Film

The High King's Daughter

Kurt, and his USA-based Team, brought the incomparable Morgan Brothers (Galway, Ireland) on-board to produce their new animated music short film, “The High King’s Daughter”.

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    Kurt, once again, partnered with Armada (animation studio – Nashville, Tennessee) to bring this poignant love-story between a beautiful Celtic Princess and Ruairí Uí Néill, a lowly stablehand, to life. Armada’s creativity, artistry, and stunning animation will transport audiences back to a time when Irish Culture and Music flourished and the High Kings ruled from the mighty Rock of Cashel.


    “The High King’s Daughter” – Coming Soon to a Film Festival Near You!  Check this website’s “CALENDAR” Section often for festivals and screening dates. See You at the Movies!

Return To Skye

Kurt fell in love with the Isle of Skye, Scotland, during Spring Break from the University of Bath, some 45 years ago. Kurt has returned to Skye several times since then.

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    It keeps calling him back! Kurt was a British History Major at University. So, when he composed the music and wrote the lyrics for the Return to Skye song, Kurt always knew that it would be about a Scottish Clansman who fought at the Battle of Culloden, survived the melee, and fled to Skye to escape the pursuing British soldiers … just like Bonnie Prince Charlie did.  Once the song was finished, he asked Tim Gorman to orchestrate it. The WJM Palmer Orchestra recorded it in Dublin, Ireland and Jake Morgan conducted. When the soundtrack was ready to go, Mallard Productions, Glasgow, Scotland produced the film. Brent Rogers co-edited the film and Zach Stevens was a producer on the project. The film was shot on location on the Isle of Skye and in the Culloden Battlefield’s ancient, thatched-roofed bothy.  Kurt thanks all involved for contributing to producing such a phenomenally lovely, cinematic, and poignant film.

Dawn At Gougane

Barra

The genesis of the film, Dawn at Gougane Barra, started some 16 years ago when Kurt was visiting Ireland with his brother. Kurt had read that there was an idyllic mountain valley, located a mere hour’s drive west of Cork City. When he started to see Gougane Barra’s valley and lough (lake) unfold before him, Kurt was immediately overcome by its tranquil beauty.

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    The memory of that magical place has never left him. Years later, Kurt was composing an Irish-sounding song that had the feel of a sunrise. He remembered that beautiful valley he’d visited so long ago and named the new piece, Dawn at Gougane Barra.


    When Kurt decided that he wanted to make a film about Gougane Barra, he knew that there was only one person he wanted to orchestrate the piece – Jake Morgan! Jake is Ireland’s leading composer of Film and Theater Music. And as a huge added plus, Jake and his brother, Luke (a renowned poet and writer), own Morgan Brothers, a Galway-based film/theater production company. Jake arranged the score that was played by the Will Palmer Orchestra and recorded at Dublin’s world-famous Windmill Lane Studios. With the recording in hand, the Portland and Galway teams went to Gougane Barra for the shoot, where Luke artfully captured some stunningly jaw-dropping footage. When the filming was completed and synced up with the music, the beautiful film, Dawn at Gougane Barra, took flight.

The Moon Followed Me To Falmouth

You never know when musical inspiration will hit. During a visit to Falmouth England, Kurt was enjoying supper at the venerable Falmouth Hotel. When he looked out the window and saw the full moon floating above the sea, he thought to himself, “The Moon Followed Me to Falmouth”.

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    As he was heading back to his room, a melody came to him and he started singing aloud, “The Moon Followed Me to Falmouth, The Moon Followed Me to Falmouth”. So he wouldn’t forget this little snippet of a new song, he rang his home phone in Portland and sang the song on his answering machine. When he got home, he played back his messages and heard the beginnings of a new song, The Moon Followed Me to Falmouth. A couple months later, Kurt finished the song, Tim Gorman arranged it, and the tune was recorded.


    Once Kurt and his team decided to animate the film, they set out to find the best animators on the planet … and they found them – Armada! Located in Nashville, Tennessee, Armada is the premiere animation studio in the USA, if not the world. The collaboration between Kurt’s team, and Armada, created a visually luscious, and musically evocative, “tour de force”. This visually beautiful animated film is reminiscent of the old sea shanties found on the British Isles, a music genre that Kurt loves to listen to and compose. The film also features the outstanding vocals of Will Keating, a renowned singer-songwriter/performer who hails from Falmouth. The story follows an English seafarer as he sings about his past adventures where he sees himself leave Falmouth as a young man, sail The High Seas, fall in love with an island maiden, and return home after an envious moon breaks them apart. To this day, he still wears the necklace she gave him. It is a story that shows somethings you love can become lost, leaving us only mementos and memories of days long gone by.


    The Moon Followed Me to Falmouth had its World Premiere at the Phoenix Theatre in Falmouth, England on August 8, 2022. It was an honor to share the film with the people of Falmouth, the place that inspired its creation.

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Photo By: John Doe
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Photo by: John Doe
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Highland Home

The story of the Highland Home film began when Kurt and his brother visited Brodick Castle, located on the breathtaking Scottish Isle of Arran. As they moved from room to room, Kurt stopped to chat with one of the guides in the castle’s ornate Drawing Room.

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    The room was magnificent with its heraldic ceiling, historic family portraits, priceless furnishings, and its glorious grand piano. As the brothers were heading into the next room, the guide asked a visitor if she played piano, and she said she did not, at which point Kurt’s brother proclaimed loudly, while pointing at Kurt, “He does!”   


    So, Kurt was invited to play the piano in what was to become a spontaneous mini-concert. He played two of his own, Celtic-inspired, compositions. When Kurt finished, the guide and the other visitors all gave him a boisterous round of applause that rang throughout the castle. That wonderful experience of playing his own music in an historic Scottish castle became the inspiration for Highland Home’s melody. Later, when he added lyrics and was having the song professionally recorded, it sounded so good that he asked the musical arranger, the audio engineer, and the vocalist if they might want to make a music video. The answer was a resounding “Yes.”

     

    Kurt, with the help of his Producers and Director, brought together a phenomenally-talented group of professionals to work on the Highland Home film. While researching where the team and crew might film, a ruggedly-scenic part of the Oregon Coast was discovered that looked very reminiscent of Scotland. The weather gods where with them, as they filmed. Upon completion, Highland Home was set to hit the international film festival circuit.  But, plans were thwarted as COVID made festivals move online. But, even with those challenges. Highland Home won 54 awards/mentions worldwide. 

     

    Kurt is forever grateful to the cast, crew, and team that worked on Highland Home. That “wee” film propelled Kurt forward in his musical career, making all the collaborations and projects that have succeeded it possible.