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BIOGRAPHY

I was born in 1950 in the British military hospital in Ismailia, Egypt, and lived in Kenya till 1962, so was exposed to indigenous Arab and African music before its acculturation by western influence. In my teens I studied Stravinsky and formed the progressive rock band Egg in 1968 with Dave Stewart and Clive Brooks. In 1972 I studied composition at the Royal College of Music, gaining an ARCM diploma in 1974. I composed the score to David Anderson's BAFTA-winning animated film Dreamland Express in 1983 and began a full-time career as composer in 1989 with film and commercials commissions from Redwing Films. I've since written scores for film, television, advertising, radio and stage. I've also acquired specialist skills on a wide range of ethnic folk instruments which have led to recording work in film, television and computer games. I created two instrumental sound libraries distributed by ILIO Entertainments, World Winds and Origins. My solo CD Music from a Round Tower was released in 1996 and Music From a Walled Garden in 2010. I lecture on music in remote antiquity, and ways of incorporating non-western music into contemporary composition.

MARAVIGGHIA

Martina Dolcimascolo 2020

LOST HEARTS

Blanche McIntyre 2007

​TOVARISCH I AM NOT DEAD

Stuart Urban 2006

THE SPACE BETWEEN US

Magali Charrier 2006

AL-GHAZZALI

Ovidio Salazar 2004

THE WALNUT HARVEST

Iraj Emami 2003

A SENSE OF GRAVITY

David Anderson 2002

THE CASE

Mark Warner 2001

DEUTSCHE POST

David Anderson 2000 

IN THE TIME OF ANGELS

David Anderson 1995

DOOR

David Anderson 1991

DEADSY

David Anderson 1991

DREAMLAND EXPRESS

David Anderson 1983

VOODOO

Fulcrum TV 2006

WILDLIFE ON ONE

BBC1 1999

BAILEYS IRISH CREAM
Creative Circle Bronze

DANEPAK

Cannes Gold Lion

CO-OPERATIVE BANK

Cannes Silver Lion
K CIDER
Independent Cinemas Award 'Best Music'
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND

VAX
BRITVIC ORANGE JUICE 
LUCOZADE
VITTEL
LANDROVER
OPEL

EUROSTAR
HYUNDAI
KWIKFIT EURO

TABOO

GOLDFISH

PONDS

PURDEYS
COMFORT
RONSEAL
GLASGOW HERALD
SANYO DIGITAL
ELECTRICITY COUNCIL
LILT
PTT 
BANK OF BOSTON
MULLER YOGHURT
BRITISH HOME STORES
PILLSBURY DOUGH
RICE KRISPIES
OCEAN SPRAY
LG ELECTRONICS

Production Music

ZONE MUSIC History Zone, Pleasure Zone, Fun Zone, Drone Zone

PRODUCTION MUSIC ON LINE Medieval, Travel, Percussion, Tudor, Middle East, Japan

SOUND STAGE Ireland, Eastern Mediterranean

MUSIC HOUSE Travel

BRUTON World Journeys, Eastern European Journeys, Early History, Middle East

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CHAPPELL Meditation, War

Solo albums

Music from a Round Tower

Music from a Round Tower

Voiceprint 1996

Music from a Walled Garden

Music from a Walled Garden

Burning Shed 2010

PERFORMANCE CREDITS

Some of my session and theatre work is listed below. To read comments by some of the composers shown, see here.

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2021 Cosmic Rhapsody RPO (comp. Manu Martin) duduk

2019 Aladdin (Disney, dir. Guy Ritchie, comp. Alan Menken) duduk, kaval

2017 The State (Channel 4, dir. Peter Kosminsky, comp. Debbie Wiseman) duduk

2017 The Mummy (Universal, dir. Alex Kurtzman, comp. Brian Tyler) duduk, kaval zurna, mijwiz, arghul, bansuri

2017 Horizon Zero Dawn (Sony, comp. Joris de Man) fujara, filimbi, kaval

2016 Queen of Katwe (dir. Mira Nair, comp. Alex Heffes) bansuri, kaval

2016 Hamlet (RSC, dir. Simon Godwin, comp. Sola Akingbola) tambin, nyatiti, bansuri, kaval

2014/15 Indian Summers (Channel 4, dir. Anand Tucker, comp. Stephen Warbeck) bansuri, duduk

2013 Long Walk to Freedom (dir. Justin Chadwick, comp. Alex Heffes) bansuri, kora

2011 Marat/Sade (RSC, dir. Anthony Neilson, comp. Khayyam Alami) ney, duduk, arghul, zurna

2011 The Promise (C4, dir. Peter Kosminsky, comp. Debbie Wiseman) duduk, ney

2010 Morte D'Arthur (RSC, dir. Greg Doran, comp. Adrian Lee) harp, shawm, cornu, kaval, duduk, cornemuse, Irish flute

2010 Joanna Lumley's Nile (BBC1, comp. Debbie Wiseman) duduk, ney

2010 12th Night (RSC, dir. Greg Doran, comp. Paul Englishby) bansuri, kaval, duduk

2010 Eagle of the Ninth (dir. Kevin MacDonald, comp. Alex Heffes) animal horns, primitive trumpets

2009 Agora (dir. Alejandro Amenábar, comp. Dario Marianelli) duduk

2009 Peter Pan (dir. Ben Harrison, comp. Ben Wallfisch) duduk

2009 State of Play (dir. Kevin MacDonald, comp. Alex Heffes) duduk

2009 Nature's Great Events with David Attenborough  (BBC2, comp. Ben Salisbury) duduk, American native flute

2009 Iran and the West (BBC2, comp. Samuel Sim) duduk

2008 Survivors (BBC1, comp. Edmund Butt) duduk, suling

2008 I'll be the Devil RSC Tricycle Theatre (dir. Ramin Gray, comp. Peter Cowdrey): clarsach, gaida, dudy, early English bagpipes, uilleann pipes, zampogna, mezoued

2008 The Passion (BBC1 dir. Michael Offer, comp. Debbie Wiseman): duduk

2008 The House of Saddam (BBC1, comp. Samuel Sim): duduk, ney

2007 Summer Heat (Independent feature, comp. Christian Henson): kora

2007 Caotica Ana (independent feature, comp. Jocelyn Pook): ney, duduk, Native American flute

2007 Sa Majesté Minor (dir. Jean-Jacques Annaud, comp. Javier Navarette): kaval, duduk, nyatiti

2006 The Last King of Scotland Oscar and BAFTA winner (dir. Kevin Macdonald, comp. Alex Heffes): nyatiti, filimbi

2006 The Virgin Queen (BBC2, comp. Martin Phipps): kaval, duduk, kora

2006 Julius Caesar RSC Stratford and Michigan (dir. Sean Holmes, comp. Adrian Lee): zurna, arghoul, filimbi, kaval, cornu, duduk, flutes

2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner, comp. Patrick Doyle): duduk, Turkish kaval, Highland bagpipes

2003–2015 The Veil of the Temple (Sir John Tavener) London, New York, Amsterdam, Brighton, Trondheim: duduk

2002 Pericles RSC London Round House and RST Stratford (dir. Adrian Noble, comp. Shaun Davey): gaida, duduk, ney, kaval, clarinet

2002 The Roman Actor RSC Stratford and Gielgud Theatre London (dir. Greg Doran, comp. Adrian Lee): ney, bansuri, totek chanter, orchestral flutes, clarinet, harp, percussion

2000 Fall and Resurrection (Sir John Tavener) St Paul's Cathedral: kaval

1999 Tales from Ovid RSC Stratford London Young Vic and Strasbourg (dir. Tim Supple, comp. Adrian Lee): ney, dizi, bansuri, totek chanter, orchestral flutes, dijeridu, percussion

1998 Colour Blind (ITV, comp. Alan Parker) uilleann pipes

Bands/albums

Egg/Egg

Decca 1970

Egg/The Polite Force

Decca 1971

Egg/The Civil Surface

Virgin 1975

World Wind Band/Safar Hermes 2004

Kalamus/Bronze

2011

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