The world premiere of Jessica Curry’s multi award-nominated video game soundtrack.
Jessica Curry
composer
Jessica is a BAFTA-winning, Ivor Novello nominated composer of contemporary classical music and is also co-founder of renowned games company The Chinese Room. Her work has been performed in diverse and high-profile venues such as The Old Vic Tunnels, The Barbican, Sydney Opera House, The Royal Albert Hall, Great Ormond Street Hospital, The Wellcome Trust, MOMI New York, The Royal Opera House, Sage Gateshead and Durham Cathedral. The Washington Post described her music as “stupendous” and The Guardian praised her “gorgeous orchestral score” for Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.
Jessica’s music has had extensive airplay on Radio 3 and Classic FM, as well as on radio stations and in concert halls around the world.
Little Orpheus is now on Apple Arcade and the Ivor Novello nominated soundtrack has been described as “stellar…crafting gorgeous orchestral arrangements that add tension, mystique and wonder to every corner of the beautiful subterranean world.”
Jessica wrote the music for the genre-defying, multiple award-winning Dear Esther. The music went on a worldwide orchestral tour as part of Replay: Symphony of Heroes. The sold-out Dear Esther Live, where the game is played real-time alongside musicians and BAFTA nominated actor Oliver Dimsdale, premiered at The Barbican to great acclaim, went on a national tour of the country’s finest concert halls and then toured internationally.
Jessica wrote the music for Google Daydream game So Let Us Melt, described as “one of the best game soundtracks of the year.”
In late 2018 she was commissioned by The Royal Shakespeare Company and Magic Leap to work on The Seven Ages of Man, a mind-bending, beautiful AR experience which was selected for Sundance Film Festival 2019 as part of their New Frontier programme.
Her BAFTA winning music for acclaimed PS4 title Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture was named soundtrack of the year by MOJO magazine and sat in the Top 10 of both the Official and ClassicFM charts for several weeks.
Jessica was a presenter on ClassicFM, presenting High Score, a Saturday night show about video game music. The show has had an astounding response and is the most listened to show on catch-up in the history of the station. Her music was sung at The Royal Albert hall in 2018 as part of an evening of Sony Playstation soundtracks and she also hosted the evening. She went on to present a new show for BBC Radio 3, Sound of Gaming and has hosted concerts for the BBC Concert Orchestra.
In August 2022, her music rounded out Prom 21, the first ever Prom dedicated to games music. She also broadcast with the BBC World Service that night.
Jessica was London Oriana Choir’s composer in residence in 2018 and was selected for PRSF’s New Music Biennial which took place in London’s Southbank and Hull in July 2019. The piece was chosen as one of 10 pieces to celebrate the 10th year of New Music Biennial and was performed in Coventry and Southbank. Her commission for Crouch End Festival Chorus premiered at the Alexandra Palace Theatre, London in October 2021. In 2022 she was commissioned by Lady Mary Archer and ORA Singers. The Silver Swan received its first performance at Trinity College Cambridge.
She is currently working on three new game soundtracks.
Jessica was awarded the Outstanding Contribution award at Women in Games. She is currently signed to Faber Music.
Jessica also works as a freelance composer and is available for hire on games, film, television and other projects.
Jim Fowler
composer
I’ve been making music and sounds for theatre, film, animation and games since 2002. Recent projects include Blood & Truth, which was released on vinyl in 2020 (v exciting)! Over the last few years I’ve been lucky to orchestrate for some wonderful games and composers, Jessica Curry, whose score for Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture won the BAFTA for best music in 2016.
In 2018 I arranged and orchestrated PlayStation in Concert for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which was performed at the Albert Hall. It was amazing to work with some of the best game music produced during PlayStation’s lifetime and incredible to hear it all live.
During my time at Sony PlayStation as a composer and orchestrator I got to work on all sorts of exciting projects, including Bloodborne, Blood & Truth, Wonderbook: Book of Spells (part of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World) & LittleBigPlanet.
Music I’ve written has won and been nominated for a number of awards: Book of Spells won the Develop Audio Achievement award and was nominated for Music of the Year at the G.A.N.G Awards. Diggs Nightcrawler was nominated for four G.A.N.G Awards and a Music and Sound Award.
I find the role music and sound plays in story telling fascinating, particularly the way it can influence an audience’s emotions and reading of the story. Lately I’ve been thinking about the idea of playing a game being the performance of a piece of music and composing accordingly.
Timothy Henty
conductor
British conductor Timothy Henty has developed a strong international reputation both in the theatre and on the concert platform.
Orchestras he has conducted include: the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Malmö SymfoniOrkester, Münchner Symphoniker, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Stavanger Symfoniorkester, the Ulster Orchestra and the WDR Funkhausorchester (a complete list can be found here).
His opera and operetta credits include: Madama Butterfly (Nederlandse Reisopera), Iolanthe (English National Opera), Mike Leigh’s The Pirates of Penzance (ENO/Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg/Théâtre de Caen), Ruddigore (Opera North), L’elisir d’amore (Dorset Opera Festival), The Mikado (Raymond Gubbay at the Royal Festival, Birmingham Symphony and Bridgewater Halls), HMS Pinafore (Carl Rosa Opera), Hip-Hip! Horatio (Jubilee Opera, Aldeburgh), La Traviata (King’s Theatre), A Man of Feeling (Arcola), Florodora, Our Miss Gibbs (Finborough), Trial by Jury, HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival.
He has conducted performances for a wide range of soloists including Maxim Vengerov, Wayne Marshall, Alfie Boe, Shlomo Mintz, Claire Martin OBE, Joan Rodgers CBE, Kim Criswell and, on his 2012 New Year’s Eve performance in Dublin, the late Michel Legrand. Commercial artists he has conducted for include: Tony Hadley, Max Mutzke and Gabrielle.
Timothy conducts live to projection performances of films across the world. He has enjoyed a close relationship with CineConcerts since 2017, for whom he has conducted the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, Gladiator in Concert, The Godfather: Live and Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage. Further credits include: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Disney), Home Alone, Singin’ in the Rain (IMG), Ghostbusters: Live, The Snowman (Schirmer Theatrical), Os der lever (Musikkens Hus), Brief Encounter (Cork Film Festival) and Carl Davis’ score to Safety Last! Performances of games music includes RuneScape (Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra). In 2015, Timothy acted as rehearsal conductor for the world premiere of Titanic: Live in the presence of its late composer, James Horner.
He began his career as a Guest Conductor of The Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, before conducting productions for Dutch National Ballet, English National Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Northern Ballet, Ballett Basel, Skånes Dansteater and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures.
He conducted the soundtracks to the films The Goodbye Plane and Little Ashes, and his television appearances include The One Show, The Andrew Marr Show (BBC) and Gilbert and Sullivan – A Motley Pair (SkyArts).
In 2008, he collaborated with Anthony Baker to create a new performing version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s lost opera Thespis, which received wide critical praise, and which has now enjoyed several productions internationally to date. During the Lockdown of 2020, Timothy began an extensive online relationship with the London Mozart Players, presenting, directing, editing and producing several films and documentaries.
Born in Kent, Timothy Henty won a Foundation Scholarship to the Royal College of Music, where he studied with Neil Thomson and won the Tagore Gold Medal: the RCM’s highest award for its most outstanding student, presented to him by HRH The Prince of Wales.
Ruth Rogers
leader
Born in London in 1979, Ruth Rogers began violin lessons at the age of five. In 1997 she was awarded a Foundation Scholarship to the Royal College of Music to study with Itzhak Rashkovsky, where she won many major prizes and awards. Ruth graduated in 2001 with First Class Honours and was awarded the Tagore Gold medal – the College’s highest accolade – by HRH The Prince of Wales. Further study followed in the Netherlands with Herman Krebbers.
As a soloist, Ruth’s playing has been described as “not calculated in any sense, her performance style and technique so assured that the music flows as a natural consequence of innermost understanding. Ruth Rogers must be one of the most gifted young violinists in Britain.” (Musical Opinion.) Winner of the prestigious Manoug Parikian Award and chosen as a 2004 Young Artist by the Tillett Trust, Ruth also reached the Finals of the YCAT competition, Royal Overseas League, and the BBC Radio 2 Young Musician of the Year. She gave her London debut recitals at the Wigmore Hall and the Purcell Room in 2003 and has also appeared as a soloist at the Royal Albert Hall, St John’s Smith Square and many other venues.
From 2008 until 2012 Ruth was the co-leader of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Ruth also performs with the John Wilson Orchestra. In March 2015 Ruth was appointed as one of the Leaders of the London Mozart Players. She regularly guest leads the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Aurora Chamber Orchestra and has appeared in principal roles with the Hallé, Philharmonia and RLPO. She has led orchestras under the batons of such maestros as Lorin Maazel, Daniele Gatti, Sir Colin Davis and Sakari Oramo, and has performed concertos with the City of London Sinfonia, City of Oxford Orchestra, London Strings, and New London Soloists Orchestra.
As chamber musician, Ruth has performed at the Aldeburgh and Bath Festivals with the Tate Ensemble and with pianist John Lill in Shostakovich’s piano quintet. She is a member of the Iuventus String Quartet and the Aquinas Piano Trio and has appeared at the Wigmore Hall with the Nash Ensemble. In February 2009 Ruth reached the final of an International Duo Competition with Martin Cousin – the Franz Schubert and Modern Music International Competition which took place in Graz, Austria. They were one of five duos in the final, chosen from thirty-seven participating duos.
Ruth was chosen personally by Lorin Maazel to perform with the tenor Andrea Bocelli in a series of concerts, which has led to television and radio broadcasts and further concerts worldwide at such venues as the Pyramids in Cairo, the Acropolis in Athens, and the Piazza del Campo in Siena. They performed together at the Royal Albert Hall with the English Chamber Orchestra for the Classical Brit Awards. Ruth has given recitals at the Brighton, Buxton, Harrogate and Warwick Festivals thanks to the Tillett Trust. She has given recitals with Martin Cousin in Indonesia and Thailand.
In 2006 Ruth played to orphans, refugees, malaria patients and land-mine victims on the Thai-Burma border and in 2008 she went back there again with the Iuventus Quartet. In February 2006, Ruth’s debut recital CD was released. Recorded with pianist Sarah Nicolls, it features works by Handel, Elgar, Ginastera, Massenet, Fauré, Kreisler and Kroll. The CDs are £10 each and you can order copies by emailing [email protected] with your name, address, telephone number, and the number of copies requested. Proceeds from the CD sales will go to help those in need on the Thailand-Burma border. Ruth has also recorded Piazzolla’s ‘History of the Tango’ with guitarist Morgan Szymanski, and released several discs as a member of the Aquinas Piano Trio.
