Acclaimed Los Angeles session musician and composer Dr. Michael Lehmann Boddicker will explore the roots of human creativity in the age of artificial intelligence in a multimedia presentation at Drake University.
“The Nature of Creativity: An Evening With Electronic Music Pioneer Michael Lehmann Boddicker” will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. in the Sussman Theater of the Olmsted Center, 2875 University Ave., Des Moines, IA 50311. The event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the Drake School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Slay Fund for Social Justice.
Boddicker, a Cedar Rapids native, has played synthesizer, vocoder, accordian and keyboards on albums by many notable musicians, including Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Randy Newman, the Manhattan Transfer, Cheap Trick, Earth Wind & Fire and Olivia Newton-John. His work appeared on the soundtracks to such films as “Saturday Night Fever,” “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Roots,” “The Wiz” and “The Hunt for Red October.” He composed the scores for “Buckaroo Banzai” and “The Adventures of Milo and Otis,” and won a Grammy Award for the song “Imagination” from the movie “Flashdance.” He continues to write songs and produce films, including projects for Apple and Netflix.
Boddicker is an executive board member of the Society of Composers and Lyricists, and he owns and operates an audio post-production facility, Sol7Post.com.
Boddicker’s appearance is part of a series of events at Drake this spring that will explore human inspiration and innovation. Other visiting professionals will be Peter Otto, entrepreneur and expert in auditory imaging, audio design, acoustics and immersive media technology (March 22); and Teja Bell, New Age musician and Zen master (April 12).
For more information, contact: Kathleen Richardson, dean emerita, Drake School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Kathleen.richardson@drake.edu.