Come March 2025, London will hold its first ever Soundtrack Festival-a week-long event celebrating the music of film, television, and video games.
Music for the screen has only been growing in popularity, and some cities, like Krakow and Ghent, have been hosting soundtrack festivals for years. The upcoming festival will be the first in the British capital, and is slated to take place from Mar. 19 to 26, 2025, at venues such as the Roundhouse, BFI Imax, Alexandra Palace and the Royal Festival Hall.
The LSF will include concerts, featuring the works of composers such as Grammy-winners Anne Dudley and Hildur Guðnadóttir, who has also been commissioned to write a new piece that will be performed by a chamber ensemble featuring cellist Richard Harwood. Live music will also accompany a screening of Charlie Chaplin's film, Modern Times, to be introduced by his grandson, Spencer Chaplin.
Masterclasses are also planned, to be given by Hollywood film composers Harry Gregson-Williams (The Chronicles of Narnia; Chicken Run, etc.) and Natalie Holt (Obi-Wan Kenobi; Loki), award-winning videogames composer Stephen Barton (Star Wars: Jedi Survivor) and TV theme scorer Paul Farrer (The Chase; The Wheel, etc.).
The Festival will also see the presentation of the first Gunning Inspiration Award to film composer, Howard Shore (Lord of the Rings; Silence of the Lambs; Mrs Doubtfire), who, with director David Cronenberg, will discuss their 45-year collaboration that produced seventeen films, including The Fly, Crash, M Butterfly, Eastern Promises, and The Shrouds.
Sveta Gunning, Christopher Gunning's widow and an important influence on the Festival, hopes the event will be devised as a means to match her late husband's "extraordinary talent, skill and infectious, enthusiastic spirit."
A book is also part of the LSF, namely host John Burlingame's Music for Prime Time, which he will discuss with artistic director Tommy Pearson.
More details and the entire schedule of events can be found at https://londonsoundtrackfestival.com.
