Synopsis

FILMMAKER

Brian Gaukel excels in creating documentary style, short and long-form films. An advanced training in the performing arts as a singer and instrumentalist serve him well as an emotional storyteller. Interlochen Arts Camp (1992-1994), the Interlochen Arts Academy (95-96), Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (1997-2000). 

Brian is the director, DP, and editor of the recently completed feature documentary WE ARE THE MUSIC MAKERS (2020). The film is a documentary biopic on the topic of choral music and the profound career of Dr. Jerry Blackstone. The film was programmed at multiple film festivals before COVID-19 ended the 2020 season.

He currently is the owner of Brian Gaukel Productions and has served such clients, producing creative content for Apple Inc., Harley Davidson, Suez International, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, University of Michigan, Yale University, Amherst College, The Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble, The Dallas Street Choir, VOCES8, Ion Concert Media the University of Michigan Alumni Association and the nonprofit organization Hope Worldwide. He recently created and produced film projection for live performance for the Manhattan-based National Concerts at Carnegie Hall (June 19, February 2020) with multiple commissions playing in 2022.

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

GRAMMY Award winner Jerry Blackstone is a leading conductor and highly respected conducting pedagogue.  Now emeritus professor of conducting, he served on the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance for thirty years where as director of choirs he led the graduate program in choral conducting and oversaw the University’s eleven choirs.   In February 2006, he received two GRAMMY Awards (“Best Choral Performance” and “Best Classical Album”) as chorusmaster for the critically acclaimed Naxos recording of William Bolcom’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience. The Naxos recording of Milhaud’s monumental L’Orestie d’Eschyle, on which Blackstone served as chorusmaster, was nominated for a 2015 GRAMMY Award (“Best Opera Recording”). Opera Magazine reviewer Tim Ashley wrote: “the real stars, though, are the University of Michigan’s multiple Choirs, who are faced with what must be some of the most taxing choral writing in the entire operatic repertory. Their singing has tremendous authority and beauty, while the shouts and screams of Choéphores are unnerving in the extreme. Their diction is good too: the occasions when we don’t hear the words are Milhaud’s responsibility, rather than theirs. It’s an extraordinary achievement, and utterly mesmerizing.”

ARTISTIC ADVISOR

Nationally recognized as a leader in the field of youth chorus directors, Ms. Ellsworth served as Artistic Director of Anima – Young Singers of Greater Chicago (formerly Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus) from 1996 – 2018. Under her direction, Anima won several national awards, including the 2014 Tribute Award from Chicago A Cappella, the 2013 ASCAP award for Adventurous Programming from Chorus America, the 2009 Dale Warland Singers Commissioning Award jointly given by the American Composers Forum and Chorus America, and the once-in-an-organizational lifetime Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence from Chorus America (2008).

Ms. Ellsworth has additionally served as Lecturer in Music Performance at Northwestern University, conducting the University Singers, and as the advisor for the Opera Workshop choral series with Boosey & Hawkes publishers. She has served several times on the music panel of the National Endowment for the Arts, and has over 20 years of singing and teaching experience as a voice faculty member in various college and university settings. She has served the American Choral Directors’ Association as the Central Division Repertoire and Standards Chair for Children’s and Community Youth Choirs. In 2010, she was inducted as a National Honorary Member to the Sigma Alpha Iota Music Fraternity.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Matthew Workman has collaborated in the choral music scene - both producing & performing - for more than 30 years. He has developed and led over 100 classical-music productions and is currently the Founder and Executive Director of National Concerts, founded in 2018.

As a choral music industry professional he is always looking to offer essential & valuable guidance through all the areas he manages, including editorial, fundraising, pre-production, legal, and distribution strategy. 

Particularly for this project, Matthew has proven to be an early champion by offering initial backing before other major fundraising efforts began. He will help oversee the recruitment and onboarding of contractors and other producers in the creation of this project. He will ensure the film is completed on time, within budget, and to artistic and technical standards with input from the production team and Advisory Panel. As an active development officer, Matthew will lead fundraising campaigns, corporate giving efforts, and promotion strategies. In addition to assembling the extended team, his role will introduce new concepts and ideas that may align with the project

LINE PRODUCER

Kady Le is based in Los Angeles and has worked in many facets of the film industry since graduating from UCLA Film School. She's worked in studio animation development, live-action TV, and documentary. Alongside producing, Kady is a director, and her short film, Like Mother, Like Daughter, has screened in film festivals in major cities across the US and internationally, such as Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, London, and Dublin. She was a recipient of the Dustin Lance Black Award for Diversity and Inclusion and the Peter Stark Memorial Scholarship.