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Live chat with the genius that is Jeff Atmajian

I met arranger, orchestrator and composer Jeff Atmajian at Abbey Road studios in November, while visiting past Harmonious World guests Michael Shapiro and Danae Xanthe Vlasse. Jeff kindly agreed to be interviewed by me in person, so we met in Islington a few weeks later, while he was finishing conducting a recording for the UK TV show 'Call the Midwife'.



Jeff is intensely interesting and finding questions to ask him was a breeze. He has worked on many film scores and those for some of the best-known film and TV composers in California and London. The tracks you hear at the start and finish of the show are from 'Creation: Once Upon All Time' by Carol Schuller Milner, but there are numerous tracks I could have selected as examples of his creative work.

Thanks to Jeff for sparing time to join me in conversation for Harmonious World and sharing the tracks alongside our chat.

We also discuss his extensive and fascinating IMDb listing. I hope you enjoy listening to our chat and the background noise isn't too much of a distraction: this conversation really was a joy.

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