Composer Mikel Hurwitz will keynote HFC Partners Breakfast

HFC Partners:

Please register for the Partners Breakfast by Friday, April 4

Hollywood composer and music producer Mikel Hurwitz will be the keynote speaker at HFC’s annual Partners Breakfast in the Student Center Pavilion (Building M on the main campus) on Tuesday, April 8, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The theme of this year’s breakfast is “Visual, Performing, and Media Arts – with special highlights on Music, Theatre, and Radio.”

“I had the pleasure of meeting Mikel at a film conducting workshop in Costa Rica last summer. His work displayed his understanding of beauty in simplicity. His warmth as a person was equally striking. When I was asked to find a keynote speaker for this event, I immediately thought of him,” said HFC Director of Music Anthony Lai, who invited Hurwitz to the College.

Making music since he was 2 years old

Hurwitz has been involved in music not long after he could walk. When he was 2, a picture of him playing the drums in a music class for toddlers appeared in the Toronto Star.

Hurwitz studied piano at The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto until he was 13. He taught himself how to play guitar by ear and improvising. When Hurwitz was 15, he was invited to his first film scoring session, paving the way for his future career. For the rest of his teens, Hurwitz juggled playing clarinet and bass clarinet in orchestras with playing piano, synthesizers, and keyboards in jazz, funk, hiphop, and reggae bands around Toronto.

Hurwitz enrolled at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, where he studied music. In his final year, Hurwitz participated in an academic exchange program to Oaxaca, Mexico, where he would later return after graduating and become a human rights activist. Afterward, he co-produced documentaries from small villages throughout Mexico. The short films would become his first foray into writing music for motion pictures.

Returning to Toronto, Hurwitz scored numerous documentary shorts, while playing in bands, producing albums, and becoming more enthralled with learning the art, craft, and language of film music. In 2011, he graduated from the film scoring program at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Working alongside Danny Elfman before going out on his own

In 2015, Hurwitz moved to Los Angeles, where he began working as a synth programmer for iconic film composer Danny Elfman, best known for his musical scores on The Simpsons and numerous Tim Burton movies, including Batman, Batman Returns, and Edward Scissorhands. In 2016, Hurwitz became Elfman’s main assistant, a position he held until 2021, participating on Elfman’s production team for such films as The Grinch, Dumbo, and Justice League.

At the same time, Hurwitz’s career as a composer in his own right blossomed. He has composed scores for numerous Hallmark Channel movies. He won his first Big Score award for his work on the 2015 documentary Ron Taylor: Dr. Baseball, which is about a Major League pitcher who became a doctor after his playing career ended. He also scored 2017’s Gente-fied: The Digital Series, which was featured at the Sundance Film Festival and later purchased by Netflix. Since that time, he has scored more than 40 movies across six continents.

In 2024, Hurwitz was a fellow at the Los Angeles Film Conductors Intensive, where he composed and conducted the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra at Warner Bros. Pictures in L.A. and recorded his first orchestral suite. Later that year, he conducted the Costa Rica National Philharmonic Orchestra, performing his song, “IRIS.” Most recently, he scored the documentary Soul of a Nation, directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz, which takes a nuanced look at polarization in Israel and the Middle East.

Hurwitz is married to classical pianist Irina Bazik, with whom he has two children.

“I’m thrilled to bring Mikel’s success story to HFC. He’s an example of how hard work, dedication to education and self-growth, and sensitivity to human connection in the arts is all essential to achieving your goals,” said Lai.

Register by April 4

The Partners Breakfast event is designed for high school counselors, teachers, influencers, and community partners to raise awareness and help your college-bound students make informed decisions about their future. We are excited to highlight opportunities that will prepare your students for a career in visual, performing, and media arts – or any area that interests them.

At this breakfast, you will also have the opportunity to tour the following facilities in the MacKenzie Fine Arts Center (Building F on the main campus):

• The Recording Arts Studio
• The Black Box Studio Theatre
• The new podcast studios
• The Rick L. Goward Band Room

“We have a dynamic keynote speaker and performer to add to the excitement,” said Lai. “Don’t miss out on this opportunity to connect, learn, relax, and explore the vibrant world of opportunities in the arts and media at HFC!”

While this event is free, space is limited. See link at the top of this page to register.

For questions or more information about the Partners Breakfast, contact recruiting@hfcc.edu.