Christopher Willis
Christopher Willis | |
|---|---|
_in_2013.jpg) Christopher Willis in France in 2013 | |
| Born | 21 August 1978 Newcastle, Australia |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, musicologist |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Spouse |
Elyse Marchant Willis
(m. 2012) |
Christopher Willis (born 21 August 1978) is an Australian-born British composer and musicologist.
Career
[edit]He is the composer of the 2013 Disney television series Mickey Mouse, and co-composer (with Rupert Gregson-Williams) of the music to the HBO comedy series Veep. He has also written music for a number of film scores (credited with "additional music") with several other film composers including Carter Burwell, Harry Gregson-Williams, and Henry Jackman. His filmography includes The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012), Winnie the Pooh (2011), X-Men: First Class (2011), Shrek Forever After (2010), Grown Ups (2010), You Don't Mess With The Zohan (2008) and the television series Veep.[1] His score for The Death of Stalin (2017) was shortlisted along with 14 others for the Academy Award for Best Original Score.[2]
His concert music includes a piece written specially for The BBC Proms in 2010 entitled Mashup.[3][4] The music is a written-out mashup of other pieces from the programme of the concert at which it was premiered. He has also composed music for educational purposes including Boom Town for chamber orchestra and young children, which was part of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[5]
He is also a musicologist specializing in eighteenth-century music, especially Domenico Scarlatti, although he has written about other subjects including American minimalism. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and has written a number of scholarly articles, including a chapter to the book Domenico Scarlatti Adventures: Essays to Commemorate the 250th Anniversary of His Death,[6] and articles in the journals Early Music and Eighteenth-Century Music.[7]
Filmography
[edit]Feature films
[edit]| Year | Title | Director(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | The Death of Stalin | Armando Iannucci | — |
| 2019 | The Personal History of David Copperfield | — | |
| 2023 | Old Dads | Bill Burr | — |
| 2024 | Goodrich | Hallie Meyers-Shyer | — |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–2017 | Veep | HBO | Composed with Rupert Gregson-Williams |
| 2013–2019 | Mickey Mouse | Disney Channel | |
| 2016–2019 | The Lion Guard | Disney Junior | |
| 2016—present | Agatha Raisin | Sky One Acorn TV |
Composed with Rupert Gregson-Williams |
| 2020–2023 | The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse | Disney+ | |
| 2021–2023 | Schmigadoon! | Apple TV+ | [8] |
| 2022 | Cat Burglar | Netflix | Children's and Family Emmy Awards for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for an Animated Program |
| 2024—present | Ariel | Disney Jr. |
Theme park attractions
[edit]| Year | Title | Park | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway | Disney's Hollywood Studios/Disneyland | |
| 2020 | Vacation Fun - An Original Animated Short with Mickey & Minnie | Disney's Hollywood Studios | |
| 2022 | AquaMouse | Disney Wish | |
| 2023 | Mickey's Toontown | Disneyland | He composed "Our Homespun Melody" as well as his song "Nothing Can Stop Us Now" which was remixed and they are the land's background themes |
References
[edit]- ^ "Christopher Willis". IMDb.com. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
- ^ "91st Oscars Shortlists". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
- ^ "Proms - 2010 season". BBC. Archived from the original on 2 April 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
- ^ "Bbc Proms". Radiolistings.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
- ^ "London 2012". London2012.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
- ^ "Domenico Scarlatti Adventures. Essays to Commemorate the 250th... - Ut Orpheus Edizioni". Utorpheus.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
- ^ "Scarlatti, father and son". Em.oxfordjournals.org. 2 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
- ^ "Christopher Willis Scoring Apple TV+'s 'Schmigadoon!'". Filmmusicreporter.com. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
External links
[edit]- Christopher Willis at IMDb
- Piano music by Christopher Willis reviewed
- Christopher Willis on SoundCloud
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