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. Listen to inspiring conversations about composition and hear works from Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar-winning film scores on the show.

KAY HANLEY

Kay Hanley is an Emmy and Peabody Award winning songwriter for TV animation, music copyright advocate/activist with Songwriters Of North America, singer of Boston-based rock band Letters To Cleo

Hanley began her career in music as the lead singer of Boston-based alternative rock band Letters to Cleo, releasing 3 acclaimed albums between 1990-2000, and spawning such hits as Awake and Here and Now.

In 2002, Hanley released her first full length solo album, Cherry Marmalade, produced by longtime Cleo producer, Mike Denneen at Q Division Studios in Boston. The record has recently been remastered for a double album 20th anniversary vinyl re-release.

Subsequent solo releases were The Babydoll EP (2005) and Weaponize (2009)

After a 16-year hiatus, Letters To Cleo reunited in 2016 to release new music and embark on several sold-out US tours. They are currently writing their 4th full length studio album.

In the late 90’s, Ms. Hanley began expanding her work as a singer and songwriter into the TV and film world, writing songs for WB’s animated series Generation O, providing the singing voice for Rachael Leigh Cook’s character Josie in Universal Pictures’ feature film Josie and the Pussycats and performing cover versions of Nick Lowe’s Cruel to be Kind and Cheap Trick’s I Want You To Want Me in Touchstone Pictures’ hit film, 10 Things I Hate About You.

Today, Ms. Hanley spends most of her time writing music for animated television, penning original songs for shows like Disney Junior’s hit series Vampirina and Doc McStuffins (for which she won a Peabody Award in 2014), Dreamworks’ Harvey Street Kids, WB/Cartoon Network’s DC Super Hero Girls and Netflix series, Ada Twist, Scientist and becoming a first time Emmy winner in 2022 for We The People. Her latest animated project is Kindergarten The Musical, which she developed with writing partners Michelle Lewis, Dan Petty, and Charlton Pettus. She serves as composer and executive producer for the series, which will debut in Fall 2024 on Disney Junior.

Ms. Hanley is co-founder of Songwriters Of North America (SONA), a non-profit advocacy organization that fights for the protection and value of songs and songwriters in the streaming music marketplace. As a result of her advocacy work, Hanley was chosen to represent songwriters on the Mechanical Licensing Collective, serving as vice-chair of the Unclaimed Royalties Oversight Committee.

TOM POLCE

Tom is a multi-instrumentalist/ composer/ producer and mixer. He has been working in the Los Angeles entertainment industry for over 15 years. First as Head of A&R/ Staff Producer for CBS Records and then transitioning to Staff Producer/ Composer for CBS Studios and currently fulfilling the same role at Paramount Global. Tom spends his time composing original music, producing and mixing. From scoring Crazy Ex-Girlfriend to writing musicals for the Star Trek franchise, Tom enjoys producing, composing and mixing a wide breadth of styles.

A Connecticut native before moving to Boston, Tom studied at NEC and Berklee College of music as a Jazz Performance Major and then became a fixture in the 90’s Boston music scene as a musician and producer, performing as a member in bands and solo artists such as Letters to Cleo, Senor Happy, Loveless, Bill Janovitz and many more.

Tom and family moved out to Los Angeles in 2007 and have been enjoying the rich, diverse and creative culture that makes Los Angeles the entertainment hub that it is.

Studio Soundtracks is made possible in part by the generous support of Spitfire Audio, makers of inspiring sounds and scoring tools for film, in collaboration with the world’s best composers, musicians and engineers. More details available at spitfireaudio.com.