Paul Leonard-Morgan (born 1974) is a Scottish composer particularly known for his work in scoring for television and film. He won a Scottish BAFTA for the film Reflections upon the Origin of the Pineapple (2000), which was his first film score.[1][2]
Early life
Leonard-Morgan's mother was a music teacher. As a child, he learned to play the piano, violin, and recorder.[3] He studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, graduating in 1995 with a BA in musical studies.[4]
Career
Leonard-Morgan's first album, Filmtales, was released in 2007. Between 2006 and 2011, he wrote scores for the BBC spy drama Spooks.[5] In 2007, he worked on the documentary J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life, providing the backing music that went with the film that showed the author working on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.[6]
Leonard-Morgan first became involved with video game soundtracks by composing material for Battlefield Hardline, which was released in March 2015.[15][16] In May 2016, a trailer for Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III was released, which included his composition;[17] the game came out in 2017, with a score by Leonard-Morgan.[18]
Leonard-Morgan cowrote the score for the video game Cyberpunk 2077. In an interview with Headliner Magazine on creating the score and soundtrack for the game, he said, "Writing dark music is relatively easy. Writing dark music like nobody else has ever written before is a little bit harder".[19]
Awards and honours
Scottish BAFTA - Best Composer or Original Sound Design, for Reflections upon the Origin of the Pineapple (2000).[20]
^Murray, Graeme (16 March 2011). "Scot Scores With New DeNiro Movie's Music". Daily Star. p. 17. It is the latest milestone for BAFTA award-winner Paul Leonard-Morgan who also wrote the music for BBC TV spy series Spooks
^"RSAMD". The Herald. 6 July 1995. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
^Sweeting, Adam (31 January 2008). "Why British composers are calling the tune in Hollywood". The Daily Telegraph. p. 27. The theme is amplified by Paul Leonard-Morgan, creator of the ultra-atmospheric album Filmtales and a regular TV name thanks to his music for series including Spooks, Fallen and Galapagos
^""Limitless"? I Had Three Weeks to Come Up with the Soundtrack". News of the World. 3 April 2011. p. 9. It's your music on the documentary A Year In The Life Of JK Rowling
^Davidson, Vicky (6 November 2007). "Secret City Music Star Set for Global TV Fame; Going for Gold Glasgow composer gets the chance of Olympic glory by creating the US team's anthem". Evening Times. p. 16. But now the Bafta-winning Glasgow composer is set to take his compositions on to a world stage after recording the American Olympic team's anthem for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
^Bruce, Keith (1 December 2009). "REVIEW; Music". The Herald. p. 17. The BBC's main reason for the concert was to promote the music Paul Leonard Morgan has written for the History of Scotland TV series
^Murray, Graeme (16 March 2011). "Scot Scores With New DeNiro Movie's Music". Daily Star. p. 17. A Scots composer has written the musical score for a new Hollywood movie starring screen Legend Robert De Niro.
^Loxton, Rachel (7 August 2013). "City composer up for film award". Evening Times. p. 3. Paul Leonard-Morgan was shortlisted for World Soundtrack Public Choice Award 2013 for the music he composed for the film Dredd.