Flavorlab Composes Original Music for Nonprofit Films in the Kym Rapier Foundation’s Africa Campaign
NEW YORK, NY — September 9, 2026 — Flavorlab composed original music for nonprofit films produced for the Kym Rapier Foundation. The global philanthropic organization backs grassroots partners across Africa, Asia, and the United States. Partners Erik Blicker and Glenn Schloss wrote and produced the scores for a large share of the campaign’s vignettes. In fact, the two shaped the sound of the series from its first cue to its last.
The Foundation states its mission plainly. It exists to uplift the world’s most vulnerable through compassion, connection, commitment, and sustained community support. Moreover, its rallying cry runs just four words long — love, bold, belief, action. Therefore the music had to carry conviction rather than pity from the very first cue.
Original Music for Nonprofit Films, Written Story by Story
Every vignette visits a different community and a different kind of work. Because of that range, no single theme could carry the whole campaign. Instead, Blicker and Schloss built a flexible palette. So each film got its own instrumentation, its own tempo, and its own point of view.
The Foundation’s partner programs vary widely. For example, some teach children in classrooms, while others restore sight, protect reefs, or put instruments in young hands. As a result, the score had to travel from quiet and intimate to wide and celebratory, often inside two minutes.
The results lean adventurous. Percussion drives many of the cues, while melodies stay open and hopeful. The arrangements also leave room for the voices on screen. Above all, the team avoided the soft, pitying underscore that so often shows up in charitable work.
Credit belongs to the wider creative team too. Flavorlab worked closely with Emmy award-winning filmmaker, Toby Oppenheimer, editor Rich Campbell and line producer, Jeremy Schaffer across the campaign. Oppenheimer brought the company onto the project, and the two have also collaborated before on several high-profile productions including Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown and HBO Films The Nine Lives of Marion Barry
“This is some of the most fun and adventurous writing we have done. Toby has also brought us onto some terrific projects over the years. Meanwhile, the creative team he pulled together here made the work a joy. Ultimately, I could not be prouder of where it landed.”
— Glenn Schloss, Partner, Flavorlab
Why Scoring Matters for Mission-Driven Storytelling
Music sets pace and signals tone. Indeed, it tells a viewer how to feel before anyone on screen speaks. Therefore Flavorlab treated each piece as a short film in its own right rather than one episode in a series. As a result, the Foundation has footage it can cut, share, and reuse across many channels.
Meanwhile, demand for original music for nonprofit films keeps climbing, since foundations now invest in storytelling of their own. However, library tracks rarely fit the specific rhythm of a place. A custom score solves that. In addition, it hands a campaign a sound that belongs to no one else.
About the Kym Rapier Foundation
The Kym Rapier Foundation supports grassroots organizations in the United States and around the world. Specifically, its programs span education, health care, disability services, and conservation. In short, the Foundation believes that big change begins with small acts. Learn more at kymrapierfoundation.org.
About Flavorlab
Flavorlab is a full-service audio post-production and music house with studios in New York City and Fall Village, Connecticut. The team composes, records, mixes, and masters sound for brands, networks, agencies, and independent filmmakers. That work ranges from broadcast series to original music for nonprofit films. Notably, its work has appeared on HBO, NBC, ESPN, PBS, and Hallmark Channel. Learn more at flavorlab.com.
Media Contact
Glenn Schloss, Partner, Flavorlab
gs@flavorlab.com