NEWPORT BEACH, CA (Jan. 17, 2003) - Billy Martin, the award-winning composer whose outlets include such media icons as Walt Disney Pictures, Disney Interactive, Universal, Fox, the Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and ABC, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, the pre-eminent composers' group in the U.S. The SCL Advisory Board and Board of Directors contain many of the top music professionals whose experience and expertise is focused on many of the interesting and pressing issues of the film music industry today. The new Board of Directors were announced at the SCL annual membership meeting on Wednesday, January 15th 2003.

The Board oversees and coordinates all of the activities of the SCL including seminars, educational events, the Mentor program for young composers, and the annual State of the Art Conference. Billy, who has been a member of the SCL for 5 years, is currently Chairman of the Website Committee, and is responsible for all aspects of the SCL website at http://www.filmscore.org.

"The website is one of our most valuable means of communication to our members and to the world", said Billy. "By serving on the board, I can stay in the loop on all of the issues that affect the SCL, be a more effective Website Chairman, and broaden my service to other areas. It's an honor to serve in an organization whose advisory board includes legendary figures like Jerry Goldsmith, James Newton Howard, Howard Shore, and Hans Zimmer."

The election of Martin is a triumph for game composers’ representation in the professional music composing community and follows an official invitation made during last year’s Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) E3 summit by Ray Colcord, President of the SCL, to admit game musicians and composers as part of its membership. This latest announcement is further recognition of how the interactive entertainment industry has come of age, with higher quality compositions - including live orchestral scores recorded with world-class players - increasingly featured in today’s interactive game releases. Billy Martin, who is also a member of G.A.N.G. (http://www.audiogang.org), the non-profit organization established to promote excellence in interactive music and sound, becomes the first game composer to be elected as an SCL board director.

Adds Martin, "For the first time, there is now a game composer on the SCL Board of Directors. As a composer involved in both games and Film/TV, I'm excited about being able to represent the interests of game composers in the Society of Composers and Lyricists. Increased co-operation and communication between G.A.N.G. and the SCL will be beneficial to both organizations."

Billy Martin created the original orchestral music for a trio of animated games centered on Disney’s feature film Treasure Planet, released on PC and Mac, to coincide with the movie based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s epic novel. Other games for which Martin has written music for game animation include Hunchback of Notre Dame, Jungle Book Rhythm and Groove, and Lion King II. He also composed the music for Ubisoft’s Tarzan Untamed and Disney’s Phonics Quest which were nominated by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences for 2002 Console Children's Game of the Year and 2002 Computer Educational Title of the Year, respectively.

In addition, Martin has written for film and television including Steven Spielberg Presents Toonsylvania, Land Before Time VIII (Universal), Cinderella II (Disney), Silent Predators (TBS), American Tail IV (Universal), and Land Before Time VI (Universal). He is a winner of several film music awards including A Song For Jade (Calfeye Films) - Winner, 2001 Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame Award, and Requiem (Ungerfilm) - Winner, 1999 Cine Golden Eagle Award. His most recent project includes composing additional music for the Charlotte’s Web movie sequel due for release on DVD later this year.

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