Philip Sheppard (born 4 November 1969) is an English musician. He has composed more than 60 film, television and theatrical scores including
Detroit: Become Human, ''
Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' behind the scenes and the
Comic Con
A comic book convention or comic-con is an event with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at con ...
trailer. .Sheppard was inducted into the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...
as a member of the Music Class of 2017.
He has recorded arrangements for all the 205 countries national anthems in the
2012 Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
.
Early life
Sheppard trained in cello and composition at the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...
, during which time he specialized in contemporary music. He worked closely with
Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large oeuvre of works is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Stravinsky, Italian music, Arabic music and jazz, as well as t ...
, Sir
Michael Tippett
Sir Michael Kemp Tippett (2 January 1905 – 8 January 1998) was an English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten ...
and
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...
during this time as a founding member of the Kreutzer String Quartet. Whilst a student, Sheppard made weekly appearances at the Spitz nightclub, playing entirely improvised concerts, sometimes featuring his Piano Quintet which was formed with Keith Tippett. He also collaborated with pianist
Abdullah Ibrahim
Abdullah Ibrahim (born Adolph Johannes Brand on 9 October 1934 and formerly known as Dollar Brand) is a South African pianist and composer. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood in the multicultural port areas of Cap ...
, who encouraged him to move away from a conventional musical environment, and pursue his composition. He went on to pioneer electro-acoustic improvisation joining the
Smith Quartet
The Smith Quartet is a UK based string quartet founded in 1988 that specializes in the performance of contemporary classical music, and is actively performing worldwide and recording . They have premiered over 100 works by composers such as Ke ...
and appearing regularly with the
London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London.
The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert in 1968—givi ...
. After completing a fellowship, he was made a professor at the Royal Academy of Music where he is now a senior lecturer.
Career
Film soundtracks
Sheppard's first orchestral soundtrack was commissioned in 2007 for the documentary feature, ''
In the Shadow of the Moon'', which won major awards at the Boulder, Florida, Indianapolis and Sedona film festivals, as well as the Audience Award at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
. The soundtrack was released on the Lakeshore records imprint.
In 2008 with members of UNKLE he arranged and performed solo cello on the remix of ''The X-Files'' theme music for the end titles of 'X-Files I Want to Believe'. Also, in 2008, Sheppard composed the music for the South Korean film, ''Dream''.
His next major commission was the soundtrack for '
Sergio' directed by Greg Barker which premiered at the 2009
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
.
In 2010, Sheppard composed the score for the documentary film, ''
The Tillman Story
''The Tillman Story'' is a 2010 American documentary film directed by Amir Bar-Lev and narrated by Josh Brolin. It is about the death of professional- football-player-turned- Army-Ranger Pat Tillman in the War in Afghanistan, the coverup of the ci ...
'', which premiered at the 2010
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary.
In 2011, Sheppard composed the soundtrack for two documentaries that premiered at the 2011
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
: ''
The Flaw'' directed by British filmmaker David Sington, which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema - Documentary and ''
Bobby Fischer Against the World'', directed by Liz Garbus. Also, in 2011, his album ''Cloud Songs'' was used for the film ''
First Orbit
''First Orbit'' is a 2011 feature-length, experimental documentary film about Vostok 1, the first human space flight around the Earth. By matching the orbit of the International Space Station to that of Vostok 1 as closely as possible, in terms o ...
'', a real-time recreation of Yuri Gagarin's pioneering first orbit, shot entirely in space from on board the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
and combined with
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...
's original voice recordings to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the flight of
Vostok 1
Vostok 1 (russian: link=no, Восток, ''East'' or '' Orient'' 1) was the first spaceflight of the Vostok programme and the first human orbital spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA space capsule was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on Apr ...
.
In 2012, Sheppard composed the music for the short film ''The Long Journey Home'', and also worked again with film-maker
Liz Garbus
Elizabeth Freya Garbus (born April 11, 1970) is an American documentary film director and producer. Notable documentaries Garbus has made are ''The Farm: Angola, USA,'' ''Ghosts of Abu Ghraib,'' ''Bobby Fischer Against the World,'' ''Love, Marily ...
on the documentary film ''
Love, Marilyn
''Love, Marilyn'' is a 2012 American documentary film about Marilyn Monroe's writings directed by Liz Garbus and produced by Stanley F. Buchthal, Garbus, and Amy Hobby. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12 ...
'', starring Elizabeth Banks, Adrien Brody, Glen Close, Uma Thurman and Viola Davis.
In 2013, Sheppard once again collaborated with director
Greg Barker
Greg Barker is an American filmmaker and producer. In 2011, ''The New York Times'' described Barker as “a filmmaker of artistic and political consequence.”
Previous films include '' Sergio'' (short-listed in 2010 for the Academy Award for B ...
and producer
John Battsek
John Battsek is a British film producer of documentary films. Battsek co-founded Passion Pictures, a two-time Oscar-winning and four-time Oscar nominated independent production company.
In 2020, Battsek departed Passion Pictures to launch cre ...
to compose the score for the Emmy winning documentary ''
Manhunt: The Inside Story of the Hunt for Osama Bin Laden'', which premiered at the 2013
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary.
In 2014, Sheppard composed the score for three documentary films, ''
We Are the Giant
''We Are the Giant'' is a 2014 American documentary film produced and directed by Greg Barker. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014.
The film is scheduled for a limited theatrical run from October 30, ...
'', ''
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
'', and ''
The Human Face of Big Data''. Sheppard's collaborations with director Greg Barker and producer John Battsek continued with ''
We Are The Giant
''We Are the Giant'' is a 2014 American documentary film produced and directed by Greg Barker. The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014.
The film is scheduled for a limited theatrical run from October 30, ...
'', a documentary film about the Arab Spring and which premiered at the 2014
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
. ''
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
'', premiered at the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...
on 18 April 2014 and was nominated for the Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature.
In 2015, Sheppard collaborated with professional climber, mountaineer, skier, director and photographer,
Jimmy Chin
Jimmy Chin (born ) is an American professional mountain athlete, photographer, film director, and author.
Chin has been a professional climber and skier on The North Face Athlete team for over 20 years. In 2006, Chin achieved the first succes ...
and professional climber, mountaineer and author
Conrad Anker
Conrad Anker (born November 27, 1962) is an American rock climber, mountaineer, and author. He was the team leader of The North Face climbing team for 26 years until 2018. In 1999, he located George Mallory's body on Everest as a member of a sear ...
, on the award-winning documentary adventure film,
Meru
Meru may refer to:
Geography Kenya
* Meru, Kenya, a city in Meru County, Kenya
** Meru County, created by the merger of
*** Meru Central District
*** Meru North District
*** Meru South District
* Meru National Park, a Kenyan wildlife park
T ...
. Twelve of the tracks from the film's soundtrack were composed by Sheppard. Meru premiered at the 2015
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
and won the Audience Award for Documentary and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary. In 2015, Sheppard also composed the original score for the documentaries ''Thin Ice: The Inside Story of Climate Science'', and ''
The Fear of 13
''The Fear of 13'' is a 2015 British documentary film by David Sington. It tells the story of Nick Yarris, who was convicted and sentenced to capital punishment for a 1981 kidnapping, rape and murder, and spent 22 years on death row in Pennsyl ...
'' directed by
David Sington
David Sington is a British-born director, producer, screenwriter and author. He read Natural Sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating in 1981.
Career
He started his career in 1982 at the BBC World Service as a studio manager and subs ...
and which was nominated for the Grierson Award for Documentary Film at the 2015
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...
.
In 2016, Sheppard created the original score for three documentary films: ''
Keep Quiet'', ''
Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan'' which was nominated for the Knight Documentary Achievement Award at the 2012
Miami Film Festival, and ''
The University''. ''
Keep Quiet'', premiered at the 2016
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...
where it was nominated for the Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature. ''
Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan'' and ''
The University'', was awarded Best Documentary Film at the 2016 L.A. Raw Science Film Festival.
In 2017, Sheppard teamed up again with director
Greg Barker
Greg Barker is an American filmmaker and producer. In 2011, ''The New York Times'' described Barker as “a filmmaker of artistic and political consequence.”
Previous films include '' Sergio'' (short-listed in 2010 for the Academy Award for B ...
and producer
John Battsek
John Battsek is a British film producer of documentary films. Battsek co-founded Passion Pictures, a two-time Oscar-winning and four-time Oscar nominated independent production company.
In 2020, Battsek departed Passion Pictures to launch cre ...
to release, ''The Final Year'', which premiered at the 2017 Toronto Film Festival, and ''Legion of Brothers'', which premiered at the 2017
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...
. Sheppard also composed the original score for Chosen, starring
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...
. In 2018, Sheppard collaborated again with director
David Sington
David Sington is a British-born director, producer, screenwriter and author. He read Natural Sciences at Trinity College, Cambridge, graduating in 1981.
Career
He started his career in 1982 at the BBC World Service as a studio manager and subs ...
, who he worked with on ''
In the Shadow of the Moon'', on the Netflix original documentary, ''Mercury 13'', which premiered at the 2018
San Francisco International Film Festival
The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in in ...
.
Television scores
In 2008, Sheppard Philip composed the music for the 4 part TV series documentary, Moon Machines: The Lunar Module, The Navigation Computer, The Command Module and The Saturn V Rocket. In 2009, Sheppard also wrote a set of pieces for Viol Consort that formed the soundtrack for Dr.
David Starkey
David Robert Starkey (born 3 January 1945) is an English historian and radio and television presenter, with views that he describes as conservative. The only child of Quaker parents, he attended Kendal Grammar School before studying at Cambr ...
's series on
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
. It also featured Scottish singer
Dot Allison. Also in 2009, Sheppard composed the music for the TV movie, Juliette Binoche: Sketches for a Portrait. In 2010, Sheppard composed the music for and was the music producer for three episodes of the
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
TV series, God In America: Composer: Soul of a Nation/Of God and Caesar, A Nation Reborn/A New Light, A New Adam/A New Eden. Sheppard also composed the music for the
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
TV documentary
Inside the Milky Way, and the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...