Michael Price

Michael Price is an English composer and pianist. Prior to establishing himself as a composer, he held a number of roles within the TV and film music field such as producer, arranger and music editor, much of which whilst working alongside acclaimed film score composer Michael Kamen.

Personal life

The son of physics and biology teachers, Price studied music at school, before starting his music career on the Tonmeister course at Surrey University, where he won the PRS composition prize in 1990.

Early career

After writing a number of scores for contemporary dance in his early 20s, he became musical director of DNA Dance and Music, whose projects included the arts council funded chamber opera "All the Garden Gold", based on the life of William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelite movement.

Film and television

Prices's first film work was in 1996, when he was invited by Michael Kamen to orchestrate and program electronic sounds for the Paramount film Event Horizon. This led to a 5-year working relationship encompassing a number of film scores in London, Los Angeles and Prague, and concerts in Berlin, New York, San Francisco and Geneva. Following the production of the score to Band of Brothers, Price was approached to music edit on The Fellowship of the Ring for New Line Cinema. Furthermore, Price has supported Arnold on film scores including Edgar Wright's Hot Fuzz, The Inbetweeners Movie and The Inbetweeners 2.

In addition to composing for Zentropa's Dommeren and Slingshot Studios' Sugarhouse he scored two documentaries for producer and director Alfonso Cuarón; The Possibility of Hope, and Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine, both in 2007. Price met Cuarón when he scored additional music for the Academy Award winning feature Children of Men, working with Cuarón as music editor.

Solo career

Michael's first work to be released outside of the realms of film and television was a collection of four string quartet pieces 'A Stillness' which was released on Erased Tapes in 2012. Entanglement, his debut album (also on Erased Tapes) was released in 2015, fulfilled Michael's long-term desire to explore new musical territories, featuring Michael on the piano, with the addition of cello, soprano voice, string orchestra, modular synth, tape effects and electronics.

This was followed by Diary, 30 improvisations for solo piano, released on 1631 Recordings, and swiftly followed by his second Erased Tapes album Tender Symmetry in 2018. Tender Symmetry is a collection of orchestral and vocal works created in response to, and recorded within 7 distinctive and evocative National Trust sites. Its companion work 'Songs for Eveline' arrived in 2019.

In 2021 Price released The Hope of Better Weather a collection of 2012 piano recordings alongside new reworks by artists including Yann Tiersen, Bill Ryder-Jones, Eluvium (musician) and Malibu as well as a duet with Peter Gregson (cellist).

The Hope of Better Weather was followed in 2022 by Whitsun, a new album of contemporary compositions centred around the Klavins Una Corda piano.

In the live sphere Michael has performed as a pianist solo as well as with the ‘Michael Price Trio and Ensemble’ at venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, London, Kings Place, London, Union Chapel, London, the Casa da Musica, Porto, Reeperbahn Festival, Hamburg, and the Stadsschouwburg in Leuven.

Other information

Price has worked with several music bodies and organisations, including PRS, BASCA and music charity Heart N Soul. In 2015 he was the chair of the BASCA Media Executive Committee and director of the BASCA board.

Solo discography

Albums 2015 Entanglement (Erased Tapes Records) 2017 Diary (1631 Recordings) 2018 Diary Reworks (1631 Recordings) 2018 Tender Symmetry (Erased Tapes Records) 2021 The Hope of Better Weather (The Control Room) 2022 Whitsun (The Control Room)

EPs 2012 A Stillness (Erased Tapes Records) 2012 The Hope of Better Weather (The Control Room) 2014 Berlin 1-3 with Peter Gregson (The Control Room) 2019 Songs for Eveline (Erased Tapes Records)

Compilations 2018 Erased Tapes 1+1=X (Erased Tapes Records) 2019 Music for Brainwaves (Erased Tapes Records)

Remixes / reworks 2013 Editors - Marching Orders (Michael Price Rework) 2018 Fyfe & Iskra Strings - Arashiyama (Michael Price Remix)

Production 1999 Metallica - S&M (Vertigo Records) (Technician) 2006 Coldcut - Sound Mirrors (Ninja Tune) (Arrangement & Collaborator) 2008 Dido - Safe Trip Home (RCA Records) (Orchestrator)

Film and television credits

Film 2002 Ashes & Sand 2003 LD50 Lethal Dose 2004 Some Things That Stay 2005 Dommeren (aka "The Judge") 2006 Eight Percent 2007 Dreamcatcher 2007 Blind Date (2007 film) 2007 The Possibility of Hope 2007 Sugarhouse (film) 2007 The Shock Doctrine 2008 Swan Song 2008 Agent Crush 2008 Wild Child 2009 7 Lives 2009 The Mountain Within 2010 Wild Target 2010 H. G. Wells' The First Men in the Moon 2010 Soul Flowers 2011 Island 2011 Horrid Henry: The Movie 2012 Cheerful Weather for the Wedding 2012 A Fantastic Fear of Everything 2012 My Brother Marvin 2013 Delicious 2013 Another Me 2014 The Inbetweeners 2 2014 Walter (2014 film) 2015 Just Jim (2015 film) 2016 Litterbugs 2018 Patrick (2018 film) 2019 Eternal Beauty

Television 2008 Crooked House 2010 Sherlock (TV series) S1 (with David Arnold) 2012 Sherlock (TV series) S2 (with David Arnold) 2012 Mr Stink 2012 Beyond the Search 2013 Lightfields 2013 The Tractate Middoth 2013 Gangsta Granny 2013/14 Big School 2014 Sherlock (TV series) S3 (with David Arnold) 2015 Jekyll and Hyde (TV series) 2015 Unforgotten S1 2016 Sherlock (TV series) The Abominable Bride (with David Arnold) 2017 Unforgotten S2 2017 Sherlock (TV series) S4 (with David Arnold) 2018 Unforgotten S3 2018 Age Before Beauty 2020 Dracula (2020 TV series) (with David Arnold) 2020 Soulmates (TV series) 2021 Unforgotten S4 2022 Sister Boniface Mysteries

Music editor 2001 Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring 2002 Insomnia 2002 The Time Machine 2002 The Truth About Charlie 2002 The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers 2003 Love Actually 2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2004 Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (film) 2005 Goal! 2005 Nanny McPhee 2006 Flyboys 2006 Children of Men 2007 The Last Legion

Other credits 1997 Event Horizon (Music Co-Producer) 1997 The Winter Guest (Music Co-Producer) 1998 From The Earth To The Moon (Music Co-Producer) 1998 What Dreams May Come (Music Co-Producer) 1999 The Iron Giant (Music Co-Producer) 2000 X-Men (Music Co-Producer) 2000 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (Music Co-Producer) 2001 Band Of Brothers (Music Co-Producer / Orchestrator / Conductor) 2006 The Da Vinci Code (Booth Reader) 2007 Hot Fuzz (Additional Music) 2008 Quantum of Solace (Additional Music arranger)

Awards Won: (with David Arnold) Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie, or a Special - Sherlock ("His Last Vow") Won: (with David Arnold) Music and Sound Award 2013 for Best Original Composition in a Television Programme - Sherlock (Season 2) Won: (with David Arnold) Televisual Bulldog Award 2013 for Best Music - Sherlock (Season 2) Won: (with David Arnold) 2010 Royal Television Award for Original Title - Sherlock (Season 1) Won: MPSE Golden Reel Award 2001 for Music Editor - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring