Jordan Kamalu, a native of Kaysville, Utah, and a graduate of Brigham Young University (BYU), was honored with a Student Emmy for music composition from the 2016 College Television Awards on 25 May. He received the award for his work on the film score of BYU’s short animation “Papa.” His composition which was recorded by the BYU Philharmonic Orchestra won the only available award for film scoring.
The same organization that hosts the Primetime Emmys also hosts The College Television Awards. There is a big dinner to celebrate, and celebrities present the awards. Nominees also get invited to a professional development day, and the winners receive cash prizes.
The Student Emmy is not the first national award that Jordan has received for his extraordinary work. When he was a senior in high school, he won the National PTA Reflections contest. And, in 2015, he won the Blanche and Irving Laurie Musical Theater Award from The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival for the best collegiate written musical “Single Wide.”
Jordan wrote the music and lyrics for the musical and collaborated with BYU theater professor, George Nelson, the author of “Single Wide.” After spending a week at the Kennedy Center festival in Washington, D.C., the musical had a limited run in New York City as part of the 2015 New York Musical Festival. The shows received great reviews, and they are currently rewriting the script, all the while, negotiating with theaters about future productions.
About his recent award he told KSL.com, “As soon as we submitted the piece for consideration for the film score award, I felt very confident that I was going to get the award. We were getting fantastic feedback from the animation department and the School of Music … So I tried to find out when the award ceremony was going to be in the summer because I’m a very busy freelancer, and I didn’t want to be booked for that week.”
Jordan graduated from BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications with a degree in Commercial Music in April. In the KSL.com article, he remarked, “My career goals are very ambitious. I intend to see my music on Broadway and also to hear my music on the radio, writing for pop artists, and also to hear my music on film or TV.” His dream is to one day write a musical film for Disney, which would allow him to use the full potential of his three levels of expertise. In the meantime, he is in search of his next story for theater and film scoring opportunities. He is also currently producing Johanna Jones, an artist in Provo, Utah, who recorded his song “Don’t Need to Say You’re Sorry.” The video was published on YouTube on 1 June 2016 and has garnered over 2,000 views thus far.
Jordan got his start in music as a jazz pianist. He wrote and arranged music for his jazz band at Davis High School in Kaysville, Utah. “The songwriting and composing have always been something that I’ve done. I remember writing as early as I can remember playing the piano.” Before serving a two-year full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he attended the Berklee College of Music for a year. When he returned home from his mission, he transferred to BYU.
The new animation short, “Papá,” has made the shortlist for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). In a press release, Brent Adams, Director of the BYU Center for Animation, commented, “BAFTA is one of the most prestigious awards in the world. Just being on the shortlist of films is very, very prestigious.” UtahValley360 reports that Jordan Kamalu said student writer and director Danny Russon wanted a French-Italian romantic theme for the music, so he sought for inspiration by watching other short films where emotion was primarily portrayed in the music as well as the opening scene, “Married Life,” in Disney Pixar’s “Up.” In a press release, he stated, “(Composer) Michael Giacchino used the same themes to make you feel happy, sad, and a whole range of emotions. I thought I could do the same thing in ‘Papá.’’” The film has no dialogue, thus placing a significant amount of focus on the musical composition written by Jordan.
