2019
Avengers: Endgame
As the culmination of Marvel’s Phase 3 projects and over a decade of storytelling, Alan Silvestri’s score for Avengers: Endgame carried a great deal of weight. Like the film itself, it was a behemoth effort.
Mark has been involved in Marvel films for years, and Endgame was no exception. He orchestrated and conducted a great deal of the score, and like every project, it provided unique opportunities to think creatively.
In one notable session—the final recording session—someone suggested a vocal solo. The problem, however, was that time was running short, and Marvel did not want to cover an overtime session.
Mark asked the choir director to pick a soloist, and the copyist quickly prepared a part as there were only a few minutes left in the session.
Mark began conducting, and after a mistake on the first entry, the soloist was able to record his part on his second pass, just before the session ended.
It was a small moment in an extensive project, but it exemplifies Mark’s attention to musicians and the reality that everybody involved in a film score is collaborating to make music. Regardless of the scale or urgency of a project, that spirit of care is necessary for the final result to be memorable and enjoyable for everyone involved.