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John Powell

Composer

Music

My time at Trinity [Laban] was a revelation. A chance to focus on writing, with Richard Arnell's never ending enthusiasm and the other student’s willingness to bring that music into reality I loved every minute. Being able to endlessly use the studio and rehearsal rooms to try out pieces was simply heaven. Along with an eye opening collection of world music records in the basement, these were the things that set up my creative path.

John Powell
John Powell

Biography

John Powell studied composition graduating in 1986 and has gone on to become one of the most prolific and influential film composers of our time. He has composed scores for some of Hollywood’s best loved films including How to Train Your Dragon, Happy Feet, Shrek, The Bourne Series, The Italian Job, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Ice Age and many more. Whilst a student John joined fellow composer Gavin Greenaway to create group Media Arts, together they composed music and sound for performances with artist Michael Petry. John has won countless awards including 3 Annie Awards, 2 Ivor Novello Awards, 15 ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards. He has been nominated for several BAFTAs and World Soundtrack Awards, a Grammy and in 2010 an Academy Award for How To Train Your Dragon. Since 2014 John has taken a sabbatical from film scores to concentrate on writing concert music.