Nami Melumad Receives the David Raksin Award

Composer Nami Melumad. Image: IMDb.

FEBRUARY 20, 2023 – Film and television would not be nearly as effective in their story telling without the music that accompanies what is happening on screen, and Star Trek is clearly no exception. The Trek universe is lucky to have its amazing composers, who have garnered plenty of attention and awards. Most recently, those awards include one that came from the Society of Composers and Lyricists.

The Society presents annual awards in seven categories, and as Billboard reports, one of those awards this year has gone to a Star Trek composer. Nami Melumad was recognized for her work on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds with the David Raksin Award for Emerging Talent. She was up against Dara Taylor for The Invitation, Anna Drubich for Barbarian, Deandre James Allen-Toole for God’s Country, and Esin Aydingoz for Simchas and Sorrows.

In addition to scoring music for SNW, Melumad also scores for Star Trek: Prodigy and did so for the Star Trek: Short Treks second season episode, “Q&A.” She was the first woman to compose the score for a franchise episode.

Nami Melumad had the following to tell us about her reception of the award:

Last Wednesday I was so fortunate to take home the David Raksin Award for Emerging Talent for my score for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds! I'd love to take this opportunity to thank the Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) and its members for appreciating and loving our show as much as I do. 

I’m also grateful to the executive producers, Alex Kurtzman, Henry Alonso Myers, Akiva Goldsman, composer Michael Giacchino, and the teams at The Secret Hideout and Paramount+ for taking a chance on an up and coming composer such as myself, and trusting me with the score for “Q&A,” Prodigy and SNW: the best live-action Trek in years (...I’m not biased at all!). In the spirit of boldly going, I hope more producers and music executives will follow in their footsteps to hire emerging talents. 

A captain is nothing without her crew, and this award is shared with my number 1, Matt Decker; helmsman Jeff Kryka; science officer Tracie Turnbull; operations officer Natalia Goldstein; chief engineers Dennis Sands and Brian Vibberts; navigators Vincent Cirilli and Tom Hardisty; communications officers Whitey Martin, Gina Zimmeti, Reggie Wilson and Connie Boylan; tactical team Nick Cazares, Lisa Janacua, Booker White; our bridge crew Jamie Olivera, Rich Wheeler and everyone at Warner Brothers' scoring stage; medical officers Sandra Glagla and Khara Huhta; counselor Jeff Russo and of course all of our musician shipmates playing the orchestra. 

We just wrapped the score for season 2 of Strange New Worlds, and I can't wait for it to beam up to Paramount+ later this year. 

David Raksin (1912-2004), for whom the Emerging Talent Award was named, was a composer noted for his film and television music and is perhaps best known for his score for Laura (1944).

The Society of Composers and Lyricists was established in 1983 and it has presented annual awards for music in film, television, and other media since 2020. This year was the second for the Raksin Award.

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