Daniel Clive McCallum (born 1989 in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia) is a

film composer A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

, and

orchestrator Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

. He is a graduate of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

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 ...

. He is known for orchestrating and arranging the music for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil, which won the Sports

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for best music direction. McCallum is the son of

Ron McCallum Ronald Clive McCallum AO (born 8 October 1948) is an Australian legal academic. He is an expert in labour law, and has served as a professor and dean of law at the University of Sydney. He is the first totally blind person to be appointed to a f ...

, a noted Australian legal academic.

Career

McCallum left traditional school at the age of 13 to study music at the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (SCM) — formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music, and known by the moniker "The Con" — is the music school of the University of Sydney. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious music ...

. There, he studied

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an Originality, original piece or work of music, either Human voice, vocal or Musical instrument, instrumental, the musical form, structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new pie ...

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...

, as well as traditional Australian instruments with William Barton. He was awarded the

ABRSM The ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) is an examination board and registered charity based in the United Kingdom. ABRSM is one of five examination boards accredited by Ofqual to award graded exams and diploma qualificat ...

scholarship in 2008 to study composition at the

. After graduating, McCallum went on to work with

Howard Shore Howard Leslie Shore (born October 18, 1946) is a Canadian composer, conductor and orchestrator noted for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for ''The Lord of the Rings'' and '' The Hobbit'' fi ...

on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. McCallum is a prominent and awarded orchestrator. He orchestrated the

, Brazil. For this, the production won a Sports

. In 2019, McCallum orchestrated the new anthem for

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

. McCallum was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

in 2020 as part of the String Theory Artist Collective for his work on the album Sekou Andrews & The String Theory. McCallum has also been commissioned to write many contemporary classical pieces. Notably, his works have been performed by the

BBC Singers The BBC Singers is a professional British chamber choir, employed by the BBC. Its origins can be traced to 1924. One of the six BBC Performing Groups, the BBC Singers are based at the BBC Maida Vale Studios in London. The only full-time profes ...

, the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI Classics, EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Rich ...

, the Omega Ensemble in the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

, the Penrith Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Sinfionetta, the Sonic Arts Ensemble, the

London Contemporary Orchestra The London Contemporary Orchestra (LCO), founded in 2008 by Hugh Brunt and Robert Ames, is an ensemble of young musicians whose stated aim is "to explore and promote new music to an increasingly wide audience". LCO staged its inaugural season ...

, the Crossroads Chamber Festival (performed by

Paul Silverthorne Paul Silverthorne (born 1951 in Cheshire, England) is an English viola soloist and was principal violist of the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta. Biography Silverthorne studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Clarence Myers ...

), the Choir & Organ magazine, Ars Musica Australis, the

Warringah Council Warringah Council was a Local government areas of New South Wales, local government area in the Northern Beaches (Sydney), northern beaches region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed on 7 March 1906 as the W ...

, the Chronology Arts Ensemble, and the

. He currently resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

with his wife where he works as a

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Discography

*The Map to Paradise (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) *Bruce!!!! (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) *Loving in Limbo (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) *Retrospective, Vol. 1 *Dance Dads (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) *Retrospective, Vol. 2 *Our Deadly Vows *Wild Game (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) *

Vindication Swim ''Vindication Swim'' is a 2024 biographical drama film about swimmer Mercedes Gleitze, who in 1927 became the first British woman to swim the English Channel. The film is written and directed by Elliott Hasler, starring Kirsten Callaghan in t ...

(Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCallum, Daniel Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Living people American film score composers Australian film score composers American male film score composers Australian male film score composers American multi-instrumentalists Australian multi-instrumentalists American television composers Australian television composers Male television composers 20th-century classical composers 1989 births 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century Australian male musicians