Slovak Philharmonia Lucnica chorus Lucnica Choirmaster: Elena Matusova Symphonic Conductor: Peter Breiner Recording engineer: Otto Nopp Mixing Engineer: Armin Steiner Music Editor: Adam Kay Music Editor: Adam Kay, Andrew Silver Music Supervisor and temp score music editor: Andrew Silver Orchestrations: Mark McKenzie, Patrick Russ Concertmaster: Joseph Skorepa Assisstant Sound Engineer: Ladislav Krajcovic, Jan Dosek Recording Coordinators: Ivan Marton, Ivan Paulicka Copyist: Stanley Bartovic BLIZZARD is the story of Katie, a young ice skater, who is befriended by Santa's newest and most magical reindeer; Blizzard. Through their adventures, mishaps and triumphs, they learn the timeless strength of courage and loyalty, the tender sweetness of friendship, and the beauty of selflessness. Christmas of course is the time for celebration, beauty, warmth, generosity, and friendship and I hope those qualities are felt in the notes of this musical score. The Motion Picture Academy chose the music to BLIZZARD to open the Academy Awards Ceremony in it's Diamond Tribute. Blizzard Director LeVar Burton writes: As musically talented as Mark McKenzie is, I believe his most valuable asset as a composer might be his enormous heart. From the very beginning, Mark felt what this movie was about and was able to translate those emotions into a lush, beautiful score. Working with Mark on the Blizzard score was truly a highlight and one of the best experiences of my career. His amazing talent combined with unerring instincts as a composer and remarkable flexibility as a collaborator, made him this director's dream. PEACE LeVar Mark McKenzie Biography: Although Mark McKenzie earned a Masters and Doctorate in Music Composition from the USC Thornton School of Music, his best training has been composing and orchestrating over 100 films. Directors speak of Mark’s incredibly stirring scores with words such as: “timeless,” “epic,” and “intensely human." Respected by his peers, Mark was invited into the prestigious Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Music branch. Mark’s original scores are commercially available through Warner Bros Word Records, Varese Sarabande, Intrada, itunes, and amazon. Mark's orchestrations are available on over 70 soundtracks, including the Academy Award winning, multi platinum DANCES WITH WOLVES, platinum NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, LILO AND STITCH, SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE and SISTER ACT, Academy nominated MEN IN BLACK, GOODWILL HUNTING, THE PATRIOT, blockbusters such as SPIDERMAN, MR. & MRS. SMITH, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, ICE AGE and THE MUMMY RETURNS. For more information you are invited to vist www.markmckenzie.org or join the Mark McKenzie appreciation page on Facebook.