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If the TV overlords were kind enough to keep their feet off the gas during movie credits, we might notice one name coming up over and over again for musical score: Howard Shore. Who is he?

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Composer Howard Shore is responsible for scoring movies from ‘Silence of The Lambs’ to ‘Spotlight’, ‘Crash’, ‘Hugo’, ‘The Departed’, ‘Gangs of New York’, ‘The Aviator’, ‘Philadelphia’, and ‘Mrs. Doubtfire.’ He is particularly known for his memorable motifs for the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.

Shore has been regaled with awards: 3 Oscars, 3 Golden Globes, 4 Grammys. He is also Canadian – born 1946 in Toronto, and named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2018.

In talking about his writing process with John Brunning of Classic FM, Shore said: “I write music every day and I have been doing that since I was a youngster. It doesn’t feel like a day to me unless that pencil is moving on those pages and ideas are being formed.”

This prolific composer explained that it is important to him to be in beautiful surroundings while he writes. “The world that I write in is very 19th Century and very green. I live in a forest. The connection to nature is very important to me. And I think that was also the connection to Tolkien’s work. I know how important that was to Tolkien and his writing: everything that was green and good.”

One particularly beloved Shore piece is Concerning Hobbits, heard in its entirety in ‘The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring’ Soundtrack.

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As we saw, Shore’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ soundtrack came first in a 2023 poll of 10,000 Classic FM listeners around their favourite film score: Movie Music Hall Of Fame 2023 – Just Curious

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And for an altogether different vibe:

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www.justcurious.ca

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