Palisades-News-May-6-2015-

Page 22 Palisades News May 6, 2015John NordstromWins EmmyBy LAURIE ROSENTHALStaff WriterWhen Palisadian John Nordstromwon an Emmy Award recently,a colleague nominated in thesame category congratulated Nordstromand admitted that he voted for Nordstromover himself.Nordstrom won Outstanding Music Directionand Composition for a Drama forhis work on The Bold and the Beautiful. Itwas his first Emmy nomination, althoughhe has previously won three ASCAP awards.He didn’t even tell many people he wasnominated. Though he never expected towin, he wanted to. “I loved being nominated,”he says.“People were completely freaking out”that he won. Two tables of producers andactors stood up cheering for him, and hisnerves were eased when the announcer saidone of the producer’s names instead ofNordstrom’s. “My goal was to tell everybodywho I was,” Nordstrom says. “When I saidthat, people laughed. I wasn’t nervous at all.”After more than two decades in the business,Nordstrom considers himself luckyto be able to work in a field he loves.USC Professor Richard McIlvery, whostill teaches at Thornton School, helpedNordstrom get his first job, on Storytime, in1991. That experience allowed Nordstromto compose scores that matched myriadsituations, from Eskimos to skateboardingkids in New York. He did 110 episodes overeight years on the show that started locallyon KCET before going national.Two years ago, Nordstrom was broughtin to The Bold and the Beautiful to updatethe show’s sound. Executive producer, headwriter and old friend Brad Bell liked Nordstrom’swork on shows such as Las Vegasand One Tree Hill. To date, he has composedabout 350 themes for Bold.“Most scenes are two people talking ina room,” Nordstrom says, telling the storysimply with a guitar, light strings and a keyboard.He keeps the “bigger sound palette”for when the show goes on location.For special episodes shot in Dubai andAbu Dubai, Nordstrom had fun creatingmore exotic sounds. “I wrote music with Arabicand Middle Eastern flavors, with morepercussive instruments,” and sounds indigenousto the region. He scored the musicto the picture, unlike a typical score, whichis not always written for a specific scene.He plays piano, guitar and bass, and bringsprofessional musicians to his home studiowhen it’s time to record. “It’s just big enoughto work with all my equipment. The recordingbooth is just big enough for drums.”If the name Nordstrom sounds familiar,you are correct. Nordstrom hails from Seat-John Nordstrom proudly displays his Emmy.tle, where the family business is the wellknowndepartment store, founded by Nordstrom’sgreat-grandfather, John Nordstrom.His dad, John, worked his way up fromthe stockroom to co-chairman, and was“responsible for the most expansion andgrowth in company history,” he says, notingthat three cousins now run the company.Nordstrom has a strong work ethic,which may have begun when he worked atthe Bellevue, Washington store for sevensummers. “I started in the stockroom, thenchildren’s shoes, then young ladies shoes.I loved it. It’s a great company.” He cameto USC to “follow my dream.”Though he certainly could have had a careerat Nordstrom, “My dad and mom werecompletely behind me going for it, eventhough entertainment was foreign to them.”Nordstrom’s success has come from puttinghis best effort into every project heworks on. “When I started out, I did thesame exact job whether I was getting paid$500 or $20,000. I tell my kids, ‘Do yourbest every time.’”Currently, he’s working on a TBS comedy,Your Family or Mine, starring RichardDreyfuss, and The Fighting Season, a documentaryseries created by Rick Schroederabout the Special Operations Forces inAfghanistan, which will debut May 19 onDirectTV.Nordstrom has lived in the Palisadeswith his wife, Jennifer, since 1992. Theyhave four children, Riley, 21, Claire, 18,Jack, 15, and Will, 12.“After you’ve been doing it for a longtime, you realize what’s important,” Nordstromsays. “I look back and see that I’vedone really good work, no matter what washappening behind the scenes. It all seemsto work out in the end.”HOMES &GARDENSSpecial Section—May 20, 2015Place Your Ads NOW in theFull-Color Pages, Full-Color AdsDistribution to the entire 90272 PalisadesCommunity (by US Mail to 13,300 addresses& 1,200 distribution around town)Special Section Pricing(Call for details)Make your Ad Reservation Today!Ad Space Reservation Deadline: May 8Camera-ready Ad Artwork Deadline: May 12(ads must be supplied by advertiser)Contact for Information:Jeff Ridgway at (310) 573-0150Grace Hiney at (310) 454-7383Jeff Parr at (310) 454-7741