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Having worked 11 years on the project, David Horne ’78 is proud of the musical score he created for the documentary “Lee: Beyond the Battles,” which was shown on national television and now is being made available for purchase on video.
Teaming up with an old colleague and utilizing the skills he honed during his years at Lafayette, Horne composed a series of mood-setting chords and beats to correspond to the story of the strong, feared, and often controversial general of the Confederate Army, Robert E. Lee.
Opportunity arose when Horne and W. Drew Perkins taught at the Taft School, Watertown, Conn., in 1984. When they left Taft at different times to pursue other career options, Horne, who moved on to Japan and Spain to teach English as a Second Language, and Perkins, who went into the film business with Rubicon Productions, decided to try a collaboration in film.
“I think the first tune we played was in 1991,” says Horne, who used a simple approach to putting the music behind the film. “I would get a scene or a set of shots that the director wanted music for and then it either inspired me or confused me.”
First aired on PBS stations in November 2001, the documentary can be purchased through multiple web sites.
Horne believes the program is well worth watching; however, he is quick to acknowledge the difficulty in being objective about something that required so much work. “The commentators in the film are the reigning experts in the field,” he says. “It’s good history.”
Many biographies and documentaries explain the military genius of Lee, but this film goes beyond familiar ground and examines the personal life of the revered leader, from his days as an American soldier, to his leadership in the most damaging war the country has seen, and to his quest as a college president to make peace in a country terribly divided.
Perkins is an alumnus of Washington and Lee University, where Lee served as president from the end of the Civil War until his death in 1870.
“It’s interesting to work with Drew,” Horne says. “Most directors would say, ‘this is the scene –- fit the music around it.’ If he thought a song was good, he would cut the movie around the song.”
Horne felt prepared for the career in music he would undertake as a result of his many opportunities as an undergraduate. A highlight of his Lafayette experience was learning to play violin, as taught by Virginia Melin, wife of Bill Melin, professor of music. He also practiced his piano and organ skills.
An International Affairs graduate, Horne says the things he learned on campus have stayed with him. “Lafayette provided me influences that made me a lifelong student,” he says. “The actual education that I received was learning how to learn.”
Horne credits several professors with having a tremendous impact. He calls history professor Richard Welch, his adviser, “the most riveting classroom lecturer I’ve ever had to this day.” He also names Edward I. Beck, instructor in economics and business, as an influence because of his astute explanation of the profound impact of the national deficit. He appreciated Melin’s impact through his work with Handel’s Messiah, which Horne took part in as a student. Others who played major roles in his Lafayette experience include Ilan Peleg, Dana Professor of Social Sciences; Maresa Fanelli, associate professor of foreign languages and literatures, who taught French; and Ellis Finger, assistant professor of foreign languages and literatures before becoming director of the Williams Center for the Arts.
Horne lived and grew intellectually within the walls of McKelvy House for all but his first semester. He says Lafayette gave him the skills needed for opportunities such as working in Japan and Spain. He says he learned much of the two languages in college, and used them often until about two years ago.
Beginning his eighth year as director of choral music at the Tabor School in Marion, Mass., Horne directs seven choirs, six at Tabor and one at a local Episcopal church. He looks forward to taking his choir on tour this spring to a possible tropical destination.
For six years in the early ‘90s, Horne taught music at Holy Trinity Parochial School in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. He also served as director for a church choir.
A memorable event from his days at Taft is an operetta that he helped put together, “Passion in L.A.,” a farce about the real reason that the Russian Olympic team boycotted the 1980 Olympics.
He began his professional music career in 1981 in the music department of a school in Oneonta, N.Y. This location is where Horne says he learned a lot about conducting and composing.
While enjoying the success of his hard work with the release of the Lee documentary, Horne keeps things in perspective.
“I like it,” he says, “but it’s not my goal in life — I’m still a teacher.”