News
January 2012
Silent Witness
I've started the new year by working again with composer Sheridan Tongue on the forthcoming new series of Silent Witness, contributing textural electronic elements to the scores for episodes 9, 10, 11 & 12.
Documentary Feature
I am scoring a feature-length documentary, A World Not Ours, by director Mahdi Fleifel, filmed within the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon.
The River
I will be composing the score for the forthcoming drama short The River, by director John Michell (recipient of 'Best Newcomer' at the 2011 John Brabourne Awards).
October 2011
The Origin of Love
I'm currently working on the score for a beautiful animated short film, The Origin of Love, by co-directors
Hoisun Kim and Chohyun Lim.
September 2011
DCI Banks
I worked with composer Sheridan Tongue on his scores for three episodes of the ITV crime drama DCI Banks, creating processed beats and atmospheric electronic textures for Sheridan to incorporate into the music for episodes 2, 5 & 6.
Tim Howar
I've recently been in the studio with singer Tim Howar (Mike & The Mechanics), producing a song by composer Richard Thomas for an independent US feature.
August 2011
Solo Piano Composition Premiered at Presteigne Festival
My solo piano composition Searching was premiered at the
Prestiegne Festival in Wales on August 30th, beautifully performed by the outstanding concert pianist Alissa Firsova in a programme alongside works by Scriabin, Bartok, Shostakovich and others. I spent four days attending the festival, giving me the chance to hear a lot of inspiring music including some exciting new works by contemporary composers.
June 2011
Silent Witness
I'm currently working again with composer Sheridan Tongue, this time on his scores for the forthcoming new series of Silent Witness on BBC1 and an upcoming ITV crime drama series.
April 2011
Winner of the Presteigne Festival Competition for Composers
I was recently very pleased to be named the winner of the 2011 Presteigne Festival Competition for Composers, for my solo piano composition Searching which I composed for the competition. I attended a workshop of the shortlisted compositions at the Birmingham Conservatoire, where I got the chance to hear my composition beautifully performed by concert pianist Alissa Firsova, and to discuss it with Alissa and competition judges George Vass (the festival's Artistic Director) and composers David Matthews and Joe Cutler. I also got the chance to hear some inspiring work by the other four shortlisted composers.
Searching will be performed in a solo piano recital by Alissa Firsova on Tuesday 30th August at St. Andrew's Church, Presteigne, Wales. Full details are here
March 2011
Wonders of the Universe - on BBC 2 from March 6th
Wonders of the Universe is the follow-up to last year's hugely successful series Wonders of the Solar System, presented by Professor Brian Cox. I was again strongly involved in the music, working for series composer Sheridan Tongue - programming, arranging and composing additional music.
The series begins on BBC 2 on Sunday March 6th at 9pm. There will also be a soundtrack CD released, featuring music from both series.
January 2011
Uncle David
I recently completed scoring the low-budget drama feature Uncle David, working alongside acclaimed stage composer Richard Thomas (Jerry Springer: The Opera) who wrote original songs for the film, which I also produced (performed by singer Tim Howar). The film was co-directed by cult performance artist David Hoyle, Gary Reich and Mike Nicholls. My compositions for the film included textures ranging from distorted analogue electronics to processed voices and prepared piano. I also wrote the string arrangement for Richard's song "These Are The Memories". The film will be released later in the year.
December 2010
Love At The End Of The World
Oonagh Kearney's drama short, Love At The End Of The World, which I scored earlier in the year, has had a number of festival screenings and has more coming up. So far it's been screened at Galway Film Flaedh, Liverpool Irish Festival, Kerry Film Festival, Cork Film Festival, Underwire Film Festival and Foyle Film Festival. Forthcoming screenings include at the Curzon Soho on Saturday January 15th 2011, as part of the London Short Film Festival.
November 2010
The Morning After
I recently completed working for composer Jocelyn Pook on her score for the Danish feature film Dagen Derpå (The Morning After) by director Birgitte Stærmose. My role included programming electronic textures for Jocelyn's compositions and composing additional music.
October 2010
North Atlantic at the BFI London Film Festival
Bernardo Nascimento's short North Atlantic, which I composed for, will be shown as part of the 'London Calling' night at the BFI London Film Festival, on Monday October 25th, on the main NFT1 screen at the BFI Southbank.
Jocelyn Pook
I'm currently working once again with composer Jocelyn Pook, programming electronic elements for her score for a forthcoming drama feature.
September 2010
Grierson 2010: The British Documentary Awards
Billy Dosanjh is one of four directors nominated in the Best Newcomer category of this year's prestigious Grierson British Documentary Awards, for his short film A Miracle In West Brom, which I scored. The awards ceremony takes place on November 2nd at the BFI Southbank.
Also nominated, in the Best Science Documentary category, is the BBC2 Wonders of the Solar System episode 'Empire of the Sun', which I also composed music for (as assistant composer to series composer Sheridan Tongue).
Spotify
A few projects that I've worked on have appeared on Spotify recently and so can be listened to for free over the internet. My two jazz albums, Still Picture and Interpretations, are now available this way, as is the track 'Women's Magazine Tango' by Jocelyn Pook, on which I played drums and percussion. Click on the album covers below to listen.
Jocelyn Pook - 'Women's Magazine Tango' (from Habitación En Roma Soundtrack)
rec. 2009 Nuba Records
Melanie Pappenheim (vocals); Loré Lixenberg (vocals); Dado Jehan (piano); Ben Harlan (bass clarinet);
Chris Laurence (double bass); Jon Opstad (drums, percussion); string quartet (leader - Laurence Jackson)
Jon Opstad - Interpretations
rec. 2006 New Canvas Records
Nick Smart (trumpet, flugelhorn); Simon Cosgrove (soprano saxophone; James Allsopp (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet); Liam Noble (piano, fender rhodes); Justin Quinn (guitars); James Opstad (double bass); Jon Opstad (drums)
Jon Opstad - Still Picture
rec. 2003-2004 New Canvas Records
Simon Cosgrove (soprano saxophone); David Gange (trumpet, flugelhorn); Tom Rogerson (piano); James Opstad (fretless bass, cello); Chris Hill (double bass on track 1); Jon Opstad (drums, percussion)
August 2010
Missing: Claudia Lawrence on 4oD
Missing: Claudia Lawrence is now available to watch online on 4oD:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/missing-claudia-lawrence/4od
Missing: Claudia Lawrence on Channel 4 - Friday 7.30pm
The documentary Missing: Claudia Lawrence, which I scored, will be broadcast on Channel 4 this
Friday, August 13th. The programme is about the disappearance of the chef from York last year, and is directed by Billy Dosanjh.
Sheridan Tongue
I am currently working once again with the composer Sheridan Tongue, on the
music for a BBC documentary series.
Richard Thomas
I am currently working with composer Richard Thomas (Jerry Springer: The Opera) on a film project.
Lore Lixenberg
I am currently working with the singer Lore Lixenberg - engineering, mixing and processing pre-prepared vocal elements for a project that she will perform at Kings Place in London.
Jocelyn Pook
I recently did some sample programming for composer Jocelyn Pook for a new live work with singers.
July 2010
Satyajit Ray Award for A Miracle In West Brom
Director Billy Dosanjh's short film A Miracle In West Brom, which I scored, has won the prestigious Satyajit Ray Award for best short film at the London Indian Film Festival on July 20th. The film is a moving portrait of the lives of Billy's parents.
June 2010
How Not To Live Your Life
I've been working with composer Richard Thomas (Jerry Springer The Opera), recording live drums and programming for songs that he has written for the forthcoming third series of BBC3 sitcom How Not To Live Your Life, which will be broadcast later in the year.
May 2010
Channel 4 Documentary
I recently completed scoring a half-hour documentary by director Billy Dosanjh, produced by Glasshead for Channel 4, which will be broadcast in August.
Atlas 4D
Working again as assistant composer to Sheridan Tongue, I recently finished composing additional music for the three one-hour episodes of forthcoming natural history series Atlas 4D that will be broadcast on the Discovery Channel later in the year. Across the different episodes this involved drawing on musical influences from Africa, Hawaii and various Mediterranean countries.
Brixton 85 Award
Acclaimed director Tom Green's drama short Brixton 85, which I scored, won the award for Best Postgraduate Drama at the Royal Television Society Student Television Awards. I attended the ceremony at the Barbican Centre in London on May 7th to pick up the award alongside Tom, writer Mahalia Rimmer and sound designer Zhe Wu.
April 2010
"Wonders of the Solar System" on DVD & Blu-Ray
The DVD and Blu-Ray of BBC2's acclaimed series Wonders of the Solar System, which I worked on as assistant composer (working for composer Sheridan Tongue) are now available.
Royal Television Society Student Television Awards
The nominations for the Royal Television Society Student Television Awards have been announced. In the Postgraduate section, three films that I scored have been nominated, making up half the nominations in the Fiction and Animation categories. Both of the drama shorts that I've worked on with director Tom Green - Brixton 85 and Kid - have been nominated, along with the animation Cherry on the Cake directed by Hyebin Lee. Clips from all three can be found in the showreel section of this website. The awards ceremony is on May 7th at the Barbican Centre in London.
March 2010
"Wonders of the Solar System" on BBC2 - Sundays at 9pm
The first episode of BBC2's "Wonders of the Solar System" series (on which I worked as assistant composer) aired on March 7th and the programmes continue on Sunday nights over the next few weeks.
Here's a clip from the opening of the first episode, with music that I worked on with series composer Sheridan Tongue:
and here's a clip from episode 2, with some music that I worked on:
Toshiba Commercial Competition
Toshiba recently announced the results of their commercial competition, run in partnership with the NFTS. I scored two entries, for directors Phil Connolly and Joana Flor, and both of these were prize-winners, winning 1st and 3rd Prize respectively!
Here's Joana's commercial, Production Line:
also, take a look at the updated Advertising Showreel page
Sheridan Tongue
I am currently working again with composer Sheridan Tongue, on the score for a natural history series for the Discovery Channel.
January 2010
"KID" wins Best European Student Film!
KID, directed by Tom Green (who recently directed three of the six episodes of the first series of E4's brilliant Misfits), has just won the Best European Student Film award at Angers Film Festival in France.
A Miracle In West Brom
I recently scored director Billy Dosanjh's NFTS graduation documentary film A Miracle In West Brom, which will be screened at the NFTS screenings at the BFI in late February.
December 2009
"Wonders of the Solar System" & "Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking"
For the last few months I have been working with composer Sheridan Tongue
on his scores for two separate forthcoming documentary series on the solar system: BBC2's Wonders of the Solar System (presented by Professor Brian Cox), and the Discovery Channel's Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking (Darlow Smithson Productions).
August 2009
"Cherry on the Cake" at London & Chicago Film Festivals
Hyebin Lee's animation Cherry on The Cake has been selected to be screened at both the London BFI International Film Festival and the Chicago International Film Festival, both in October.
Sheridan Tongue
I am currently working for the excellent composer Sheridan Tongue (Silent Witness, Spooks, etc.) on the score for a TV project.
July 2009
Jocelyn Pook
For much of June and July I've been working with the amazing composer Jocelyn Pook (Eyes Wide Shut, The Merchant of Venice, Brick Lane, etc.), assisting her with the orchestration and parts preparation for Julio Medem's new film Room In Rome.
Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy
I
was commisioned to compose a track for the Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy promotional material. This can be heard at their website: www.mbdrivingacademy.com
June 2009
"Cherry on The Cake" wins Best Animation in Shanghai
Hyebin Lee's animation Cherry on The Cake has won Best Animation at the 2009 Shanghai International Film Festival!
"Satisfaction" at Rhode Island
Aasaf Ainapore's short film Satisfaction, starring Michael Parks, will be screening at the Rhode Island International Film Festival in August
International Film Festival Screenings
There are several festival screenings this month of projects that I scored:
Today Only - Edinburgh International Film Festival
Cherry On The Cake - 12th Shanghai International Film Festival
Long Distance - SilverDocs (USA); Brooklyn International Film Festival (USA); Festival De Cine De Huesca (Spain)
ESPN Classic Promo
I've scored a 30-second promo for ESPN Classic, for the programme Tovars Talk Futebol, which will be screening throughout Europe in June