Music for Film, Television & Media
Music is just awesome! It has the power to stir emotions, to make you get up and dance, to set the mood, to connect with old memories. . . on and on and on . . . That’s why I compose and produce music. And while I’m at it, I mostly compose music to accompany moving pictures. Whether it’s an epic orchestral film score for live action or animation, a nerve-wracking creepy haunt for a horror flic, or an intimate quiet and pensive accompaniment to a thoughtful dramatic show, coming up with just the right music to help tell a story is what it’s all about for me. Sometimes that means the music is right upfront and featured, and sometimes it means the music stays quiet and almost imperceptible in the background, influencing the viewer in subtle ways. Serving the story is #1.
What’s this guy’s deal?
I’ve been composing and producing music for film and television for over 20 years. Some highlights include the animated CBC TV series Chilly Beach (which featured the voice talents of some Canadian greats such as William Shatner, Leslie Nielsen, Andrea Martin, and many others) and Maple Shorts, as well as several animated and live action feature films. I’ve gotten to really stretch out by writing in so many different styles and genres, including —my favourite— large orchestral scores!
My little “origin story” is as follows: at age 12, my (cooler) older brother turned me on to heavy metal. So I picked up the guitar and found out I was pretty good at it. I played and played and played, picking up songs by ear. Years later, my girlfriend (my wife now 🙂 ) introduced me to orchestral music, which lead to me pursuing formal music studies. I studied composition and classical guitar at the University of Ottawa (B. Music 1996), and then earned a Master of Music degree in Composition from Western University (1998).
After university, I began my film/media composition career, landing a network show, Chilly Beach in 2003 (CBC, 65 Episodes). In the same year, I was nominated for a Gemini Award for “Best Original Music Score for a Dramatic Series” for the Chilly Beach episode “Invasion of the Beer Snatchers”. Since then, I’ve composed and produced countless hours of music for various live action and animated media, and for the concert hall.
