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As roommates at Currier House, in a space crowded with desks and Hurwitz’s piano, they pushed each other’s artistic boundaries, skipping parties and nights out to hone their respective crafts. Sophomore year the pair left the band, but their friendship deepened. “We were just kind of drawn to each other,” said Hurwitz.

As freshmen they jammed around Boston with their Brit-pop-inspired band “Chester French” - Chazelle on the drums, Hurwitz on a Fender Rhodes electric piano. As a freshman he met Damien Chazelle, a skilled jazz drummer whose budding passion for film foreshadowed the screenplay and director Golden Globes he took home for “La La Land.” A scene from the opening number of the hit musical “La La Land.” Photo by Dale Robinette/LionsgateĪ shared love of music brought the pair together. On the phone recently from Los Angeles, the composer recalled being told a key Harvard takeaway would be “the people you meet.” It was a spot-on prediction. The storyline struck a chord with Hurwitz, whose own dreams of success began taking shape in Cambridge in 2003. The film, a love letter to song-and-dance spectaculars from the ’40s, ’50s, and ’60s, stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as struggling artists who dream of making it big in Hollywood.

On Tuesday, “La La Land” received 14 Oscar nominations, a tie with “Titanic” and “All About Eve” for the most in Academy Award history. “I knew I wanted to study music but I also knew I wanted to go to school with a more diverse group,” said Hurwitz, whose score and original song “City of Stars” for the musical “ La La Land” earned Golden Globes earlier this month, intensifying the Oscars buzz that has been swirling around the movie since the fall. An accomplished pianist, the Los Angeles native wanted more from his college years than countless hours of practice and rehearsals. Justin Hurwitz never even considered conservatory training.

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