Jared Robinson's Poe Nominated for IMA
Nick Murray
The accolades just keep on rolling in for Jared Robinson and his work at Nebulus Entertainment, here in Moose Jaw.
Jared, on the piano, at Nebulus Entertainment
Now he has been nominated for an Independent Music Award (IMA).
Jared has been nominated in the "Contemporary Classical" category for his work on The Strange and Tumultuous Life of Edgar Allen Poe. It was a student play adapted and directed by Jared's twin brother, Micah. Jared composed and arranged the score and produced the soundtrack; it got into the right hands, and this is where we are today.
"I’ve been nominated for several awards in the past" he said. "Awards for production, musicianship, photography and design... BUT, this nomination really stands out for me",
"My brother approached me with the idea, knowing I wouldn’t be able to resist working with him on something creative. He was right. The work he put in on the stage-side of the production was astonishing. It drove me to create something I hoped would stand up to the work he was doing. In a way it feels like this nomination belongs to the two of us."
Jared funded the album himself, and spent three months working on it. "That’s a lot of time for me to take off from my daily schedule as a producer" he said. The songs involved anything from a single piano, to over 50 individual instruments that all joined together to form an orchestra.
"I obviously didn’t have the budget to hire an orchestra, but I own some of the world’s best orchestral instrument software. This enabled me to play each of the instruments myself and stack one on top of the other" he said.
The IMA is an American institution; and, according to it's website, it is also a "global community of innovative Artists and engaged fans". They firmly believe in rewarding "artistry, individuality and the pursuit of excellence". They honour music, video, concert photography and design...all of which are right in Jared's wheelhouse. He does all of these things at Nebulus.
The awards are presided over by an impressive panel of judges including Tom Waits, Amy Lee, Ben Lee, and the guys from both Slayer and Sepultura as well as a slew of industry execs and influential personalities.
"There isn’t a person on the panel that I don’t respect. Tom Waits, Michael W. Smith, Amy Lee (Evanescence)?!?! Most of whom have partially worked in the orchestral world and beyond. It’s an honor to have artists I’ve grown up listening to, listen to my music. I hope it’s not the last time" he said.
Winners in 96 categories will be announced on March 31 from the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.
In order to win the award, Jared will be competing against Danae Xanthe Vlasse for her record Trilogies, Australian composer Douglas Knehans and his work Unfinished Earth, Fabian Almazan & Rhizome's Alcanza and Steven Edwards' record Requiem for my Mother: Themes and Variations
The complete score can be downloaded on iTunes, or streamed on almost any music platform