FIMUCITÉ

Justin Hurwitzn (b. 1985) is a prominent American composer, best known for his close collaboration with director Damien Chazelle. Their partnership began at Harvard University, where they shared a band and room, and has been cemented with acclaimed films such as WHIPLASH and LA LA LAND. Hurwitz's ability to fuse genres and create emotive soundtracks has been central to the success of these films.

His work on LA LA LAND earned him worldwide acclaim, winning Oscars for Best Original Score and Original Song, as well as multiple international awards. Today, Hurwitz continues to collaborate with Chazelle on major film projects, cementing his position as one of the most influential composers of his generation.

Lolita Ritmanis is a Grammy®, Emmy® and SCL award-winning composer known for her versatility in creating music for film, television and concerts. Her work ranges from film scores such as the Oscar-nominated BLIZZARD OF SOULS to music for television series such as YOUNG JUSTICE: PHANTOMS, and has been performed at prestigious venues such as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. In addition to her career as a composer, she is co-founder of the Alliance for Women Film Composers and producer of the Grammy®-winning album ‘Women Warriors: The Voices of Change’.

Currently, Ritmanis continues to compose music for feature films, including AN AMERICAN MIRACLE’, to be released in 2025, and ESCAPE NET, as well as celebrating the release of TAHLEQUAH THE WHALE: A DANCE OF GRIEF. She also teaches at the USC Thornton School of Music and is active in several professional organizations, including the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Her dedication to musical excellence and commitment to female representation make her a leading figure in the industry.

Kristopher Carter is a composer widely known for creating the theme song for the series BATMAN BEYOND. His prolific career includes composing for numerous animated series such as TEEN TITANS, JUSTICE LEAGUE and BEN10, earning him multiple Emmy® and Annie® Award nominations. He has also composed for feature films such as BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD and SiREN, V|H|S: VIRAL, demonstrating his versatility in a variety of genres.

In addition to his compositional work, Carter is an accomplished conductor and pianist, performing his music at international film music festivals. He has received commissions from prestigious orchestras, including the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Additionally, he explores electronic music as The Kr Protocol, producing remixes and performing DJ sets at events and online platforms, showcasing his diverse musical talents.

Michael McCuistion is an Emmy Award-winning composer with a diverse portfolio spanning compositions for film, television, multimedia and concert venues. He composed music for the Oscar-winning short film MY MOTHER DREAMS THE SATAN'S DISCIPLES IN NEW YORK and the SPIDER MAN video games, garnering numerous Emmy and Annie Award nominations. His musical education includes studies with film music legends, and his early career involved orchestrating for high-profile Hollywood composers.

Highlights of McCuistion's career include composing for iconic superhero series such as BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES and a collaboration with Griffith Observatory for their planetarium production TIME'S UP. His recent concert work, JAZZ MOODS, received its international premiere, and he continues to compose for projects such as Marvel's AVENGERS ASSEMBLE. He has recorded music all over the world and currently resides in Los Angeles.

Wendy Carlos, a pioneer in electronic music, revolutionised the genre by popularising the use of synthesizers. Her album ‘Switched-On Bach’ (1968), a groundbreaking synthesiser reinterpretation of Bach's works, won three Grammy Awards and became a landmark. He also composed iconic soundtracks for Stanley Kubrick films such as THE MECHANICAL ORANGE and THE BRIGHTNESS, as well as for TRON, demonstrating his versatility and talent.

Throughout his career, Carlos experimented with various technologies and techniques, from the Moog synthesizer to digital synthesizers such as the Synergy, exploring alternative tunings and exotic scales. His album SONIC SEASONINGS (1972) was a forerunner of ambient music, and his later works such as DIGITAL MOONSCAPES and UTY IN THE BEAST showed his continuous innovation and search for new sounds. He not only left a lasting musical legacy, but also paved the way for future generations of electronic musicians.

In 2005, Miguel Ángel Ordóñez founded the specialist soundtrack website scoremagacine.com, for which he is the director and for which he has written over 150 reviews and studies devoted to names in film music such as Toru Takemitsu, George Antheil or Leonard Rosenman.

From 2005 to 2017, Miguel organised the Premios de la Crítica Musical Cinematográfica Española, the only awards decided upon writers in the field of soundtracks. Since 2011, the awards have been given in FIMUCITÉ, where the winning works are performed in presence of their composers.

In 2018 he produced, with label Quartet Records, the published physical edition of the score for classic Spanish television show “El hombre y la tierra”, one of the most complex and revered soundtracks in the field of applied music, composed by Antón García Abril.

Wojciech Kilar was a Polish classical and film music composer. His film scores have won many honors including the best score award for the music to Ziemia obiecana (The Promised Land) in 1975, followed by the Prix Louis Delluc in 1980 for the music to Le Roi et l'Oiseau / The King and the Mockingbird, and an award at the CorkInternational Film Festival for the music to From A Far Country (1981) about the life of Pope John Paul II.

One of his greatest successes came with his score to Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1993 which received the ASCAP Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Producers in Los Angeles, nominated also for the Saturn Awardfor Best Music in a science fiction, fantasy, or horror film in San Francisco in 1993. In 2003, he won the César Award for Best Film Music written for The Pianist, at France's 28th César Awards Ceremony in 2003, for which he also received a BAFTA nomination. The film's soundtrack featured his "Moving to the Ghetto Oct. 31, 1940" with the other 10 tracks being works by Frédéric Chopin. The music in the movie includes pieces by Beethoven and Bach.

One of the foremost talents in film music today, Golden Globe-nominated composer Christopher Young has scored an impressive number of features in virtually every genre, all with strikingly original music. The spine-tingling “Hellraiser” showcases the composer’s seminal upbringing in horror; the new-techno sound of “Swordfish” displays his versatility; the resonant, genuine Celtic sounds of “The Shipping News” display his attention to detail; to the heart-pounding rhythms of “Spider-Man 3” are all evidence of his willingness to experiment. These scores are among the nearly 100 films that embody the work of this prolific composer.

A great lover of cinema, he combined his innate musicality with the seventh art from a very young age. In love with the Baroque and Johann Sebastian Bach, inspired by the works of Nino Rota, Carlo Rustichelli, Ennio Morricone, but also by the great international composers, he decided to embark on his musical career after having witnessed, thanks to Sergio Leone, the recording of the soundtrack of ‘Giù la testa’.

He studied piano and many other instruments, but his great lifelong companion is the classical guitar. In addition to composing for the film industry, he scored the music for many TV series and variety shows for Italian television. Special mention should be made of his collaboration with director Lucio Fulci, which lasted from 1975 to 1990, a true fil rouge of Frizzi's career, which gave him international visibility and recognition among genre film lovers. ‘EL MÁS ALLÁ’, “LA CIUDAD DE LOS MUERTOS VIVIENTES”, “ZOMBI 2”, “MANHATTAN BABY” or “UN GATTO NEL CERVELLO” are some of the most popular titles.

Dr Trevor Jones has composed music for over 90 film and television projects, including the Golden Globe nominee The Last Of The Mohicans (1992), the major blockbuster Notting Hill (1999) and Jim Henson's cult classics, The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986). 

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Trevor left the continent at the age of 17 after receiving a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Music. Throughout his time at University he composed music for 23 student films, including the Oscar winning, The Dollar Bottom (1981). Shortly afterwards he completed his first major work, Excalibur (1981).

Throughout his impressive career he has worked with some of the finest actors and film-makers in the industry; recording with world-renowned orchestras, such as the London Symphony Orchestra, The London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Academy of St Martin in the Fields, The Medici String Quartet amongst many others.

In recent years, Trevor has been working to promote diversity and new talent within the creative industry, including working with Music Exchange to empower up-and-coming musicians in South Africa.

James Fitzpatrick was one of the co-founders of Silva Screen Records, one of the most successful independent record labels in the UK, specialising in recordings of classic film music, including the compositions of HANS ZIMMER, JERRY GOLDSMITH, MAX STEINER, ALFRED NEWMAN, JEROME MOROSS, JOHN BARRY, MAURICE JARRE and many others. In 2002 he set up the Tadlow Music label to provide first-class orchestral recording services in London and Prague to the film, television and video game industries, as well as other record labels. In recent years, he has worked with artists such as RACHEL PORTMAN, KEVIN KINER, GABRIEL YARED, BRIAN TYLER, MYCHAEL DANNA and many others.

James Fitzpatrick established the Tadlow Music label in 2005, which has been gaining a following and acclaim for each of its fine recordings, including a new complete recording of LAWRENCE DE ARABIA (Jarre), THE CANYONS OF NAVARONE (Tiomkin), VALUE OF LAW (Bernstein), EL CID (Rozsa), EXODUS (Gold), VILLA CABALGA (Jarre), TARAS BULBA (Waxman) and most recently FASCINATION (Herrmann). He has also produced numerous other recordings for other labels, including CONAN THE BARBARIAN and THE DESTROYER (Poledouris), THE HOUR OF THE BRAVE, THE SALAMANDRA and QB VII (Goldsmith), THE ALAMUS AND THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (Tiomkin), THE HARDENMAN SAGA and THE ADVENTURER OF KENYA (Barry).

Howard Shore is one of today's leading composers, whose music is performed in concert halls around the world by the most prestigious orchestras and heard in cinemas around the world. Shore's musical interpretation of J.R.R. TOLKIEN from THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE HOBBIT, as depicted in the films directed by PETER JACKSON, has captivated people of all generations for years. This work stands as his most acclaimed composition to date, winning him three Academy Awards, four Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, as well as numerous critical and festival awards.

He is Officier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la France, winner of the Governor General of Canada's Performing Arts Award and is an Officer of the Order of Canada. The National Film Review Board honoured Howard Shore with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Music Composition, the City of Vienna presented him with the Max Steiner Award and in 2017 he received the Wojciech Kilar Award established by the mayors of Krakow and Katowice. Shore has received many other awards for his career achievements.

Shore was one of the original creators of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and served as musical director from 1975 to 1980. At the same time, he began collaborating with David Cronenberg and has since composed the music for 15 of the director's films, including THE FRY, CRASH and THE NAKED LUNCH. He was awarded Canadian Screen Awards for Maps to the Stars for score and Cosmopolis for score and song. Shore continues to distinguish himself with a wide range of projects, from Martin Scorsese's THE INVENTION OF HUGO, INFILTRATED, THE AVIATOR (for which he won his third Golden Globe) and GANGS OF NEW YORK to ED WOOK, SEVEN, THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, PHILADELPHIA, LADY DOUBTFIRE and the Academy Award-winning score for TOM MCCARTHY's SPOT LIGHT.

Shirley Walker, born in 1945, was a pioneer in music composition for film and television in Hollywood. With a strong musical background that included piano and composition studies, she began her career in 1979, excelling with synthesizers. In 1992, she made history by being the first woman to compose the soundtrack for a major Hollywood production, ‘MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN’.

Throughout her career, Walker left an indelible mark on the industry, composing for numerous films and television series, including FINAL DESTINY and THE FLASH, where she collaborated with DANNY ELFMAN. His work on DC Comics animated series, such as BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, cemented his legacy. In addition to her musical talents, Walker was an advocate for songwriters' rights, playing an active role in the Society of Composers and Authors.

Lalo Schifrin was born in Buenos Aires in 1932. He is an influential Argentinian-American pianist, composer and conductor, famous for his iconic film and television soundtracks, most notably the theme song to MISSION IMPOSSIBLE. His prolific career ranges from Latin jazz and bossa nova to classical music, with works that have left an indelible mark on popular culture. He has won six Grammy Awards, an honorary Oscar and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, among other accolades.

His musical career began in his childhood, encouraged by his violinist father, and was consolidated by studies at the Paris Conservatory and collaborations with jazz figures such as Dizzy Gillespie. After moving to Hollywood in the 1960s, Schifrin composed soundtracks for films such as BILLITT and HARRY THE DIRTY, and series such as MANNIX and STARSKY AND HUTCH’. In addition to his success in film and television, he has dabbled in orchestral jazz and was the principal arranger for THE THREE TENORS. In 2024, Schifrin collaborated with Rod Schejtman to create a monumental symphony, scheduled to have its world premiere at the Teatro Colón in 2025.

Bruce Broughton is a renowned American composer, celebrated for his numerous soundtracks for films such as Silverado, tombstone and THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER, as well as for his themes for television series such as THE ORVILLE, JAG and TINY TOON ADVENTURES. His prolific career spans from mini-series such as TEXAS RISING to TV movies such as WARM SPRINGS, and he has composed music for countless episodes of popular series such as DALLAS and HALLAII FIVE-O.

With a record 10 Emmy Awards out of 24 nominations, Broughton has also received Oscar nominations for SILVERADO and Grammy nominations for YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES. His music graces many Disney theme park attractions around the world, and his score for HEART OF DARKNESS was the first orchestral soundtrack recorded for a video game. In addition to his work in film and television, his concert works have been performed by prestigious orchestras, and he has received commissions from the Houston Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He currently serves on the board of ASCAP, has been a governor of the Television and Film Academies, and teaches composition and orchestration at USC and UCLA.

François de Roubaix (1939-1975) was an influential French composer, renowned for his innovative soundtracks for film and television. From a young age, he showed a strong inclination for music and the sea, passions that would mark his life and work. He began his musical career in jazz, but soon turned to composing for film, working closely with director Robert Enrico. His unique musical style, which fused elements of jazz, electronic and orchestral music, revolutionised French film soundtracks of the 1960s and 1970s.

Throughout his prolific career, de Roubaix composed music for numerous films, television series and short films, working with leading French film directors and actors. In addition to his film work, he dabbled in music for advertising, theatre and radio, and collaborated with a number of French song artists. His legacy lives on to this day, with his music inspiring new generations of artists.

Marco Beltrami, Oscar nominated twice for “3:10 to Yuma” and “The Hurt Locker”, received the Fimucité Award in 2013.

Heattended the festival and offered the audience his last works for “Snowpiercer” and “The Wolverine” together with the world première of his science fictions and fantasy suites “I Robot”, “Mimic”, “Knowing” and “Hellboy”.

Fimucité 2013 Life achievement was given to Elmer Bernstein, a key composer, who turned from European 30’s and 40’s film music to a jazzier American style. His cinematographic career began with two extraordinary and quite different works, “The Man with the Golden Arm” and “The 10 Commandements”, and after that he continued a legacy full of creativeness and sensitivity.

Fimucité and the Big Band de Canarias offered a retrospective concert with his talented works for television and cinema, including “The Man with the Golden Arm”, “The Silencers”, “Johnny Stacato”, “Devil in a Blue Dress”, “Sweet Smell of Success” or “Walk on the Wild Side”.

Preparing the last details of 2013’s edition, we knew of the passing of this pioneer voice in the broadcasting of film music in Canary Islands.

Many learned to enjoy this art thanks to the passion of this great communicatorand his radio program. FIMUCITÉ dedicated him the concert given by the professional Band of the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, under the baton of Benigno Cedrés, and gave his family a special recognition for his devotion to film music.

In 2012, the Tenerife International Film Music Festival wanted to present his most precious award to a key composer in film history, author of wonderful melodies and direct example when we refer to the introduction of jazz in film music.

Henry Mancini is one of the audience most recognized and beloved composers, with a repertoire that still influences nowadays Hollywood professionals.

In order to illustrate better this award, FIMUCITÉ scheduled, together with the Big Band de Canarias, a tribute concert that brought back some of the most renowned scores of the author of “The Pink Panther”, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” or “Charade” to its jazz original field.

With its intention of bringing closer modern film music to the general audience, the Tenerife International Film Music Festival gave its main award to veteran composer James Newton Howard, a versatile professional with a large filmography and whose signature is, right now, one of the most esteemed in Hollywood.

The author of the scores for “The Fugitive”, “The Village” or “Snow White and the Huntsman” is characterized not only by his ability to adapt himself to all kind of stories and genres, but also by always offering wonderful melodies that haunt the audience.

This FIMUCITÉ Award was collected by his friend and longtime collaborator Pete Anthony, who conducted the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra and Tenerife Film Choir in a concert with some of Newton Howard’s most important works.

In 2012, FIMUCITÉ also wanted to award a prize for the task carried out by the Krakow Festival Office with their Film Music Festival (FMF), an event that has programmed great concerts with important international artists for five years.

The bounds established between the FMF and FIMUCITÉ have created a European circuit of film music concerts that has boosted these works presence in the Old Continent.

The award was accepted by Robert Piaskowski, Artistic Director of Film Music Festival and Deputy Program Director of the Krakow Festival Office.

2011 FIMUCITÉ Awards also wanted to pay tribute to a composer that changed the Hollywood industry in the 1940s, Bernard Herrmann, during the celebration of his 100th anniversary.

His rupture with the Hollywood studios system and his relationship with filmmakers such as Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Ray Harryhausen, François Truffaut, Brian DePalma or Martin Scorsese marked the transition between the classic era and the modern cinema.

This award was the climax of a tribute concert featuring some of his most important works.

Patrick Doyle was also awarded by FIMUCITÉ in 2011. His career in Hollywood and Europe, in cinema, theatre and concert halls, endorses him as a key composer linking different cinematographic industries in the world.

His professional relationship with filmmaker Kenneth Branagh has also made the fascinating power of Williams Shakespeare’s works reach a broad audience.

FIMUCITÉ’s organization was honored to have this exceptional composer in 2011 and did not want to miss the chance to present him with their most precious award.

Publicist Ray Costa is the founder and president of Costa Communications, one of the most important advertising companies specialized in Film Music in The United States. His task takes place behind the screen, but necessary to obtain the deserved recognition for talented composers in events such as Oscar, Golden Globe, Grammy, EMI or Tony Awards.

He has represented renowned composers including Mychael Danna, Craig Armstrong, John Debney, Alexandre Desplat, Alan Menken, John Powell or Javier Navarrete

In 2010, The FIMUCITÉ Green Award, which recognizes works related to sustainability and preservation of our planet in the artistic fields of music and film, went to French composer Bruno Coulais, the first one to win it thanks to his work in nature documentaries such as “Oceans” or “Microcosmos”.

As a sample, the Festival programmed a concert with scores for these films, which concluded with the presentation of the award.

Alex North has been a very dearest composer to FIMUCITÉ. In 2008, his rejected score for “2001. A Space Odyssey” became the leitmotiv of that edition.

The first book published by the festival analyzed this work and the circumstances of the rejection. In 2010, North became again the protagonist of a tribute, in this occasion to his whole career due to the first centenary of his birth.

This moving moment had Robert Townson there, personal friend of the composer, who accepted the award on behalf of his family and conveyed the audience and the festival organization their gratitude.

As part of the celebration of the 35th anniversary of “Jaws”, in 2010 FIMUCITÉ staged a tribute to one of the most important names in the last 40 years of film music: John Williams.

As well as the previous composers who had received the Life Achievement Award, John Williams’ name cannot be separated from the Seventh Art and his scores have helped to identify the world of cinema with a specific kind of sounds. In this occasion, his agenda did not allow him to accept it, so the organization of the festival flew to his office in Los Angeles to present him the award.

One of the first sculptures was given to Robert Townson, a professional who has devoted his life to film music as a record producer at Varèse Sarabande Records. He has always struggled hard to make these scores get the proper recognition over their engagement with the pictures.

An excellent composer, McNeely has also been a key figure in the new recordings of classic film scores, returning the strength and original sound to them so that the new generations of film music lovers could also appreciate the legacy given by the Classic Hollywood. He has conducted the re-recordings of great works by Bernard Herrmann, John Barry or Franz Waxman.

McNeely was also the first conductor invited to FIMUCITÉ and, together with Diego Navarro, gave an extraordinary Closing Concert in 2008, released by Varèse Sarabande Records.

From the first edition, FIMUCITÉ has undertaken to give more importance to music for television. In this sense, the Award to Mark Snow is also a recognition of his prolific career for television with scores for The X-Files, The Ghost Whisperer, Smallville, One Tree Hill, Kojak, Millenium, Dynasty, Falcon Crest, T. J. Hooker, Starsky and Hutch or Hart to Hart.

In 2009, Snow was the guest conductor of the festival, providing vitality and enthusiasm, not only to the concert of his scores, but to the tribute to Jerry Goldsmith at the Closing Concert of FIMUCITÉ 3.

There are names that have become synonymous with film music. We would not understand this art the same way without them. Their scores not only have enriched many legendary films of Film History, but have also helped to get new film music lovers. Jerry Goldsmith deserves to be on the top of that list and that is the reason why FIMUCITÉ wanted to give him the first Life Achievement Award.

In 2009, his score for the Alien saga was chosen as the leitmotif of the festival and part of the program of the Closing Concert was devoted to his film music legacy (a concert that will be released again by the label Varèse Sarabande). The tribute also included the presentation of the award to his widow, Carol Goldsmith.