Bruce Smeaton (born 5 March 1938) is an Australian composer who is well known for a variety of Australian film and television scores in all genres, including features, shorts, television, documentaries and advertisements. His scores include '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'', ''

Seven Little Australians ''Seven Little Australians'' is a classic Australian children's literature novel by Ethel Turner, published in 1894. Set mainly in Sydney in the 1880s, it relates the adventures of the seven mischievous Woolcot children, their stern army father ...

'', '' Roxanne'', '' Iceman'', and ''

Circle of Iron ''Circle of Iron'' is a 1978 martial arts fantasy film directed by Richard Moore and co-written by Bruce Lee, who intended to star in the film himself, but died before production. The film is also known as ''The Silent Flute'', which was the or ...

''. He has won the Australian Film Institute (AFI) Best Original Music Score award for ''

The Cars That Ate Paris ''The Cars That Ate Paris'' is a 1974 Australian horror comedy film, produced by twin brothers Hal and Jim McElroy and directed by Peter Weir. It was his first feature film, and was also based on an original story he had written. Shot mostly i ...

'' (1974), ''

The Great Macarthy ''The Great Macarthy'' is a 1975 comedy about Australian rules football. It was an adaptation of the 1970 novel '' A Salute to the Great McCarthy'' by Barry Oakley. It stars John Jarratt as the title character (in his film debut) as a local foo ...

'' (1975), ''

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith ''The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith'' is a 1972 Booker Prize-nominated Australian novel by Thomas Keneally, and a 1978 Australian film of the same name directed by Fred Schepisi. The novel is based on the life of bushranger Jimmy Governor, the su ...

'' (1978) and '' Street Hero'' (1984, shared with

Garth Porter Garth Ivan Richard Porter (born 24 September 1948) is a New Zealand-born Australian multi-instrumental musician, songwriter and record producer. He was a member, on keyboards and backing vocals, of the pop group, Sherbet (1970–84), and co-wr ...

and others).

Biography

Smeaton was born in

Brighton, Victoria Brighton is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Bayside local government area. Brighton recorded a population of 23,252 at the 2021 census. ...

. His music has been championed by the Southern Cross Records and

1M1 Records Philip Powers (born 1963) is a record producer - and author - specialising in film scores and classical music. His recordings have been nominated for five ARIA Awards. He has produced 34 CDs for the 1M1 Records label including ''The Lighthorse ...

labels. In 1964 he spent time as a public school music teacher, at Fawkner Technical School (then an all-boys school) in the Moomba Park area of North

Fawkner Fawkner is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Hume and Merri-bek local government areas. Fawkner recorded a population of 14,274 at the 2021 census. The ma ...

, a suburb of Melbourne. At the time he had a passionate interest in vintage cars which he would often bring to school. His ground-breaking synthesized score for ''Wendy Cracked a Walnut'' was nominated for an ARIA Award in 1991 for Best Soundtrack / Cast / Show Album.Isnare.com (www.isnare.com/encyclopedia/ARIA_Award_for_Best_Original_Soundtrack,_Cast_or_Show_Album) He currently lives in

Binalong, New South Wales Binalong (Bine-a-long) is a village in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, 37 km north-west of Yass in Yass Valley Shire. At the , Binalong and the surrounding area had a population of 543. History Original inhabit ...

. He has been married twice & has three adult children.

Filmography

Documentaries

* ''Bush, Books and Breedens'' (1973) * ''My Brother Wartovo'' (1973) * ''Kangaroo Island'' (1974) * ''Pozieres'' (2000)

Feature films

* ''

Libido Libido (; colloquial: sex drive) is a person's overall sexual drive or desire for sexual activity. Libido is influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. Biologically, the sex hormones and associated neurotransmitters that act u ...

'' (1973) * ''

'' (1974) * '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975) * ''

'' (1975) * '' The Devil's Playground'' (1976) * '' The Trespassers'' (1976) * ''

Eliza Fraser Eliza Anne Fraser (c.1798 – 1858) was a Scottish woman who was aboard a ship that wrecked at an island off the coast of Queensland, Australia, on 22 May 1836, and who claimed she was taken in by the Bidjara language, Badtjala (Butchella) people ...

'' a.k.a. ''The Adventures of Eliza Fraser'' (1976) * '' Summerfield'' (1977) * ''

'' (1978) * ''

'' a.k.a. ''The Silent Flute'' (1978) * ''

The Last of the Knucklemen ''The Last of the Knucklemen'' is a 1979 Australian film directed by Tim Burstall. Plot The story involves a gang of rough miners. Tom ( Peter Hehir) turns up at the mine looking for a place to hide. He allies himself with the mining foreman Tar ...

'' (1979) * ''

Grendel Grendel Grendel ''Grendel Grendel Grendel'' is a 1981 Australian animated film written, directed and designed by Alexander Stitt and starring Peter Ustinov. It was based on John Gardner's novel '' Grendel''. The music was composed and conducted by Bruce Smea ...

'' (1980) * '' ...Maybe This Time'' (1980) * '' Double Deal'' (1981) * '' Monkey Grip'' (1982) * ''

Squizzy Taylor Joseph Theodore Leslie "Squizzy" Taylor (29 June 1888 – 27 October 1927) was an Australian gangster from Melbourne. He appeared repeatedly and sometimes prominently in Melbourne news media because of suspicions, formal accusations and some co ...

'' (1982) * ''

Barbarosa ''Barbarosa'' is a 1982 American Western film starring Willie Nelson and Gary Busey about a young cowboy on the run from the law who partners with a famous ''bandito'' and learns about life from him. "One of the best overlooked westerns of th ...

'' (1982) * ''

Undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an ind ...

'' (1983) * '' Iceman'' (1984) * '' The Naked Country'' (1984) * '' Departure'' (1985) * '' Plenty'' (1985) * '' Eleni'' (1985) * '' Contagion'' (1987) * '' Roxanne'' (1987) * '' Evil Angels'' a.k.a. ''A Cry in the Dark'' (1988) * '' Wendy Cracked a Walnut'' ''aka ''Almost'' (1989) * '' The Missing'' (1999)

Short films

* ''The Clown and the Mindreader'' (n.d.)

Television shows

* ''

'' (1973, TV miniseries) * '' Ben Hall'' (1975, TV series) * ''

Tandarra ''Tandarra'' is an Australian television series which screened on the Seven Network in Australia in 1976 and on ITV (including the London Weekend Television and Anglia regions) in the UK. It was a follow-up series to '' Cash and Company'' whic ...

'' (1976, miniseries) * ''

Patrol Boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

'' (1979, TV series) * ''

The Timeless Land ''The Timeless Land'' (1941) is a work of historical fiction by Eleanor Dark (1901–1985). The novel ''The Timeless Land'' is the first of ''The Timeless Land'' trilogy of novels about European settlement and exploration of Australia. Story ...

'' (1980, TV miniseries) * ''

A Town Like Alice ''A Town Like Alice'' (United States title: ''The Legacy'') is a romance novel by Nevil Shute, published in 1950 when Shute had newly settled in Australia. Jean Paget, a young Englishwoman, becomes romantically interested in a fellow prisoner ...

'' (1981, TV miniseries) * ''

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". * January ...

'' (1982, miniseries) * ''

Five Mile Creek ''Five Mile Creek'' is a western television drama series adapted from Louis L'Amour's novel ''The Cherokee Trail'' and produced in Australia. It starred Liz Burch, Louise Caire Clark, Rod Mullinar, Jay Kerr, Michael Caton, Peter Carroll, Gu ...

'' (1983, TV series) * ''The Coral Island'' (1983, TV miniseries) * ''

Eureka Stockade The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which ...

'' (1984, TV miniseries) * '' Boy in the Bush'' (1984, TV miniseries) * ''

A Thousand Skies ''A Thousand Skies'' is a 1985 Australian mini series about the life of Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith. It was based on the novel ''The Empty Sky'' by Tasman Beattie and was partly financed by Film Victoria. The budget was $4.5 million.Ed. Scott Mu ...

'' (1986, TV miniseries) * ''Jackson's Crew'' (1986, pilot) * '' Tusitala'' (1986, TV miniseries) * ''

The Alien Years ''The Alien Years'' is a three-part miniseries that first aired on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on 19 April 1988. It was directed by Donald Crombie and written by Peter Yeldham. It stars Victoria Longley, John Hargreaves, Christop ...

'' (1988, TV miniseries) * '' Act of Betrayal'' (1988, movie) * '' Naked Under Capricorn'' (1989, movie) * '' The Private War of Lucinda Smith'' (1990, dramatised documentary) * ''The Last of the Ryans'' (1997, movie)

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, ''Wendy Cracked a Walnut'' , Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album , , ARIA Award previous winners. , -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smeaton, Bruce 1938 births Living people APRA Award winners Australian film score composers Male film score composers Australian television people Australian schoolteachers People from Brighton, Victoria 20th-century Australian musicians Musicians from Melbourne