A life-long musician, John Avarese began studying classical piano at the age of four and by the age of seven he was performing recitals with classical music ensembles. Eventually, John started a music production company that utilized computer-based technology to produce original music for a wide range of corporate and commercial clients. He is well known for his ability to produce complex original scores that effectively support the objectives of video producers and filmmakers.
To this date, Avarese has composed over 4000 commissioned scores and recorded an elegant collection of film music, as well as mixing and sound design on hundreds of projects. This includes 83 theatrical feature films, scores of short films, and nine surround sound planetarium features.
John won a 2019-2020 National Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for the PBS series Articulate with Jim Cotter. Articulate is co-produced and presented by PBS39, Lehigh Valley’s PBS station, and distributed by American Public Television (APT).
In 2017 Avarese authored a book (“Post Sound Design”) through Bloomsbury publishing as a practical introduction to the craft of Audio Postproduction.
In 2006, John won the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts Fellowship in Music for Jazz/Blues/World and Non-classical Composition and in 2002 he received a grant from the Philadelphia Independent Film and Video Association (PIFVA) for scoring the Buster Keaton silent film, Cops. He is currently an Program Director and Associate Teaching Professor at Drexel University’s Film and Television program, in the Cinema and Television Department, teaching all aspects of film sound, including Production Sound Recording and Audio Post-Production. Visit www.johnavarese.com to find out more.
2017
Post Sound Design: The Art and Craft of Audio Post Production for the Moving Image
Bloomsbury Academic
2012
Selected Peer-reviewed
Flower, D. The Hudson Review, Volume LXV, Number 1, Spring 2012 “The Beastliness of My Dog Tulip”, Holden, S. The New York Times, August 31, 2010 My Dog Tulip
Selected Features (Scored and Mixed)
Ghostlight 2023
Dreaming of You 2023
Those Who Wait 2023
All iWant For Christmas 2021
The Night Time World 2021
Where the Scary Things Are 2020
Dust Nuggets 2019
The Arrangement 2019
Dead Water 2019 (Saban Entertainment) Judd Nelson, Casper Van Dien
The Bill Murray Stories 2018 (Gravitas Ventures)
Ghostheads 2017 (Netflix)
Death House 2017 Kane Hodder, Michael Berryman, Tony Todd
Courier X 2016 (Amazon Prime) Udo Kier
The Fields 2011 (Fabrication Films) Cloris Leachman, Tara Reid
I Melt With You 2011 (Magnolia) Rob Lowe, Jeremy Piven
My Dog Tulip 2009 (New Yorker Films) Christopher Plummer, Isabella Rosselini
Planetarium Features
Atlas of a Changing Earth 2021
Birth of Planet Earth 2019 Richard Dormer
Faster Than Light 2018 Sean Bean
Solarsuperstorms 2015 Benedict Cumberbatch
Supervolcanoes 2013 Benedict Cumberbatch
Dynamic Earth 2011 Liam Neeson
Selected Shorts (Scored and Mixed)
Calf Rope 2020
The Sound of Waves 2019
Inside Voice 2019
Spit on the Broom 2019
The Quality of Light 2019
Teddy 2019
Lost Dog 2018
The Train 2014 Eli Wallace
A Long Walk 2013 Colman Domingo
A Room Nearby (Animated), Paul Fierlinger. 2006 Peabody Award
Television
Articulate with Jim Cotter (2017-2023 )
United Airlines “Spoiled” (international spot) 2005
Nick Jr. “Amby & Dexter” Interstitials
Sesame Street “Alice Kadeezenberry” series