Biography

Youthful indiscretions and ill-fated wanderings found Paul Brill journeying as an herbal smokes salesman, street performer, valet, corporate errand boy, traveling musician, and a marine biology instructor on dusty western streets. Hopes dashed and races run, he returned home to his native NYC seeking firmer ground. He found meaning and sustenance in his work with disadvantaged children in Harlem, yet after several years again felt the song siren stirring in his heart and reembarked on a songwriting and recording career. Experimental forays into music production and orchestration soon led him to land commissions in film, TV and theater, where his efforts drewquick notice and earned him multiple Emmy nominations and an award for being the most aired composer on TV. The ensuing years found Brill leaning-in-hard on his composing, resulting in his scoring over 100 films, series and plays that would carry him around the world to screen, perform and conduct his works. Recently, during quieter and lonelier times, the songwriting spirit reawakened with fury and fired out a wildly ambitious new musical breakthrough/breakdown: The Cost of Believing - a theatrical lyric-ballet, song-cycle, fever-dream bound soon for a stage of some making. Written, recorded and produced in a matter of weeks, The Cost of Believing is an examination of physical and emotional isolation, the lengths we travel to find fulfillment, and the revival we confront in the pursuit of the promise of light.