Francis Edward Fitzpatrick, more commonly known as Frank Fitzpatrick, is an American composer, music producer, filmmaker and social entrepreneur. Fitzpatrick is best known for his career in the film and music industry and is also the founder and director of the non-profit EarthTones.
Early life
Fitzpatrick was born in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan's music and business schools in 1983. While there, he worked for Eclipse Jazz, a student-run body striving for better exposure of jazz artists through the production of live shows in the Ann Arbor area.
Music and film career
Early career
Fitzpatrick relocated to Los Angeles in 1983 to work for record producerRichard Perry of Planet Records. He started working as a music editor for television in 1984, initially as a supervising music editor on the series Alvin and the Chipmunks and Crime Story, among others. Fitzpatrick later expanded into film music by working as a music editor for the film composerGeorges Delerue, going on to co-produce an orchestral retrospective of Delerue's film scores in 1991, The London Sessions, which included a track co-written by Fitzpatrick and performed by Carl Anderson entitled "Between You and Me."
Soundtracks
Throughout the nineties, Fitzpatrick worked as a film composer, music supervisor and executive music producer in Hollywood. The first film score he is credited for is that of Nuns on the Run, the 1990 comedy featuring Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane. Further contributions in the 90s included soundtracks for the films Friday,Pirates of Silicon Valley and In Too Deep, as well as working as the composer and music director for ''The Larry Sanders Show.
Songwriter and music producer
In 2010, Fitzpatrick was nominated for a Grammy Award for the Anthony Hamilton song “Soul Music”, the title track for the 2008 film Soul Men, in the category ‘Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance’. That year, in partnership with Terry McBride, Fitzpatrick produced Yoga Revolution, a compilation CD to promote yoga and meditation programs in schools. The album featured recordings from Sheryl Crow and Sting, among others. His 2017 single “Call On Me” and music video from Universal’s film Bring It On: Worldwide were part of a non-profit initiative to promote music and arts for schools.
Filmmaker
In 2001, Fitzpatrick directed and produced the short filmJungle Jazz: Public Enemy #1, which premiered at the 2001 Berlin International Film Festival, winning The Silver Bear Award for best Short Film. The film won additional awards in Sydney, São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Kansas City and Santa Cruz. In 2007, Fitzpatrick completed his first animated short filmThe Rebel Angel. The majority of his film work has come through music videos. Amongst his work are the 2011 videos “Hip Hop Nation” and “Express Yourself”. In 2018, Frank was an executive producer for the romantic comedy Love Jacked.
Philanthropy and social entrepreneurship
EarthTones
Fitzpatrick is the founder of EarthTones, a non-profit arts organization. In 2012, EarthTones launched the WHY Music project, an initiative to provide people with a way to best utilize the benefits of music in all the areas of their lives. WHY Music began with a series of articles in the Huffington Post, and expanded to include a series of live talks, round tables, and workshops. That year, EarthTones partnered with City of Hope to launch Yoga For Hope in Los Angeles, in support of people dealing with life-threatening diseases. In 2013, Fitzpatrick was nominated as a Gifted Citizen from the Cuidad de las Ideas for the WHY Music project's potential to positively impact over 10 million lives. The project later expanded further with a program tailored for schools. In 2016, Fitzpatrick collaborated with humanitarian photographer Lisa Kristine to create the video "A Prayer for Freedom", part of the End Slavery Campaign initiated by Pope Francis and a coalition of spiritual leaders from around the world. The video premiered at the Vatican in Rome, the House of Lords in Westminster, and at the opening of the Enslaved Exhibition at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Ohio.
Social entrepreneurship
In 2011, Fitzpatrick attended the Executive Program at Singularity University. The following year, he helped facilitate Singularity University's inaugural Hollywood Executive Program. In 2014, he joined the faculty of Exponential Medicine at the university, an annual conference discussing the implications of breakthrough technologies on healthcare. In 2017 he was a speaker at the conference, presenting as an expert on music and health. Along with Director of Pepperdine’s Center for Media and Entertainment, Craig Detweiler, Fitzpatrick created and hosted the 2014 International Forum Education: Disrupted at Pepperdine University. Fitzpatrick has been invited as a delegate to the 2012 Skoll World Forum for Social Entrepreneurs, the 2014 UK Arts and Humanities Research Council’s forum on Video Games, Music Creativity and Education, and the 2017 Novus Summit at the United Nations. He has also been a keynote speaker at the TEDx and Esalen.