By Peter Bloesch
Dr. Buddy Baker and Peter Bloesch on the campus
of the University of Southern California
I would like to publicly acknowledge the important and lasting contributions that Dr. Buddy Baker has made to the world of film music. I consider myself very fortunate to have studied film composition under his masterful and nurturing leadership in the "Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television" Advanced Studies Program at the University of Southern California, and I will forever be grateful for his influence in my life.
Dr. Baker was an extremely accomplished musician who had much to be proud of, and yet you would never know it from his gentle, unassuming demeanor. His achievements — great as they were — were overshadowed by his humility.
Upon meeting him for the first time, what would impress you right away were his caring and compassionate attitude toward others, his youthful verve and vitality, his love of life, and his sincere desire to help others achieve their goals. Music was very important to him, but even more important to him were the people in his life; I have learned much from his example of valuing people more than success.
Since he was a promoter of others, and not of himself, you would not necessarily become fully acquainted with his long list of impressive accomplishments, some of which I will highlight:
He was one of the main forces behind the Disney success story:
During his 28 years as Director of Music at Walt Disney, he was involved in the scoring of nearly 200 Disney movies and TV shows (including "The Mickey Mouse Club"), and was the composer/conductor of much of the music for Disneyland, Walt Disney World, EPCOT, and Tokyo Disneyland.
He demonstrated superior teaching and leadership skills:
From his early days of teaching arranging and orchestration at Los Angeles City College in the 1940's (one of his students was Jerry Goldsmith), to his position as Program Director for the "Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television" program at USC (in which he was active right up until his death), Dr. Baker was the consummate teacher, achieving the perfect balance between warmth and professionalism.
His talent was recognized in many ways throughout his life, including:
winning the President's Award from the Film Music Society for outstanding contribution to film music education at the USC Thornton School of Music; receiving the "Diamond Circle Award" from the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters for his many years of radio and television broadcasting; being awarded the National Fantasy Fan Club "Disney Legend Award" in 1995; and earning the ASCAP Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999.
When Dr. Baker died on July 26, 2002, at the age of 84, the world lost a great musician, a great teacher, and a great man. Even though Buddy leaves behind a remarkable legacy of music, I believe that his most significant legacy is the fact that he touched so many people's lives in such a positive and lasting way, and that he made them better people for having known him.
I owe a great deal to Buddy, and I hope that this tribute will serve, in some small way, to honor a man who is most worthy of our esteem. I feel privileged to have called him my teacher, my mentor, and most especially, my friend. May the memory of this fine man live on.
