His own albums are Sunrise Over New York (2004), Late Night Christmas (2009), Satya (2011, with Bill Buchen & Stomu Takeishi), Ashokan Memories (2013), Inner Circle (2014), First Light (2015), The Road Home (2017), Piano Improvisations, Vol. 1,Carpe Noctem, Little Paws On The Walls (all 2018), Piano Improvisations, Vol. 2 (2019) and Ambient Tuesdays (2021). Calandra has a master's degree in Music Composition from Queens College, City University of New York[1] and teaches Audio/MIDI Sequencing, Film Scoring and Music Composition at its Aaron Copland School of Music at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.[2]
Calandra has scored over 90 feature and short films and documentaries.[4] For film scores and compositions, he uses a variety of instrumentation and styles. He has stated that most of the film music he writes "has a combination of orchestral, choral, piano, ethnic and electronic elements..." but he often alters his approach for certain films. As an example, for his score for Pat XO, an ESPN documentary on college basketball coach Pat Summitt, Calandra's score is based on acoustic guitars and live percussion. Calandra stated that for this score, he created a "roots oriented," "small ensemble" sound to match the down-to-earth qualities of the film.[5]
One of Calandra's most well-known works is his score for the 2004 film Unknown Soldier by director Ferenc Tóth. For this score, which primarily features instrumental jazz, Calandra performed with saxophonist Dale Kleps, trumpeter Bud Burridge, bassist Kermit Driscoll, and drummer Howard Joines.[6] Dr. Ana Isabel Ordonez of JazzReview praised the recording, stating that "Unknown Soldier's jazz score highlights bravery and the human social fracture in our society."[7]
In 2011, Calandra composed music for the film Rise. Commissioned by U.S. Figure Skating, the film, a Fathom event that played in select theaters, starred Patricia Clarkson and Dakota Fanning, with appearances by American skaters like Dorothy Fleming, Michelle Kwan, and Scott Hamilton.[8] It commemorated members of the U.S. figure skating team killed in the 1961 crash of Sabena Flight 548. Calandra composed an orchestral score as well as an original song which plays during the opening title sequence of the film.[9]
He composed the music for the Kennedy Center Honors in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019[10] which airs every year on CBS.[11][12] In 2020, Calandra composed three nights of the music for the 2020 Democratic National Convention.[10] In 2024 he composed music for 3 biopics about Vice President Kamala Harris that were shown during the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
