Yesterday I wrote briefly about the challenges of being a film composer – trying to write memorably good music without overshadowing the screen action.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Challenger Disaster. I searched around, trying to find a piece of music that might appropriately capture the mood of the tragedy. I did much better than I expected.

American composer Jasha Klebe is currently working in Hollywood, scoring music for TV and movies. This is his theme music for a National Geographic documentary on the Challenger explosion, which aired only a few days ago. It’s perfect music for its purpose – it paints the emotional response of a country who has watched their heroes perish on live TV. The music is also good enough to stand alone, with no video images to accompany it – perhaps as a slow movement theme in a symphony.