Amanda Kramer is a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

-based American composer and touring musician. Kramer first gained prominence as a member of the techno-pop band

Information Society An information society is a society or subculture where the usage, Content creation, creation, information distribution, distribution, manipulation and information integration, integration of information is a significant activity. Its main drive ...

and later performed with other

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

and new wave groups such as

10,000 Maniacs 10,000 Maniacs are an American alternative rock band founded in 1981. They have released nine studio albums, six EPs, and five live albums. They achieved their most significant success between 1987 and 1993, when they released four albums that c ...

World Party World Party was a musical group, predominantly the solo project of its sole consistent member, the songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Karl Wallinger.

, and

the Golden Palominos The Golden Palominos were an American musical group headed by drummer, producer, arranger, and composer Anton Fier, first formed in 1981. Aside from Fier, the Palominos membership fluctuated, with only bassist Bill Laswell and guitarist Nick ...

. She has been the keyboardist for

the Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are an English rock band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler (singer), Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from ...

since 2002.

Background and family

Her parents were Beverly Dennis and Russell Dennis, both of whom were actors throughout the 1950s. Beverly Dennis was cast in supporting roles in several Hollywood features, including William A. Wellman's classic 1951 proto-feminist western ''

Westward the Women ''Westward the Women'' is a 1951 American western film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Robert Taylor, Denise Darcel and John McIntire. Plot In 1851, the working men of Whitman's Valley in California are lonely. Local proprietor Ro ...

'' and

Jean Negulesco Jean Negulesco (born Ioan Negulescu; – 18 July 1993) was a Romanian Americans, Romanian-American film director and screenwriter.Oliver, Myrna"Jean Negulesco 1900–1993 ''The Los Angeles Times'', 22 July 1993. He first gained notice for his Fi ...

's drama ''

Take Care of My Little Girl ''Take Care of My Little Girl'' is a 1951 drama film directed by Jean Negulesco and starring Jeanne Crain, Dale Robertson, Mitzi Gaynor and Jean Peters. The film, shot in Technicolor, is based on the 1950 novel of the same name written by Peggy ...

'' (1951), and appeared regularly on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

(and later

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

) variety hour '' The Red Buttons Show'' (1952–1955). Russell Dennis gained minor roles in

William Castle William Castle (born William Schloss Jr.; April 24, 1914 – May 31, 1977) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is known for the horror film, horror and thriller film, thriller B movie, B-movies he directed durin ...

's mystery drama ''

Hollywood Story ''Hollywood Story'' is a 1951 American mystery film directed by William Castle and starring Richard Conte and Julia Adams. The supporting cast features Richard Egan, Henry Hull, Fred Clark and Jim Backus. The film was an attempt by Universal P ...

'' (1951) and Mark Robson's romantic war picture ''

Bright Victory ''Bright Victory'' is a 1951 American drama romance war film directed by Mark Robson, and starring Arthur Kennedy and Peggy Dow. Plot During World War II, American sergeant Larry Nevins is blinded by a German sniper while fighting in North ...

'' (1951). In the 1950s both Beverly and Russell were

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

from mainstream Hollywood productions due to suspected Communist or Soviet affiliations. In response they soon sought out alternative careers in psychiatry and medicine, respectively.

Solo career

Kramer has released four solo albums, incorporating the genres of world music, classical, experimental, jazz, and ambient: ''Wintermass'' (with Blake Leyh, 1994), ''Samsara'' (1998), ''Fallen Light Renew'' (2004) and ''Under the Sea'' (2011). The latter two albums were inspired by the poetry of

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...

and

T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

, respectively, and feature contributions from

Karl Wallinger Karl Edmond De Vere Wallinger (19 October 1957 – 10 March 2024) was a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. He was best known for leading the band World Party and for his mid-1980s membership of the Waterboys (contributing in parti ...

and Julee Cruise, amongst others.

Film and television composition

Kramer has also composed for film and television. Her work can be heard on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

series ''

Globe Trekker ''Globe Trekker'' (sometimes called ''Pilot Guides'' in Australia, Spain and Thailand, and originally broadcast as ''Lonely Planet'') is a British adventure tourism television series produced by Pilot Productions. The British series was ins ...

'' (later ''

Pilot Guides ''Globe Trekker'' (sometimes called ''Pilot Guides'' in Australia, Spain and Thailand, and originally broadcast as ''Lonely Planet'') is a British adventure tourism television series produced by Pilot Productions. The British series was insp ...

''), and has been featured on various television programs, including the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

documentary ''Cayutaville'' (1998) and ABC's ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of visual perception, vision, but technically rates an animal's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity depends on optical and neural factors. Optical factors of the eye ...

'' (1997), as well as in the feature film ''True Crime'' (1996).

Education

* 2010:

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, California; course in harmonic principles in tonal and atonal music. * 2001–2002:

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

, Bristol; master's diploma in composition for film, television and theater. * 1998–2000:

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

, New York City, New York; Bachelor of Arts degree, emphasis in music. * 1998–1999:

Morley College Morley College is a specialist adult education and further education college in London, England. The college has three main campuses, one in Waterloo on the South Bank, and two in West London namely in North Kensington and in Chelsea, the ...

, London; orchestral conducting with Lawrence Leonard. * 1996–1997:

Mannes School of Music The Mannes School of Music (), originally called the David Mannes Music School and later the Mannes Music School, Mannes College of Music, the Chatham Square Music School, and Mannes College: The New School for Music, is a music conservatory in T ...

, extension, New York; mediaeval notation, orchestration. * 1995: One year Indian classical music study with David Hykes, New York. * 1989–1991:

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

, extension, New York; music theory and analysis with Samuel Zyman. * 1985–1986:

School of the Museum of Fine Arts The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (Museum School, SMFA at Tufts, or SMFA; formerly the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) is a dedicated art school within Tufts University, a private research university in Massa ...

, Boston, Massachusetts; electronic music and video production. * 1983:

San Francisco Conservatory of Music The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California, United States. As of 2024, it had more than 440 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada ...

, California; harpsichord with Laurette Goldberg. * 1980–1983:

University of California at Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located in Monterey Bay, ...

, California; music major, piano with Lena-Liis Kiesel, voice with Paul Hilliard, harpsichord with Linda Burman-Hall. * 1975–1977: Manhattan School of Music Preparatory Division, New York; piano with Sonia Vargas.

References

External links

*
Amanda Kramer at Bandcamp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramer, Amanda Living people American expatriates in England Songwriters from New York (state) American television composers Women television composers Singers from New York City American new wave musicians American synth-pop musicians 21st-century American composers The Psychedelic Furs members The Golden Palominos members 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American composers Information Society (band) members 21st-century American keyboardists American women keyboardists 20th-century American women composers Date of birth unknown 21st-century American women composers 20th-century American singers World Party members