Braden Pontoli
Braden Pontoli is a Los Angeles-based film scorer, audio producer, conductor, musician, and sound healer.
Classically trained, Braden began to write music for the vocal and instrumental stage. Then he fell in love collaborating with movement and multi-media. Braden’s work has been characterized as meditative, invigorating, and energizing.
Credits include collaborations with producer Peter Rafelson (Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Lady GaGa, Beyoncé) scoring and editing The Last Saturday Night (Ed Asner, Sherilyn Fenn, Eric Roberts). Braden has an extensive roster working with independent film directors and modern dance companies including Mancinetti Pictures, Heidi Duckler Dance, CalArts Film/Dance, and MorrisonDance.
Braden also sings with the Los Angeles Master Chorale as a baritone section member and has performed with the LA Philharmonic at Walt Disney Hall. Braden is sought after as a conductor for live ensembles and recording sessions. His conducting work with vocal ensembles and instrumental ensembles has won superior ratings at adjudications and has been appointed a guest conductor for choral festivals throughout the country.
Braden holds a Master of Fine Arts focused in Music Performance and Composition from California Institute of the Arts, and a Bachelor of Music Education from Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music.
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I believe every child, adolescent, young adult, adult, and elderly has the right to a holistic education where passions are discovered and challenged. As an educator, it is my responsibility to service my students instilling curiosity, engagement, practical takeaways, and hard skills related to the subject at hand. I am equipped and ready to teach in many different musical settings. As a vocal music educator, conductor, composition instructor, and performance instructor, I have worn many hats and understand the dedication it takes to be a successful teacher.
I believe singing connects people together through a musical and kinesthetic experience that is special and sacred. A choir fosters community and singing is the heart that connects the community. As a vocal instructor and a choral director, I strive to let every singer’s voice be heard to the best ability. I achieve this by teaching singers how to sing together and alone breaking down mental hurdles and building up healthy tension-free singing habits from breathing, phonation, resonance, diction, intonation, and musical theory. As a conductor and coach, I converse with my singers the importance of the music and how through our performance we can strive to honor the intention and the composer. I am an adamant supporter of music of many genres, cultures, and time periods. Together, we create meaningful art to fulfill the mind, body, and soul.
Music composers need a healthy balance of artistic freedom, guidance, technique, and marketing measures to ensure they will be successful portraying their music from the heart. Composition students often need exposure to historical composers who paved the way of musical success, while being exposed to modern composers who are successful at blazing a course currently to model. As a composer myself, I see beyond the score into the performance of the work. A collaborative musician, I make my students think of the performer’s ease at reading the score, at envisioning the performance of the work, developing the students relationship with other artists to create new work together, and working with multiple forms of media and installation.
I believe to be a successful educator, you need a wonderful working relationship with your students, colleagues, administration, parents, and community. I have advocated my music programs by performing at school board meetings, community festivals, nursing homes, local theaters, churches, and on the local news. My students and I have dedicated concerts to community members in need. I once had a composer commissioned to create a song for our school custodian’s husband who was a poet. We used his poetry in the piece. It is great what a music program can do to uplift a local community. I believe that as an educator, I surround myself in professional development attending conferences, seminars, and classes to keep me up to date in regards to education trends, repertoire, technology, and teaching pedagogy.
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