Composers
Craig Armstrong
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Born: 1958
Brief Biography: Following a classical training at London’s Royal Academy of Music, Craig Armstrong returned to his native Glasgow where he joined a number of leading bands and was appointed Composer-in- Residence at the Tron Theatre. Since 1996, he has scored over twenty films, notably Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet in collaboration with director Baz Luhrmann. His distinctive style transfers successfully to the concert hall and he has received commissions from organizations such as the Scottish Ensemble, the Barbican, and Horsecross, the new Perth concert hall. His third album Piano Works was released in 2004. For a complete biography, click here
Key Works:
- Slow Movement
(1994; strings)
- 20 Movements
(1998; orchestra)
- If Time Must Pass
(1999; violin, strings)
- When Morning Turns to Light
(2000; mezzo-soprano, orchestra)
- Northern Sounds…Islands (2002; orchestra)
- One Minute (2005; orchestra)
- Immer (Violin Concerto)
(2007; violin, orchestra)
- Memory Takes My Hand
(2008; Soprano, chorus, orchestra)
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Career Highlights:
- 1977 studied violin and composition with Cornelius Cardew at the Royal Academy of Music
- 1994/2002 commissions from Royal Shakespeare Company Music for Broken Heart and The Tempest, both directed by Michael Boyd
- 2001 BAFTA, Golden Globe, American Film Institute Award, World Soundtrack Award and Golden Satellite Award for Moulin Rouge
- 2002 Visconti commissioned by Barbican Centre Elektronika festival for the London Sinfonietta
- 2004 collaboration with visual artists Dalziel and Scullion on One Minute to celebrate the opening of Perth’s Horsecross Hall
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Full Biography:
Born in 1958, Scottish composer Craig Armstrong has established an international reputation as a composer and arranger. His distinctive and eloquent style is an amalgamation of his diverse musical experience: he studied classical violin at the Royal Academy of Music and went on to win the GLAA Young Jazz Musician of the Year in 1982; he then returned to his native Glasgow where he entered the city's vibrant band culture as a member of Hipsway, Texas and The Big Dish and was appointed Composer-in-Residence at the Tron Theatre. As an arranger he has worked with artists such as U2 and Madonna, for whom he provided the string arrangements for Frozen and The Power of Goodbye on the Ray of Light album. Craig's arrangements for Massive Attack's Protection album led to his being signed by their record label, Melankolic. His first album of original music The Space Between Us was released in 1998, and was followed in 2002 by a second, As If To Nothing, which features a series of collaborations with artists including Bono, Evan Dando and Mogwai. As a classical composer he has been commissioned by many major organisations such as the Scottish Ensemble, the Barbican Centre (as part of their highly acclaimed Elektronica festival in 2002) and most recently the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. His third album Piano Works was released on the Sanctuary label in 2004 and will be followed by a Film Works release in 2005. Since 1996, Craig has written around twenty film scores. His work with director Baz Luhrman resulted in a number of awards, including the Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Score and the Anthony Asquith BAFTA for Romeo and Juliet (1996), and a Golden Globe for the score to Moulin Rouge (2001). Also included in his prestigious list of film credits are Plunkett & Macleane (1999) starring Robert Carlyle, The Magdalene Sisters (2002), The Quiet American (2002) starring Michael Caine, Richard Curtis's 2003 blockbuster Love Actually, Taylor Hackford's Ray (2004) for which he won a Grammy Award in 2006, Elizabeth The Golden Age (2007), The Incredible Hulk (2008) and Clash of the Titans (2010).
External Websites
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