For the first time this year, the Yucca Valley Film Festival is creating a new program event dedicated to music composers.

In previous years, music composers were invited to participate in the Sunday’s Roundtable with script writers. This year, in response to the growth of the film festival, with more and more composers submitting their work for consideration, the festival is putting together a dedicated block of program so we can all learn more about music for movies.

The Composer’s Panel will take place Sunday, Nov 12 at 1pm, at the YV Community Center.

It will include a discussion with participating music creators, and live demonstration by Emmy Award Winning composer Brian Katona.

Brian Katona is a regional Emmy® Award-Winning composer and Telly® Award-Winning composer and producer as well as a Grammy Award Voting Member.

He already won Best Composer at the 2021 YVFF for his music work on “The Red River Flood”.

It is our pleasure to welcome him again, and this time in person, for his latest work on the documentary “My Hatton“.

Brian Katona, DMA, is a composer, pianist and musical director of musical theatre and classical/choral music. Brian’s compositions and arrangements have been performed in Los Angeles, New York, the Aspen Music Festival, and appeared on television and in films.

He was a member of the prestigious BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, and his brass and orchestral music is published with Imagine Music Company in NYC. Brian’s original musical, Jesse James DEAD OR ALIVE, has been developed at the Workshop Theatre Company in NYC. Selections from ‘Dead or Alive’ were recently presented at New York’s Golden Fleece Composers Chamber Theatre Series.

His recent film & television credits include:

The Red River Flood (Emmy® Nominated Producer, Yucca Valley Film Festival Winner, Garden State Film Festival Winner, Paris Art & Movie Awards Nominee, South Dakota Film Festival Nominee),

The Long Hair (Telly Award Winner, Tracks Music Award Winner, Munich Film Awards Winner, Venice Shorts Winner, Global Music Awards Winner),

The Builder (Emmy® Award Winner for best musical composition),

A Hope For Hartly (Best Melodic Theme, Garden State Film Festival),

PEI Kids: Generation Change (Film: Broader Vision Award, Garden State Film Festival),

The Town That Disappeared Overnight (Film: Two time Emmy Winner, Garden State Film Festival Winner),

Biserici De Lemn Din Romania (SEEFest Official Selection),

I Throw Rocks (Film: Maumee Film Festival Winner), My Spirited Sister (Sitcom).