‘Moonlight’ reflection
Nicholas Britell ’03 can connect his career ascent closely to the many friends he made at Harvard. The composer-pianist will celebrate with several of them this weekend as his score for “Moonlight” competes for the Oscar for best original score. The nomination is one of many successes for Britell since he got his entertainment start as keyboardist in the hip-hop group Witness Protection Program. Britell, who once considered becoming a concert pianist, said the collaborative environment at Harvard continues to frame his career. He spoke to us about campus connections, the class that changed his life, and how a film score can sound like poetry. GAZETTE: How did “Moonlight” happen? BRITELL: I was scoring “The Big Short” in 2015, which was produced by Jeremy Kleiner ’98, co-president of Plan B Entertainment. I had previously worked with him on “12 Years a Slave.” One night we were having dinner, and he was getting...