Composer Chanda Dancy (pictured) is nominated for an Emmy in the "Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited Series" category for her work on Lawman: Bass Reeves. The Paramount+ series follows the journey of Reeves (David Oyelowo) and his rise from enslavement to law enforcement as one of the first Black US Deputy Marshals west of the Mississippi.
Taylor Sheridan (1883) and Oyelowo (Selma) serve as executive producers on the series, which also stars Lauren E. Banks, Demi Singleton, Forrest Goodluck, Barry Pepper, Donald Sutherland and Dennis Quaid.
"Working on Lawmen: Bass Reeves was as fulfilling of an experience as it gets as an orchestral composer," says Dancy. "I was able to create a grand, sweeping score for a towering figure of American history that had remained relatively unknown until this series. The score was influenced by classical greats, like Antonin Dvorak's Symphony 9 'New World Symphony,' as well as Bela Bartok's Hungarian and Romanian folk dances, along with black American spirituals, American folk fiddling, and South American (Brazilian, Afro-Peruvian) percussion. I would say the most challenging thing was creating four hours and 35 minutes of music for the show, which is just such a huge amount. It was an honor and a privilege!"
Some of Dancy's tools used in producing the score included ProTools Ultimate, Spitfire Orchestral sample libraries, East West Opus orchestral sample libraries, Kontakt 7, Universal Audio Apollo 8xp, AKG C414 condenser mics and her guitar rig.