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(Santa Barbara, CA) The Santa Barbara Choral Society is thrilled to announce the world premiere of a new composition written for the organization’s “An American Holiday” concert at 3:00 pm, December 14 at Trinity Lutheran Church. Julia Marie Newmann, an ASCAP award-winning composer recognized for her work in both television and film, has composed an emotional piece exploring the mysterious/haunting flavors of winter, and also its beauty and magical nature. Lyrics were created by local poet Elizabeth Spies.
The Choral Society singers got their first look at Ms. Newmann’s music at their weekly rehearsal at the Music Academy’s Lehmann Hall. Artistic Director/Conductor JoAnne Wasserman was excited and enthusiastic about both the music and the singers’ response.
Tickets to the concert are available online at sbchoral.org.
About the composer:
Julia Marie Newmann is an award-winning composer known for her emotive and cinematic contributions to television, film, and live performance. She is best recognized for scoring nine seasons of FOX’s hit series Bones, collaborating with four-time Emmy-winning composer, Sean Callery. Her work on Bones earned her four ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards (2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016) and a nomination for Best Primetime Television Music at the 2011 Hollywood Music in Media Awards.
Beyond Bones, Julia has contributed music to other major network series including The Finder, Doubt, and Medium, plus her music is regularly featured in episodes of Dateline NBC. Together with her husband and fellow composer, Cody Westheimer, she co-founded New West Studios, where they collaborate on a wide range of projects—most notably, scoring acclaimed documentaries focused on environmental and social impact, such as The Story of Plastic and Let Elephants Be Elephants. She worked under legendary composer, James Newton Howard, assisting and orchestrating for major films such as Michael Clayton, The Great Debaters, and The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep.
In 2023, Julia and Cody brought their talents to the concert stage, co-creating and producing a summer performance at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden that merged music, nature, and community.
Julia earned her Bachelor of Music degree in composition from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, where she also completed USC’s renowned Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television program. During her studies, she received the BMI Award for Film Scoring and was later selected for the prestigious ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop.
Julia continues to compose for film, television, and the concert stage as a freelancer, and she regularly performs as a mezzo-soprano with the Santa Barbara Choral Society.
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