Edward Shearmur page

'With film music, you are simply scoring something that is already there. You're taking the audience and nudging them along. The film music for me is heightening the experience and taking it places that we wouldn't get to otherwise.'

Personal quote

Edward Shearmur is recently making a name for himself and I couldn't be more then happier with that fact. He seems to handle the most diverse tasks with the best orchestral touch and whether for background pleasure (K-Pax) or pure front pleasure (Reign of Fire, Johnny English, The Count of Monte Cristo), he seems to do something with the material on every occasion. Shearmur is also the kind of composer that uses the benefit of an orchestra and like some of his young colleagues, that is the best way to start in the music business. His style is something I liked from the first moment I heard the piano theme of K-Pax and even a non thematic score like Reign of Fire should have bored me but it didn't, because he handled the material so fierce and controlled the idea so strong. Shearmur, mark my words is becoming a great composer if he can keep up this tone of composing since few young composers can add something to a movie like he did in the last couple of years. Another talent to the top!

Biography

Edward Shearmur was born in England in the year 1966. He began to develop a musical sense when he was a chorister in the choir of Westminster Abbey before he started to learn composition at Eton and Cambridge University. Through a mere coincidence, Michael Kamen stepped into the life of Shearmur and he became for somewhat 10 years the assistant of Kamen, starting to orchestrate efforts like The Adventures of Barry Munchausen, Die Hard, Event Horizon and other projects including Goldenthal's The Butcher Boy. His first score was with Kamen in 1991, Let Him Have It. Through that, Edward Shearmur developed his career lightly until he scored The Wings of the Dove, culminating into the already impressive career today. Species 2, The Governess, the highly successful movie Cruel Intentions, Blue Streak, Charlie's Angels 1 and 2, Miss Congeniality, K-Pax, Reign of Fire, The Count of Monte Cristo, Johnny English and Laws of Attraction. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is Shearmur's bombastic festival, the complete opposite is heard from the romantic Wimbledon and The Skeleton Key is the latest of Shearmur.

July 29, 2002

I Like to write music that has a little more sophistication than that.
(overall impression)

July 29, 2002

It is very interesting as a composer to have those sorts of intellectual challenges. They give you the opportunity to solve problems musically and in a way that you wouldn't think of initially.
(overall impression)