Bear McCreary
| Bear McCreary | |
|---|---|
 at San Diego House of Blues 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Born |
February 17, 1979 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States |
| Genres | Film score, orchestral |
| Occupation(s) | Composer |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Labels | La La Land Records, Sparks and Shadows |
Bear McCreary (born February 17, 1979) is an American composer and musician living in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his work on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series and for the TV series The Walking Dead. McCreary won an Emmy for his main title of Da Vinci's Demons.[1]
Personal life
McCreary was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and spent most of his formative years in Bellingham, Washington. He is the son of author Laura Kalpakian and professor Jay McCreary of University of Hawaii. He is of Irish and Armenian descent.
McCreary earned degrees in Composition and Recording Arts from the USC Thornton School of Music, and is a classically trained pianist and self-taught accordionist.[2] He studied under the renowned film score composer Elmer Bernstein during which time he reconstructed and re-orchestrated Bernstein's 1963 score for Kings of the Sun. Their collaboration allowed for the complete score to be available as a soundtrack album for the first time in forty years.[3]
He has also directed and produced several music videos for his brother Brendan McCreary's band, Young Beautiful in a Hurry.[4]
McCreary is married to singer/songwriter Raya Yarbrough, with whom he worked on the music of Battlestar Galactica, Defiance, Da Vinci's Demons, and several other projects.[5][6] They have a daughter together named Sonatine after the musical term sonatina.[7]
Career
Television
Battlestar Galactica and Caprica
In 2003, McCreary worked under primary composer Richard Gibbs on the 3-hour miniseries which served as a pilot for the re-imagined series of Battlestar Galactica. When the show was picked up, Gibbs opted not to devote full-time to the regular series' production, and McCreary became the sole composer. He worked on the series until it reached its conclusion in 2009, scoring over 70 episodes. To date, six Battlestar Galactica soundtrack albums have been released, and have garnered a great deal of critical acclaim[8][9] and commercial success. The soundtracks for season two and three ranked amongst Amazon.com's Top 30 Music Sales on their first days of release.[3]
McCreary composed for Caprica, a prequel series set in the fictional Battlestar Galactica universe. On February 18, 2012, McCreary announced that he would compose the score to the 2-hour pilot movie Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome.
Human Target
Bear provided the score for the series Human Target (based on the comic book of the same name). The pilot episode and main theme score had been recorded with a full orchestra.[10] The series has the distinction of being one of the few with largest orchestras on television.
The score to the finale of season 1, "Christopher Chance," utilized the largest orchestra ever assembled for episodic television, and he took the opportunity to re-record the main title theme with a new orchestration with this larger ensemble.
In July 2010, he received his first Emmy nomination for the Human Target main title.[11]
In a post on his blog on July 25, 2010, Bear announced the new creative leadership brought in for season 2 had not asked him to return for it, and he would be leaving the series.[12]
The Walking Dead and The Cape
During Comic-Con 2010, Bear McCreary attended panels for AMC's The Walking Dead and NBC's The Cape to announce he would be composing the score for both television series.[13][14]
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
On July 15, 2013, McCreary announced that he will compose the score for ABC's series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.[15]
Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera
McCreary served as orchestral producer for the rock opera Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem airing on Adult Swim on October 27, 2013. This is a continuation of the Metalocalypse universe following the band Dethklok. The music features a 50 piece orchestra. The soundtrack was released on October 29, 2013.[16]
Films
Bear McCreary made his theatrical feature film scoring debut with Step Up 3D[17] and has also composed the scores for several direct-to-video features, including Rest Stop, Rest Stop: Don't Look Back and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End.
Bear's latest feature film is Knights of Badassdom, released by Entertainment One on January 21, 2014. This is his second movie with director Joe Lynch (of Wrong Turn 2) and third with actress Summer Glau. He acted also a third time in a Joe Lynch, with Everly and was co-artist of the Opening score Soundtrack "Silent Night", which was a Duet with Raya Yarbrough.[18]
Video games
McCreary made an 8-bit rendition of the Dark Void theme, which was, originally, an April fools joke. However, the theme was used for the 8-bit prequel, Dark Void Zero.[19] He composed all the songs in an 8-bit fashion by connecting the wires on an actual NES console and cartridge to create authenticity.
He arranged James Rolfe's The Angry Video Game Nerd "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" parody "You’re a Mean One, Mr. Nerd" for the 2010 Christmas special, with orchestra and 8-bit audio elements.[20]
Discography
Albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| The Music of Battlestar Galactica for Solo Piano | |
Film soundtracks
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Rest Stop: Dead Ahead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
|
| Wrong Turn 2: Dead End: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
|
| Rest Stop: Don't Look Back: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
|
| Chillerama Presents Zom-B-Movie Soundtrack |
|
| Europa Report: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
|
| Knights of Badassdom: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
|
| Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |
|
Television soundtracks
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Battlestar Galactica: Original Soundtrack from the Sci Fi Channel Mini Series |
|
| Battlestar Galactica: Season One: Original Soundtrack from the Sci Fi Channel Television Series |
|
| Battlestar Galactica: Season 2: Original Soundtrack from the Sci Fi Channel Television Series |
|
| Battlestar Galactica: Season 3: Original Soundtrack from the Sci Fi Channel Television Series |
|
| Eureka: Original Soundtrack from the Sci-Fi Channel Television Series |
|
| Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Original Television Soundtrack |
|
| Caprica: Original Soundtrack from the Sci Fi Channel Television Pilot Episode |
|
| Battlestar Galactica: Season 4: Original Soundtrack from the Syfy Television Series |
|
| Battlestar Galactica: The Plan and Razor: Original Soundtrack from the Syfy Special Events |
|
| Human Target: Season 1: Original Television Soundtrack |
|
| The Cape: Original Television Soundtrack |
|
| A Very Eureka Christmas: Original Holiday Soundtrack from the Television Series |
|
| Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome: Original Soundtrack from the SyFy Special Event |
|
| Da Vinci's Demons: Original Television Soundtrack |
|
| Defiance: Original Television Soundtrack |
|
| Caprica: Original Soundtrack to the Syfy Television Series |
|
| The World of Steam: The Clockwork Heart |
|
| Black Sails: A Starz Original Series Soundtrack |
|
| Da Vinci's Demons - Season 2: Original Television Soundtrack |
|
| Outlander - The Series: Original Television Soundtrack, Vol. 1 |
|
Video game soundtracks
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Dark Void: Original Video Game Score |
|
| SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs: Original Video Game Soundtrack |
|
| Moon Breakers |
|
| Defiance: Original Video Game Soundtrack |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Temporal Distortion"[49] | 2012 | N/A |
| "You Are My Home" (featuring Brendan McCreary)[50] |
N/A | |
| "Da Vinci's Demons" (Main Title Theme)[51] |
2013 | Da Vinci's Demons: Original Television Soundtrack |
| "I Forever" (Young Beautiful in a Hurry & Bear McCreary)[52] |
N/A |
Other appearances
| Title | Year | Artist(s) | Album | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Maverick Regeneration"[53] | 2011 | Various artists | Play for Japan: The Album | |
| "Main Title Theme Song" (Unkle Remix)[54] | 2013 | The Walking Dead: AMC Original Soundtrack – Vol. 1 | ||
| N/A | Dethklok | Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera Soundtrack | Orchestra |
Filmography
Film
| Title | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rest Stop | 2006 | Direct-to-video release. |
| Wrong Turn 2: Dead End | 2007 | |
| Rest Stop: Don't Look Back | 2008 | |
| Step Up 3D | 2010 | Theatrical film scoring debut |
| Chillerama | 2011 | Scored the segment "Zom-B Movie" |
| Europa Report | 2013 | |
| Knights of Badassdom | ||
| Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie | 2014 |
Television
| Title | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Battlestar Galactica | 2004–2009 | |
| Eureka | 2007–2012 | Took over from Mutato Muzika starting with the second season of the show in 2007. |
| Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles | 2008–2009 | |
| Trauma | 2009–2010 | |
| Caprica | ||
| Human Target | 2010 | Earned his first Emmy nomination for the main title.[55] |
| The Walking Dead | 2010–present | Based on the comic book series. AMC original series. |
| The Cape | 2011 | |
| Holliston | 2012 | |
| Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome | 10 episode web series released on machinima.com. | |
| Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem | 2013 | |
| Defiance | 2013–present | Syfy original series. |
| Da Vinci's Demons | Starz original series. Won his first Emmy for the main title.[56] | |
| Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | A continuation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. | |
| Black Sails | 2014 | Starz original series. |
| Outlander | Starz original series. | |
| Intruders | BBC America series based on the novel by Michael Marshall Smith. | |
| Constantine | NBC series based on the comic series Hellblazer published by DC Comics. |
Video games
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| Dark Void Zero | 2010 |
| Dark Void | |
| SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs | 2011 |
| Moon Breakers | 2012 |
| Defiance | 2013 |
Awards and nominations
References
- ↑ Weisman, Jon. "LIVE From the Creative Arts Emmys". Variety. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
- ↑ Bearmccreary.com
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Bear McCreary: Biography". Bear McCreary. Archived from the original on April 6, 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2009.
- ↑ Bearmccreary.com
- ↑ "I’m Getting Married!!". Bear McCreary. February 24, 2009. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
- ↑ "Malibu Wedding Photographer". Archived from the original on September 5, 2010. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ↑ Sonatine Yarbrough McCreary - Bearmccreary.com
- ↑ Sepinwall, Alan (June 22, 2008). "Sepinwall on TV: Michael Giacchino and Bear McCreary, score keepers". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on March 21, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
- ↑ Ryan, Maureen (June 16, 2008). "'Battlestar Galactica' provides some Earth-shattering 'Revelations'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 29, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
- ↑ McCreary, Bear (July 25, 2009). "Human Target Screens Today". Bear McCreary. Retrieved July 26, 2009.
- ↑ Burlingame, Jon (July 8, 2010). "Emmy Music Nominations Announced". Film Music Society. Archived from the original on August 17, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
- ↑ McCreary, Bear (July 25, 2010). "I Am Leaving "Human Target"". Bear McCreary.
- ↑ Comic Con 2010: The Cape Casts a Mighty Shadow
- ↑ 'Walking Dead' reveals trailer, taps Bear McCreary as composer
- ↑ Boucher, Geoff. "'Agents of SHIELD': Clark Gregg's 'commanding presence' calls the tune for composer Bear McCreary". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
- ↑ Indiewire.com
- ↑ Yamato, Jen (July 2, 2010). "Exclusive: 'Step Up 3D' Billboard Art Premiere!". Cinematical. Archived from the original on July 4, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
- ↑ Barton, Steve (March 10, 2015). "“Silent Night” music video by Raya Yarbrough & Bear McCreary, directed by Joe Lynch.". Dread Central. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
- ↑ Diener, Matt (April 2011). "Interview with Bear McCreary (April 2011)". Squareenixmusic.com. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
- ↑ Napolitano, Jayson (December 16, 2010). "Bear McCreary Vs. The Angry Video Game Nerd: A Christmas Special". Original Sound Version. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
- ↑ McCreary, Bear (September 14, 2011). "Battlestar Galactica Solo Piano CD". Bear McCreary. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "The Music of Battlestar Galactica for Solo Piano". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Rest Stop – Don't Look Back: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Zom-B-Movie Soundtrack". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Europa Report (Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Knights of Badassdom (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
- ↑ "Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
- ↑ "Eureka". La-La Land Records. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Terminator – The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Original Television Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ Maureen Ryan (January 23, 2009). "'Battlestar Galactica' veterans move on to 'Caprica'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
- ↑ "Battlestar Galactica: The Plan and Razor (Original Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Human Target (Original Television Soundtrack – Season 1)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Human Target: Limited Edition (3CD-Set)". La-La Land Records. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ McCreary, Bear (September 20, 2011). "The Cape Soundtrack CD". Bear McCreary. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "A Very Eureka Christmas (Original Holiday Soundtrack From the Television Series)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "LA-LA LAND RECORDS RE-ENGAGES IN THE CYLON WARS WITH TWO NEW SOUNDTRACKS COMPOSED BY BEAR MCCREARY". CineMedia Promotions. February 5, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Da Vinci's Demons (Original Television Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Defiance (Original Television Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Music of Bear McCreary Featured on CAPRICA Orignal Soundtrack, Out 7/30". Broadway World. July 25, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "The World of Steam: The Clockwork Heart – EP". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Black Sails (A Starz Original Series Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
- ↑ "Da Vinci's Demons - Season 2 (Original Television Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
- ↑ "Outlander (Original Television Soundtrack), Vol. 1". iTunes Store. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ↑ "Dark Void (Original Video Game Score)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "SOCOM 4 (Original Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "SOCOM 4: Limited Edition (2-CD Set)". La-La Land Records. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Moon Breakers – EP". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Defiance (Original Video Game Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Temporal Distortion – Single". Apple Inc. iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "You Are My Home (feat. Brendan McCreary) – Single". Apple Inc. iTunes Store. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
- ↑ "Da Vinci's Demons (Main Title Theme) – Single". Apple Inc. iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "I Forever – Single". Apple Inc. iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "Play For Japan: The Album". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ "The Walking Dead: AMC Original Soundtrack, Vol. 1". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
- ↑ FITZ (April 26, 2011). "Music Review: Bear McCreary – Human Target Soundtrack". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
- ↑ Variety
External links
- Bear McCreary at the Internet Movie Database
- Bear McCreary's YouTube Channel
- Official Bear McCreary Website
- Audio Interview on GeeksOn!
- "Of Duduks and Dylan: Negotiating Music and the Aural Space in Battlestar Galactica'', by Eftychia Papanikolaou; chapter in Cylons in America: Critical Studies of Battlestar Galactica, edited by Tiffany Potter and C. W. Marshall, 224-236. New York and London: Continuum, 2007.
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