NICK GLENNIE-SMITH
Score

A diverse range of musical influences inspired English composer NICK GLENNIE-SMITH’s scores for film. He began his career as a chorister at age 8 at New College in Oxford, England. Citing the Beatles as his earliest musical heroes, Glennie-Smith left school in the 70’s with an education in classical music and passion for electronics and rock ‘n’ roll. He went on to tour with Gryphon, a London rock band playing medieval instruments.

As a top session musician in London in the 80’s, he contributed to a string of hits by such artists as Phil Collins, Tina Turner, and Paul McCartney. Roger Water’s 1990 concert “The Wall” at the Berlin Wall featured Glennie-Smith on keyboards. With colleagues Stanley Meyers (The Deer Hunter) and future Oscar winner Hans Zimmer, he composed and recorded jingles for London agency Air Edel and library albums for KPM at his Chelsea recording studio, Snake Ranch. A collaboration with songwriter Kenny Young (Under the Boardwalk) and Vic Copper-Smith (Producer of band The Jam) led to Gentlemen Without Weapons, a studio band pioneering the use of sampled sounds from nature to create a pop-oriented album with an environmental slant. Critically acclaimed, it led to the creation of an environmental charity, Earth Love Fund, which was presented with the UN Global 500 award for an outstanding contribution.

Glennie-Smith’s first foray into film scoring began in London, assisting Stanley Meyers. In 1991 he moved to L.A. and began a lengthy collaboration with composer Hans Zimmer, as co-composer, arranger and conductor for films such as The Lion King, Crimson Tide, Gladiator, Mission: Impossible II and Hannibal.

As a featured composer his credits include the 1996 The Rock and The Man In The Iron Mask (1997). For television he composed the score for the ABC Film of the Week Max Q, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (1998) and a 22-episode series The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, which aired on the Sci-Fi channel, as well as the USA Networks premiere of Attila the Hun. Most recently, Glennie-Smith has completed work on such films as We Were Soldiers, Ella Enchanted and King Arthur.