For the first time in Oscar history, four women are running for governor of the music branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, PvNew has learned.
Lesley Barber, Sharon Farber, Heather McIntosh and Taura Stinson are vying for the seat that will shortly be vacated by composer Michael Giacchino, who has been an Academy governor since 2015.
Laura Karpman became the first woman to serve as a music-branch governor in 2016, and she continues in that role. Charles Bernstein, who has served several terms as a music-branch governor, also continues to serve.
Canadian composer Barber is best known for her music for “Manchester by the Sea,” “Mansfield Park,” “You Can Count on Me” and “Late Night.” She recently collaborated with Mindy Kaling on the TV adaptation of “Four Weddings and a Funeral.”
Israeli-born Farber divides her time between concert music (chamber, choral and symphonic works) and film. A four-time Emmy nominee, she has scored both documentaries and dramas and perhaps best known for her scores for “When Nietzsche Wept,” “Children of the Fall” and “The Dove Flyer.”
Georgia native and indie-film favorite McIntosh performed with such artists as Gnarls Barkley and Lil Wayne before launching her film-scoring career in the early 2000s. Her films include “Z for Zachariah,” “The Art of Self-Defense,” and recently “The L Word: Generation Q.”
Alabama-born Taura Stinson is the sole Oscar nominee among the quartet. She was nominated, along with Mary J. Blige and Raphael Saadiq, for the song “Mighty River” in “Mudbound.” She has also written songs for “Black Nativity,” “Rio 2,” and TV’s “Underground.”
Voting will take place for five days beginning Monday. Approximately 375 music branch members are eligible to vote.
