hurtling over the ice after being checked by a guy twice her weight. Or, she might be dealing with the very real challenges facing her eleven year-old daughter, surviving life with debilitating juvenile arthritis. She might be at temple, reaffirming a faith that is part and parcel of a family legacy with all the drama of an HBO miniseries. Or she might be talking to children in a hospital’s terminal ward, recording their thoughts in private and open conversations – just because she knows those moments of free thought and reflection are all the more valuable to those with little time left. In short, your busy day has nothing on Megan Cavallari’s. Cavallari sees a strong personal and spiritual component to her projects, beginning with a lesson learned from one of her early mentors and champions. “Danny Elfman used to say about making music, ‘you put the antenna up and you hope God is listening.’” Cavallari had just completed her master’s degree at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts when she came to California with her award-winning musical project and caught the ear of Elfman. Her first high-profile gig was alongside Elfman as he composed and recorded the now-classic score from Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before...
