Adrian Johnston (born 1961) is an English musician and composer for film and television, who resides in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and Samois-sur-Seine.

Biography

Born in the county of

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, Johnston attended the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, studying English. He has been a drummer in bands including Moles for Breakfast,

The Waterboys The Waterboys are a rock band formed in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott (Scottish musician), Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Britain and Ireland, with Scott re ...

, the Wanglers, Combo Zombo, and The Mike Flowers Pops. During his twenties, he travelled the world providing music accompaniment to silent films at film festivals. He later scored productions for the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

and the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

. Johnston's first film score was for the 1996 Thomas Hardy adaptation '' Jude''. He has also composed original scores for '' The Turn of the Screw'' (1999), '' Becoming Jane'', a 2007 film about

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

, and the 2008 adaptation of

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

's ''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by the English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of Charles Ryder, esp ...

''. In 2008, he was awarded a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

for the score of the BBC film '' Capturing Mary''. Johnston's score for Charles Sturridge's mini-series '' Shackleton'' won a 2002 Primetime Emmy. In 2009, he scored the British science-fiction procedural TV series ''

Paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true or apparently true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictor ...

''. He composed the theme music for the BBC detective series ''

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

'', which won him a 2011 RTS Awards; the World War II drama '' The Sinking of the Laconia''; Stephen Poliakoff's acclaimed 2013 TV series ''Dancing on the Edge''; and the drama '' The 7.39''. Johnston won another RTS award in 2014 for scoring '' The Tunnel''.

References

External links

* 1961 births Living people English rock drummers British male drummers English composers English film score composers English male film score composers English television composers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh BAFTA winners (people) Primetime Emmy Award winners Musicians from Lancashire {{UK-drummer-stub