Ted Masur is versatile composer, traversing wide emotional terrain and a multitude of styles and genres. He is especially known for his abilities as a musical storyteller and collaborator. Masur has won praise from directors and critics alike for his capacity to complement narrative and elevate a film. Film Music Magazine named him a “Composer to Watch” in its Best-of-2013 list. Click here for testimonials.
Recent film credits include Bad Milo! (Duplass Brothers Productions) and The Best & The Brightest (starring Neil Patrick Harris). Masur has also written music for network television shows, including One Life To Live and Cold Case, and for Diamond Mine Productions, the primary provider of underscore for several CBS nightly shows. He holds degrees from Yale and Indiana Universities, where he studied composition and conducting.
Masur has served as a mentor and panelist in educational and industry settings, including the ASCAP Expo and Yale in Hollywood. He has given guest lectures in venues such as UCLA Extension and the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at CSULB, on topics including film and television scoring, the creative process, and the business of composing.
For a full credits list, please visit imdb.
BAD MILO! — horror-comedy, dir. Jacob Vaughan
BANDITOS — contemporary urban western, dir. John Irwin
THE BEST & THE BRIGHTEST — comedy, dir. Josh Shelov
BILL — dark comedy, dir. John Salcido
BROKEN — drama, dir. Alexa-Sascha Lewin
CLOWNS — comedy, dir. Josh Shelov
COP DOG — family feature, dir. John Murlowski
FAMILY KARMA — comedy/drama, dir. Joshua Barnett
GAY BED & BREAKFAST OF TERROR! (add’l music) — horror-comedy, dir. Jaymes Thompson
HOMEGROWN — documentary, dir. Bob McFalls
THE HONEYSTING — thriller (dir. A-S Lewin, AFI DWW)
IMMIGRATION TANGO (add’l music) — comedy, dir. David B. Morris
PAISLEY — horror-comedy, dir. Matt Olmon
TURNING THEIR WORLD AROUND — documentary, dir. Michael Saouli
RETURN — drama (grand prize, True To John Woo; dir. Charles Yi)
ROUNDING HOME — drama, dir. Phil Abatecola
SHADOW PUPPETS OF DOOM — dark comedy, dir. M. McLaughlin
SO THEY MAY SPEAK — documentary, dir. John Rogers
TRAFFIC IN THE SKY — drama , dir. Charles Yi
ADDITIONAL
A SIMPLE PLAN — assistant to orchestrator Steve Bartek (for Danny Elfman)
AN EXTREMELY GOOFY MOVIE — assistant to composer Steve Bartek
AS THE WORLD TURNS — CBS daytime; composer: additional music
COLD CASE — CBS primetime; composer: additional music
CLOSE TO HOME — CBS primetime; composer: additional music
DIAMOND MINE PRODUCTIONS (DMP) — contributing composer
• DMP is the primary provider of underscore for Entertainment Tonight, The Insider, Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray, and The Doctors.
EARTH/ THE GARAGE/ GREEN — Environmental PSAs, PBS
HE’BREW BEER — national spot
LIVELYHOOD — PBS documentary series
MISSION: RECYCLE — educational video, dir. John Rogers
ONE LIFE TO LIVE — ABC daytime; composer: additional music
SPRINT PCS — “pindrop” national spot
T-FAST (Ticketmaster) — national spot
“Ted Masur truly understands storytelling and is able to translate discussions about conflict, motivation, character arcs, etc. into inspired and functional score. His music makes things funnier, scarier, more moving – whatever the story needs. Ted is inventive and engaged, with collaborative skills that elevate the entire creative process. He is exactly the kind of person I want on my team when I’m making a film.”
— Jay Duplass (Producer/Writer/Director)
“Success in Hollywood is relationship driven and reliant on a talented team where everyone trusts each other’s expertise. Ted Masur is a passionate composer who understands film making and music’s role to visual media. He is one of the rising-star, under the radar composers in this industry who everyone loves to work with and is an invaluable asset to any creative production team.”
— Michael Todd (Sr. Director of Film, TV Music & Visual Media, ASCAP)
“I can’t speak highly enough of the work that Ted Masur did on my film. We had a very tricky tone that we were trying to achieve — a balancing act between comedy, drama and horror. Right off the bat Ted was able to zero in on that tone and give me a score that complemented the story perfectly. I could not be happier with the outcome of our collaboration. It was a joy working with him because he listened carefully, contributed great ideas, and went the extra mile to deliver fantastic music. I would have no problem recommending him, except for the fact that I want him all to myself!”
— Jacob Vaughan (Director/Writer/Editor)
“From the director’s point of view, hiring a composer is fraught with tension. Because a film’s score is binary. There’s no gray area. Either you love it, or it just won’t work. Thank God for Ted Masur. Because I never had a moment where I needed a day to walk around with his material. Ted created music that I was instantly in love with. End of story. I’ll never make a film without him.”
— Josh Shelov (Director/Writer/Producer)
“Ted is an extremely talented composer and an enthusiastic, generous collaborator. On my film HomeGrown, he was able to take my non-musician’s ramblings, describing what I wanted from the score in bizarre metaphors and colors, and turn them into music that expressed feelings that I hadn’t been able to articulate. When I was at the mix stage and I found a tear rolling down my cheek at the film’s climax I knew it was the beautiful score that was largely responsible. He was a joy to work with and I could not have been happier with the result.”
— Robert McFalls (Director/Editor)
“I worked with Ted on Bad Milo. I am a re-recording mixer and have had a plethora of music pass through my console. But this film, being extremely quirky, required and received a complex, accessible, poignant score that both rocked and drew tears. It was intimate and huge, dense and deft, raising the bar, lifting the film to a new level. It was a classy score for a classy/crass film. Ted was also very collaborative and an asset on the stage, helping refine the final mix to an elegant experience. I would recommend him in a minute and believe his abilities to be capable of any demands a filmmaker may have.”
— Rick Ash (Sound Re-Recording Mixer)
Selected activities and associations, including guest lectures, commissions, residencies, and awards:
• ASCAP Expo – Mentor, Film Scoring One-On-One Sessions
• ASCAP Steve Kaplan Award for musical excellence, professionalism, and career potential
• Aspen Music Festival Film Scoring Fellow
• BMI Pete Carpenter Fellowship – Finalist
• Cinefamily Presents: The Best and The Brightest (panelist)
• Dance Mission Theater, San Francisco: Side Unseen – Commissioned by Irva hertz-PIcciotto
• Film Music Magazine: Composer-To-Watch, Best-of-2013 List
• The Best Jobs in the Music Industry: Straight Talk from Successful Music Pros
Interviewed for Michael Redman’s book, Chapter 3
• Bob Cole Conservatory, CSULB Composers’ Colloquium – Guest Composer
• Idyllwild Arts Academy – Guest Lecturer, Film Scoring
• The Juilliard School – American Brass Quintet masterclass: Lullabies & Labors (featured repertoire)
• Mohawk Trails Concerts – Premiere: Structures of San Francisco Weather (sop, clar, piano)
Commissioned by Sari Gruber, texts by David Goldstein
• Occidental College Choir and Pasadena All-District High School Choral Festival:
Performances of Joy, Shipmate, Joy! (SATB choral)
• Pasadena Waldorf High School – Premiere: Three Songs For Autumn (SATB choral)
• San Francisco Giants – Star Spangled Banner (SATB choral arrangement), multiple performances
• Savvy Musician In Action (Music Entrepreneurship Conference) – Runner-up for Custom Ed Music (Team Leader)
• Turner Classic Movies, Young Film Composer Competition – Finalist
• UCLA Extension – Guest Lecturer, Advanced Film Scoring
• VYMA Music Project – Composer-In-Residence, for El Sistema-inspired strings program in Pasadena Public Schools
• VYMA Music Project – Commission: Pristine Machine, for String Orchestra
• West Coast Seminario at Longfellow Elementary – Guest Conductor
• Yale Glee Club/Freshman Chorus – Premiere of Whitman Songs (SATB Choral)
• Yale In Hollywood: Indie Film Panel, Los Angeles (panelist)
• Yale In Hollywood: New York Summit (panelist)
• TEACHING: film scoring, musicianship/theory, composition, improvisation, choral music, musical theater
