This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Faces


Making music on the screen and in church W


hen you look up Marshall Bowen on the Internet movie database, you’ll see more than a dozen movies where he has served in several musical capacities, including conductor, orchestrator and score preparation. What you won’t see is Salem Lutheran Church, Glendale, Calif. Yet for decades Bowen has had one foot in show biz and the other in the religious realm, serving as a minister of music in three California congregations. Though the time demands of working at the Walt Disney Studios Music Library led to taking a break


100 plus


107: Bertina Carlson, Augustana, Hobart, Ind. 105: Ruth Ulsh, St. John, Lewistown, Pa. 104: Eunice Konne, Bethany, Grantsburg, Wis. 103: Flor- ence Dunsirm, Zion, Appleton, Wis.; Hilda Halvorson, Faith, Bagley, Minn.; Millicent Johnston, First United, Dal- las; Tilli Schopbach, Bethlehem, Long- mont, Colo. 102: Helen Danielson, Trinity, Appleton, Wis.; Martha Man- gels, Bethany, Elmhurst, N.Y.; Mar- guerite Holt, Bethany, Central Bridge, N.Y. 101: Viola Luckenbaugh, Christ, Spring Grove, Pa. 100: Reinhard Beckman, Luther Memorial, Syra- cuse, Neb.; Gladys Bieser, St. John, Mendota, Ill.; Evelyn Frances Bender- Wieger, St. John, Dundee, Mich.; Mil- dred Knudson, Trinity, Phoenix; Toini Koski, Bethlehem, DeKalb, Ill.; Isabel Lienau, St. Luke, Middleton, Wis.; Helen Morken, Trinity, Spring Grove, Minn.; Dorothy Oleson, First, Torrance, Calif.; Svea Stutz, Prince of Peace, SeaTac, Wash.; Sylvia Thoni, Our Sav- ior, Rice Lake, Wis.; Arden Vie, Mas- ter, Pasco, Wash.


Marshall Bowen helps make music for TV and movies. He and oth- ers recently worked with Michael Giacchino on his score for John Carter, released this month.


from church work, he’s still active at Emmanuel Lutheran, North Holly- wood, where he recently played bass with its ensemble. That same week- end he also conducted the orchestra that played the score for the TV show Alcatraz. A 1975 graduate of California


Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, he recently received the school’s Outstanding Music Alumnus Award, which recognizes exemplary dedi- cation and distinguished artistic achievement. Bowen said his years at


CLU prepared him for his dual career track. “One thing I have learned over the years is that both the entertainment business and churches are based on relationships,” said Bowen, who served as Emmanuel’s minister of music for 12 years. “People like being around people with whom they are comfortable. In the entertainment business ... the people who get called back are the ones who not only can do the work but also fit in and make the sometimes long hours and stress easier to endure. ... “I’ve come to realize that this relationship building is at least as important as the job at hand. The choir rehearsal is about preparing music for worship, but it also needs to be a place where the choir members want to go. Spiritual- ity, camaraderie and fun are all at least as important as the music.” About his current job, Bowen said one of the hardest parts is explaining what he does. He is part of a team that helps composers get their music ready for scoring sessions. “I am the main librarian, taking the music to recording sessions. ... I often have other duties, including arranging, orchestrating, conducting the orchestra and being the ears for the composer in the record- ing booth. But the main focus of my work is to ensure that each player has all the right music on the stand and then, at a moment’s notice, be ready to make whatever changes are required as the recording goes throughout the day.” Whether it’s soon or after he retires from the movie business, Bowen hopes to return to music ministry. “The entertainment business is a lot of fun, but there’s a spiritual dimension to the music in church,” he said. “There’s a connection that comes to God through the music, for not only me but for the entire congregation. There’s a profound satisfaction to be working with God’s music.” M


Jeff Favre Favre is a contributing editor of The Lutheran.


March 2012 43


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52