UH Musicologist Dr. Kate McQuiston at Davies Symphony Hall

In Department News, Faculty News by General Entries

UH Mānoa’s Dr. Kate McQuiston’s research on Stanley Kubrick’s films has distinguished her as a scholar of film music. October 2016, she gave pre-concert talks for the San Francisco Symphony’s 2001: A Space Odyssey shows. Dr. McQuiston’s talk, “The Musical Imagination of Stanley Kubrick,” set the stage for the musical tour of styles that underscore Kubrick’s narrative. The opening night of the film series also included an onstage conversation with star of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Keir Dullea.

Distinct from other films in the Symphony’s performance series, Kubrick used pre-existing classical music in 2001: A Space Odyssey and was one of the first filmmakers to connect outer space to the romantic sonorities and consonant harmony. Dr. McQuiston’s presentation revealed the many paths considered along the way to the final soundtrack including the possibility of popular music and original score.

Dr. McQuiston presents her research regularly at conferences and universities in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, and London. In 2013, McQuiston authored “We’ll Meet Again”: Musical Design in the Films of Stanley Kubrick, published by Oxford University Press. At UH Mānoa she teaches courses in film music and music history while acting as Graduate Chair of the Music Department. Dr. McQuiston also advises student theses, dissertations, and projects about film music and other subjects.

Post by John Paul Brabant
Photo Credit Misa Shikawa