dublab — Staying True in the Film Industry
Dublab Radio DJ Chandler Poling of Studio Soundtracks interviews film composer Chanda Dancy about her musical upbringing, her inspirations, and her creative contributions to the Sony Pictures’ feature film Devotion. Together they discuss the public perception of what a composer is and how Chanda’s work challenges that perspective.
Native Texan Chanda Dancy started composing orchestral works at the age of 12. She has been described as a “phenomenal composer” (Ted Chung, Zacuto: Featured Filmmakers) and “quickly gaining recognition as a foremost black American contemporary composer.” (Anthony Parnther, Conductor, San Bernardino Symphony). Her works are described as “emotionally penetrating” (John Malveaux, Africlassical.com) and “rich” (George Heymont, Huffington Post).
An alumnus of the USC Film Scoring Program, and the Sundance Composers Lab, Chanda is both an accomplished film and television composer with over 18 years of experience and an emerging classical concert composer. Arts Boston named her one of “10 Contemporary Black Composers You Should Know”. She is known for her work on the Sundance award winning documentary Aftershock (Disney/Onyx Collective), the hit Netflix TV Original The Defeated starring Taylor Kitsch, the Korean War era epic Devotion starring Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell, and the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody, directed by Kasi Lemmons.
Chandler Poling is the Co-Founder of White Bear PR, a Public Relations firm specializing in Publicity for Composers, Songwriters, Music Supervisors, and Film & Music Festivals around the world. Throughout his career, Chandler has run successful Oscar, Golden Globe, Grammy, BAFTA and Emmy campaigns securing nominations and wins. His clients have been featured in national and international publications, such as Time Magazine, Vanity Fair, New York Times, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian, LA Times, and Rolling Stone Magazine to name just a few. He created the first ever composer-focused panel at Comic-Con San Diego, the World’s Largest Pop Culture Convention. These panels are now an ongoing tradition – a platform for composers to discuss their craft and meet their fans. In addition to producing and moderating panels, Chandler has been invited to give lectures on PR for Composers at Berklee College of Music, Royal College of Music, NYU, USC, and internationally in Prague, Amsterdam, Vienna, Krakow, Cologne, Ghent, and others. In Los Angeles, he is a radio DJ for the independent station Dublab where he hosts a monthly program called Studio Soundtracks featuring conversations with music professionals in the film, television and video game industries. He is proud to be part of the founding leadership of The Alliance for Women Film Composers and Vice President of Qweerty Gamers – a non-profit LGBTQ video game advocacy organization.