Studio Soundtracks takes listeners behind the scenes of how music is crafted for film and television by hearing directly from composers, songwriters and music professionals in the Entertainment Industry.

Jeff Cardoni
Jeff Cardoni’s talents range from intimate independent fare to full orchestral majesty. With over 45 feature film scores and several network series to his credit, one can hear his work worldwide every day. His unique ability to cross genres has made him a powerful player in the film composing industry.

Jeff originally studied classical piano while playing percussion in school orchestra. But it would be rock and roll that would lead him to Los Angeles in 1997. After a brief stint as lead guitarist for the Warner Bros. band “Alien Crime Syndicate”, Jeff left to pursue film scoring full time. He worked under several Hollywood composers including John Murphy (Snatch, 28 Days Later) while studying conducting and orchestration at UCLA. He was recently voted ASCAP 2019 TV Composer Of The Year and nominated again in 2020 alongside Lorne Balfe, Bear McCreary, and Mark Snow.

His body of work ranges from studio features such as Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates , Step Up: All In, and Just Friends , to independent films such as The Confirmation from Oscar nominated Bob Nelson (Nebraska) and the Sundance darling The Vicious Kind. His television scores include the hit Mike Judge hit Silicon Valley for HBO, CBS drama Training Day with the late Bill Paxton, the highest rated comedy of the year Young Sheldon for Chuck Lorre and the worldwide Jerry Bruckheimer produced hit CSI:Miami.

Jeff is also an active songwriter, penning the theme songs to FX’s The League, MTV’s “Pimp My Ride”, and Fox’s MadTV, with songs appearing countless films, including “Hard Knock Life” with Mike Myers in Austin Powers, “Long Road Home” featuring Gene Simmons of Kiss for CSI, and collaborating with Minnie Driver for an updated version of classic “I’ve Got A Golden Ticket” with a live orchestra recorded at the Fox Newman stage. Jeff also produced several songs with Jon Lajoie for the soundtrack to The League and a Lexus Super Bowl spot with legendary alternative rock group The Pixies. He recently produced a reimagined version of the Mariah Carey classic track “Fantasy” for the upcoming Ryan Reynolds starring, Shawn Levy directed Fox feature “Freeguy”, featuring vocals by actress Jodie Komar (Killing Eve).

Recent scores include the Golden Globe winning Netflix series The Kominsky Method, starring Academy Award winners Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin, the Bad Boys spinoff series LA’s Finest for Jerry Bruckheimer, thriller feature Paradise Cove starring Mena Suvari (American Beauty), and the reboot of the classic Saved By The Bell coming to Peacock in late 2020.

Volker Bertelmann
Volker Bertelmann is an internationally-acclaimed pianist, composer and experimental musician. His score for Garth Davis’ Oscar-nominated film Lion, which he composed in collaboration with Dustin O’Halloran, was nominated for multiple awards: for the 2016 Oscar for Best Original Score, for the 2016 Golden Globes for Best Original Score, for Best Score at the 2016 Critics’ Choice Awards, for Best Original Score – Feature Film at the 2016 Hollywood Music in Media Awards, and for Best Film Music at the 2016 British Academy Film Awards, or BAFTAs.

Since then, Bertelmann has provided music for several leading films and television series. He composed the score for Patrick Melrose, Showtime’s Emmy-and BAFTA nominated mini-series, and for Gunpowder, the HBO mini-series starring Kit Harington. He also composed film scores for Adrift, the 2018 romantic drama directed by Baltasar Kormákur, and, again in collaboration with O’Halloran, for The Art of Racing in The Rain, which is based on the best-selling novel by Garth Stein. In 2018, he accepted an invitation to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Bertelmann, who in his solo work goes by the name Hauschka, is a uniquely innovative pianist; he is renowned both for his trademark sound, which he achieves by preparing the piano with various small objects, and his ability to improvise entire performances. His output is prodigious: he tours extensively, and has produced over twenty albums and EPs, both solo and in collaboration with others. He has worked, among many others, with the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, where he was the artist in residence, with Múm, the Icelandic experimental musical group, and with the Grammy-winning violinist Hilary Hahn.