SCORING IN HOLLYWOOD: If any of the catchy theme music from the hit TV show “Mad Men” sticks in your head, blame David Carbonara. The Bridgewater native, who has lived in Los Angeles since 2004, is composer for the series, and has scored many other shows and movies, preferring the anonymity of being the music maker behind the scenes.
“I like it that way,” Carbonara said with a laugh.
He credits his success in large part to upbringing: His late mother, Elizabeth (Sheehan) Carbonara, was always playing the piano at home when he and his five siblings were growing up.
And when he was an eighth-grader in Bridgewater and playing trombone, he sat in rehearsals for the Bridgewater State College Big Band, under the late Vincent H. Gannon, at which noted musician/instructors from Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory would come down to prepare for the band’s twice-a-year performances.
“That was a great experience for an eighth-grader,” said Carbonara, 57, adding that Whitman-born drummer Steve Smith (of the band Journey) also played. “I did that all through high school at Bridgewater-Raynham.”
Music is part of the lives of his siblings as well, including brothers John, a music editor in New York City, and Stephen, who founded and runs the American School of Modern Music in Paris. In their youth, the brothers were part of a rock band, East Coast Muscle, that performed from Maine to Rhode Island in the 1970s, Carbonara said.
Carbonara was a music editor early in his career, working with movie directors Milos Forman, Ron Howard, and Lasse Hallstrom. In New York, he met his wife, movie director Daisy Mayer, thus starting another collaboration: Carbonara scored Mayer’s films, “Madeline” and “Some Girls.”
His other recent work including scoring “Vegas,” a one-season CBS series starring Dennis Quaid and Lowell-born Michael Chiklis. Carbonara has also scored movies such as director David O’Russell’s first film, “Spanking the Monkey.”
He’s currently scoring “Mad Men” for next season, the last for the series. After that, he said, he’s scouting out more work as a freelance composer.
“It’s a very competitive business,” he said. “It’s hard to make a living. I feel very fortunate to have this show.”
Carbonara calls these times “the golden age of television; TV has come a long way,” with much more opportunity for writers and musicians and ancillary artists to make a living.
“TV has a wider scope than movies,” he said. “You have to invest the time to watch. And believe it or not, that’s my New Year’s resolution every year, to watch more TV. I get busy and don’t keep up, but I do need to know what’s going on out there.”
He usually comes back to Massachusetts at Christmas, with his wife and their two children. His dad, 94-year-old Joseph Carbonara, lives in Norwell, “still with it, still walking around snapping his fingers,” David Carbonara said. A brother lives in Halifax, another in Scituate. But when he’s home, no one asks him to entertain.
“My family knows I’m not a great piano player,” he said. “They don’t bug me about it.”
To check out Carbonara’s work, visit www.strongplacemusic.com
BUSINESS BRIEFS: Jeannette S. Lanza of Kingston, president of the Braintree-based H.J. Knight International Insurance Agency, was named 2013-2014 Woman of the Year by the National Association of Professional Women. Lanza is a member of the association’s Quincy and Boston chapters, and has more than 25 years of experience in the industry.
Anna Bettencourt of Plymouth was promoted to category specialist at Duxbury-based VERC Enterprises, a convenience store and gasoline station operator. In the newly created role, Bettencourt oversees the growth and development of specific product lines at VERC locations. She’s been with the company for 16 years, starting as a part-time cashier. Most recently, she was a district manager.
Paul E. Kandarian can be reached at pkandarian@aol.com.