Bio
Victor Spiegel is a recording artist, teacher, composer, director, actor and voice over professional.His study of world music cultures gives his music an added edge and depth. He began composing at 15, after having studied piano for 10 years then attended California Institute of the Arts, where he studied composition with Harold Budd, Jim Tenney, and others. A deep love of Indian music brought him to learn from Ravi Shankar, Haral Rao, and Amiyo Das Gupta. Spiegel continued his music education earning a BA at the University of California, and an MA in Music Composition from Mills College, studying with Lou Harrison and Terry Riley. Spiegel's singular piano sound is a fusion of lush harmonies and rhythms of jazz, classical and musical influences from India, Japan, Indonesia, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. He continues to score for film, television, theater, dance and other media.
Author bio: Victor was born and raised in Santa Monica, California in the 1950’s. Life then seemed simpler and safer. In his teens he became fascinated with folklore, myths, and legends. This soon turned into a passion for all things strange and supernatural. He studied, researched and explored Tibetan and Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, Kabbalah, Alchemy, Freemasons, Judaism, Christianity, Magic, Islam, the Egyptian and Mayan pyramids, Atlantis, Lemuria and many other shops of spirituality and ‘secret teachings’. His first novel, Full Moon Over Faulconbridge,was adapted as a podcast and screen play. It is a fantasy/drama/comedy based on an Australian indigenous legend. His second book is a practical guide to Sufism, titled Getting Out of the Way: Living Sufism. Available now is a novel entitled The New Ring of Solomon, exploring the beginnings of magic, how Sufism works, and the story of demonic dimensional beings hunted by two Sufis. A short film he wrote and directed is Dreaming Abraham, a satire of biblical proportions. As a composer, he has scored hundreds of shorts, documentaries, TV shows, games, and special projects. His score for Dolls, directed by Stuart Gordon, is a cult classic. He currently resides in Sydney, Australia teaching music and collaborating with various directors and theaters. EDUCATION Victor Spiegel creates a sound built of innovative harmonies and rhythms. His lyricism grows from both familiar and exotic soils, influenced by music from around the world, including India, Japan, Indonesia, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Victor started his piano concert career at the age of six, performing classical repertoire up to the age of fifteen. He then decided to focus on composing and performing his own material. He received a B.A. from the University of California in Performance Integration of World Myths and Music. There he wrote, directed and performed his Magic Door opera and composed and conducted his ensembles and symphonic works. His Master of Arts in Music Composition from Mills College in Oakland, California solidified his academic and professional involvement in scoring for diverse media. It also provided him a basis for subsequent directing and involvement in teaching, film, and video work.
