Spartan Profiles: Chad Rehmann
This past holiday season, if you watched movies on television, you might have savored the work of an up and coming MSU alumnus.
Three movies that aired featured music composed by Chad Rehmann, BMUS ’03—including Lifetime Movie Network’s Next Stop Murder and ABC Family’s The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation, which was a sequel to 2009’s hit The Dog Who Saved Christmas. Rehmann also composed the music for Abandoned (2010), Brittany Murphy’s final film. “I do love what I do,” says Rehmann, who lives in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles. “We have a one-year-old son and sometimes you have to work really hard at balancing schedules with family life.”
A native of St. Johns, Chad says he was never interested in going to any school other than MSU. “I grew up in a family of all MSU fans,” he notes. “I loved MSU’s School of Music. As kids we went to many MSU orchestra and theater productions.” At age 18, Chad won the prestigious National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Award. “I always knew I wanted to be a composer, although the medium changed as the years went on,” he explains. “At first I thought about theater, then I thought about concert hall, and then I thought about film. What finally drew me into film was the collaboration that exists in the industry.”
After making it as a finalist for the Young Film Composer Competition, sponsored by Turner Classic Movies, he moved to Los Angeles and was able to land work almost immediately. “Had I not had my MSU music education, I would not be as successful,” says Chad. “The MSU College of Music has a great staff. My mentor was (former MSU faculty member and Master Percussionist) Alison Shaw. She was absolutely incredible. She taught me not only how to be a better musician but also how to listen in unique ways.”
As a student, Chad played in the MSU Symphony and the MSU Wind Ensemble. “The whole band department was absolutely fabulous,” he says.
