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Craig Armstrong
Born	1959
Origin	Glasgow, Scotland
Occupations	Composer
Instruments	Violin Piano
Associated acts	The Dolls
Website	Official site

Craig Armstrong (born 1959) is a Scottish composer of modern orchestral music, electronica and film scores.

Contents 1 Education 1.1 Biography 1.2 New releases 1.3 Career highlights 2 Key works 3 Discography 3.1 Independent work 3.2 Film scores 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Education

Armstrong was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1959.^[1] He studied musical composition, violin and piano at the Royal Academy of Music from 1977 to 1981, where he was awarded the Charles Lucas prize and the Harvey Lohr scholarship for composition. He was also awarded the FTCL Fellowship in composition, and won the GLAA Young Jazz Musician of the Year in 1982. Upon completing his studies, Armstrong served as music and dance specialist at the Strathclyde Regional Council in 1984.

[edit] Biography

Craig’s score for Baz Luhrmann’s groundbreaking musical Moulin Rouge! earned him AFI’s Composer of the Year, a Golden Globe for Best Original Score of the Year and a BAFTA for Achievement in Film Music. His score for Phillip Noyce’s The Quiet American garnered him the Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Film Score. His other feature film scoring credits include the Oliver Stone drama World Trade Center; the Oscar®-winning bio-pic Ray for which Craig was awarded a Grammy for Best Original Score; and the worldwide ensemble comedy smash Love Actually. His scores can also be heard in The Magdalene Sisters, Kiss of the Dragon, The Bone Collector, The Clearing, Plunkett & Macleane, Best Laid Plans, Orphans, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and most recently Louis Leterrier’s Incredible Hulk. His score to William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (again with Baz Luhrmann) also earned him a BAFTA for Achievement in Film Music and an Ivor Novello.

Craig has had many collaborations including recording and performing the album Dolls with the Berlin laptop artist, AGF and Vladislav Delay. He has worked with a wide variety of artists, including U2, Madonna, Luciano Pavarotti, and Massive Attack. Over the last decade Craig has released two solo records to Massive Attack’s label Melankolic, followed by Piano Works on Sanctuary in 2004 and Film Works on Universal in 2005. In 2007 Craig recorded his first classical record for EMI Classics with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. It was released in 2008 and includes a violin concerto ‘Immer’ for Clio Gould .

Armstrong has written several classical commissions for the RSNO, the London Sinfonietta, the Hebrides Ensemble and the Scottish Ensemble. In 2006 Craig collaborated with the visual artists Dalziel and Scullion for the reopening of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow with a joint exhibition called Once. In 2007 Craig’s first opera was premiered as part of the Scottish Opera ‘5:15 - Opera’s made in Scotland’, a 15min opera with a libretto by Ian Rankin.

[edit] New releases

Rosebud was released from a new co written and co produced project of Craig Armstrong and Scott Fraser - Winona.

• September 2009: "Without You (Deal Soul Brothers Remix)" - Format: 12" Vinyl single

In 2008 Craig released on EMI Classics his first classical album, Memory Takes My Hand, featuring a violin concerto for Clio Gould

[edit] Career highlights

• 1977: Studied violin and composition with Cornelius Cardew at the Royal Academy of Music.

• 1994–2002: Commissions from Royal Shakespeare Company Music for Broken Heart and The Tempest, both directed by Michael Boyd.

• 2001: BAFTA, Golden Globe, American Film Institute Award, World Soundtrack Award and Golden Satellite Award for Moulin Rouge!.

• 2002: Visconti commissioned by Barbican Centre Elektronika festival for the London Sinfonietta.

• 2004: Collaboration with visual artists Dalziel + Scullion on One Minute to celebrate the opening of Perth's Horsecross Hall.

• 2005: Recieved a Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack album for his score for the Biopic film, Ray, directed by Taylor Hackford.

• 2008: Released on EMI Classics his first classical release, Memory Takes My Hand, featuring a violin concerto for Clio Gould.

[edit] Key works

• 1994: Slow Movement (strings)
• 1998: 20 Movements (orchestra)
• 1999: If Time Must Pass (violin, strings)
• 1999: Escape (orchestra, vocal)
• 2000: When Morning Turns to Light (mezzo-soprano, orchestra)
• 2002: Northern Sounds ... Islands (orchestra)
• 2005: One Minute (orchestra)
• 2007: Immer (violin concerto no. 1) (violin, orchestra)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Independent work

• 1998: The Space Between Us
• 2002: As If to Nothing
• 2004: Piano Works
• 2005: Film Works 1995-2005
• 2005: The Dolls by the Dolls (Armstrong with Antye Greie and Vladislav Delay)
• 2008: Memory Takes My Hand

[edit] Film scores

• 1996: Romeo + Juliet
• 1997: Orphans
• 1998: The Negotiator - Opening credit track. ("Rise")
• 1999: Plunkett & Macleane
• 1999: Best Laid Plans
• 1999: Cruel Intentions
• 1999: The Bone Collector
• 2000: Romeo Must Die
• 2001: Moulin Rouge! - Golden Globe for Best Original Score
• 2001: Kiss of the Dragon
• 2002: Al Cuore
• 2002: The Magdalene Sisters
• 2002: The Quiet American
• 2003: Love Actually
• 2004: The Clearing
• 2004: Ray
• 2004: Layer Cake - Track ("Ruthless Gravity")
• 2005: Fever Pitch
• 2005: Must Love Dogs
• 2006: World Trade Center
• 2007: Elizabeth: The Golden Age (with A. R. Rahman)
• 2008: The Incredible Hulk
• 2010: Clash of the Titans
• 2010: Invasion America^[2]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Craig Armstrong Online
• Craig Armstrong's Chester Music homepage
• Official site
• Craig Armstrong (composer) at the Internet Movie Database
• Craig Armstrong at mfiles.co.uk