Music
As a child I listened to ment off as it helped me to sleep.
I have been performing music since the age of 6, and started composing a couple of years later. This early exposure to music was largely choral liturgical so it's not surprising that I began writing in this genre first. My older sisters listened to lots of different music and were a big influence on my young tastes. In the school holidays I made mix tapes of pop tunes they had passed on to me.
Throughout secondary school, college and university I became friends with a number of brilliantly inspiring musicians, many of whom are now at the top of their fields, across the music industry.
Choral Music
My first experience of music was as a choirboy at Bath Abbey, and then at St Paul's Cathedral. We sang daily as part of the age-old great Anglican choral music tradition. Surrounded by the music of Howells, Britten, Stanford, Parry, Mozart, Bach, Bruckner and Byrd, my ear grew accustomed to lush harmony (especially Howells) and serene melodies, which I tried to imitate on a practice room piano at weekends. Over the years, the St Paul's Cathedral Choir commissioned many new works by British contemporary classical composers for the English Anthems CD series, including works by William Mathias, John Taverner and Francis Jackson and Francis Grier. Often, the composers would come in to talk to the choir about the pieces before they were recorded on to disc, which was particularly inspiring for a young composer.
The Cool Web: A Robert Graves Oratorio
The Cool Web is a WW1 oratorio for baritone, choir and orchestra based on the war poetry of Robert Graves, with a libretto compiled by Sue Curtis.
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And There Was Light: A Christmas Oratorio
And There Was Light is a fresh, invigorating and dramatic re-telling of the Christmas story for boys and girls choirs, chamber ensemble and narrator.
Read moreWhen The War Came
When the War Came is an oratorio for children's choir, narrator, and orchestra, written in commemoration of World War One, written by Jools Scott and Sue Curtis.
Read more- Fine Times Recorder on Jools Scott's The Cool Web -
"his choral writing is simply sublime..."
Film Music
My love of film music sprung from watching endless Spielberg/Williams/Lucas work in the 80's, with a sprinkle of Silvestri, Horner and Elfman. Later, the music of Morricone, Schifrin, Hermann, Nyman and Glass opened up a world of different possibilities and a wider understanding of the ways music can complement, lead and follow picture on screen.
Departure
Andrew Steggall's Departure was my first feature film score. The film was co-funded by the BFI and stars Juliet Stevenson and Alex Lawther.
Read moreRobin Robin
Orchestration for Aardman and Netflix's Oscar-nominated stop-motion musical. Working with The Bookshop Band at Real World Studios to bring this heartwarming Christmas tale to life.
Read moreThe Door
The Door, a film by Andrew Steggall starring Charles Dance, Harriet Walter, Thomas Hardiman, Elliot Cowan and Tobias Menzies.
Read moreMarilyn Myller
Marilyn Myller is a short film from BAFTA winner Mikey Please (An Eagleman Stag). The score was a collaboration between Beth Porter and Ben Please (Bookshop Band) and myself.
Read moreThe Great Escape
The Great Escape is a short film directed by Shelagh McLeod (Peak Practice). The score was done on zero budget and is produced using East West Quantum Leap Symphony Orchestra.
Read more- Variety Magazine on Andrew Steggall’s Departure -
"Jools Scott’s tastefully sparse score..."
Opera and Musical Theatre
Meeting librettist Sue Curtis in 2007 resulted in a heavy shift towards Opera and Musical Theatre. Together we have created jazz operas, oratorios, and children's musicals that have been performed across the UK and internationally.
Vice: The Musical
A savage jazz-fuelled reimagining of Middleton's The Revenger's Tragedy. Performed at Arcola Theatre and Soho Theatre, London.
Read more- The Oxford Handbook of Thomas Middleton on Scott & Curtis's Vice -
"Extraordinary musical and lyrical skill.."
Video Game Music
Writing music for video games is a unique and time-intensive task. The process uses a lot of the same skills as writing music for film, especially for the mini-movie cut scene passages. Understanding of game structure and the software used to integrate the music into the game is also vital. I've worked on two video game scores since starting out as a professional composer, most recently an inspiring and intriguing debut from independent software house Salix Games.
Dance Of Death: Du Lac & Fey
Dance Of Death: Du Lac & Fey was my first major computer game score. It was written in collaboration with superstar game composer Jeff Rona. The theme of the game comes from The Dance Of Death from Vice.
Read more- A Steam reviewer on Dance of Death : Du Lac & Fey -
"the music is subliminal but very beautiful..."