Frost School of Music's Esteemed Faculty Member Carlos Rafael Scores EMMY Award For 'Queen's Gambit'

The Frost School of Music at the University of Miami congratulates Carlos Rafael Rivera, Asst. Professor and Director of the Media Scoring and Production Program (MSPD) on receiving his second EMMY Award. Professor Rivera was honored in the category of Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series (Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score) for the hit Netflix Series “The Queens Gambit – End Game,” starring Ana Taylor-Joy. The awards ceremony was broadcast on the CBS Television Network live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on September 13, 2021.

This is the second EMMY win for Carlos Rafael Rivera, who also received the prestigious award for his previous collaboration with director Scott Frank on the Netflix Series Godless. You can hear him on the Frost School’s podcast Frost Sessions via this link https://frostsessions.frost.miami.edu/past-episodes/season-01/007/index.htm.   In this episode he interviews colleagues from The Queen’s Gambit, producer Mick Aniceto, and music editor Tom Kramer, who also received an EMMY for his work on the series.

Frost School of Music has made the Hollywood Reporter’s Top 25 Music Schools for Film and TV every year for the last five years. This is in no small part due to our award-winning faculty which includes multiple GRAMMY, EMMY and Pulitzer Prize winning artists and just one of the many reasons students are proud to call themselves #FrostBuilt! as they embark on their own professional career goals!

Carlos Rafael Rivera’s career has spanned several genres of the music industry. He mentored with the incomparable Randy Newman while earning a DMA in Composition at USC’s Thornton School, where he studied with Donald Crockett and Stephen Hartke.??

In addition to his EMMY Award winning scores, his work for film and TV includes Universal Pictures’ A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES, starring Liam Neeson.?? lAs a guitarist, he has performed onstage as the opening act for The Who at the Hollywood Bowl; recorded studio sessions for Island/Def Jam, and Universal Records; as well as had songs featured on ABC’s Scrubs, MTV, and VH-1.??His work for the performing arts has been featured by some of the most prominent ensembles and soloists, including Arturo Sandoval, Colin Currie, Chanticleer, Cavatina Duo, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the American Composers Orchestra (ACO), and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet (LAGQ); commissioned by the Simon Bolivar Youth Symphony and the American Wind Symphony; recorded by Warner, Sony, Naxos, and Cedille labels; and awarded by the Herb Alpert Foundation, the Guitar Foundation of America, BMI, and twice by ASCAP.

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