Christopher Willis

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Christopher Willis
Christopher Willis in France in 2013
Born (1978-08-21) 21 August 1978 (age 46)
Newcastle, Australia
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
Occupation(s)Composer, musicologist
Years active2006–present
Spouse
Elyse Marchant Willis
​
​
(m. 2012)​

Christopher Willis (born 21 August 1978) is an Australian-born British composer and musicologist.

Career

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He is the composer of the 2013 Disney television series Mickey Mouse, and co-composer (with Rupert Gregson-Williams) of the music to the HBO comedy series Veep. He has also written music for a number of film scores (credited with "additional music") with several other film composers including Carter Burwell, Harry Gregson-Williams, and Henry Jackman. His filmography includes The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012), Winnie the Pooh (2011), X-Men: First Class (2011), Shrek Forever After (2010), Grown Ups (2010), You Don't Mess With The Zohan (2008) and the television series Veep.[1] His score for The Death of Stalin (2017) was shortlisted along with 14 others for the Academy Award for Best Original Score.[2]

His concert music includes a piece written specially for The BBC Proms in 2010 entitled Mashup.[3][4] The music is a written-out mashup of other pieces from the programme of the concert at which it was premiered. He has also composed music for educational purposes including Boom Town for chamber orchestra and young children, which was part of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[5]

He is also a musicologist specializing in eighteenth-century music, especially Domenico Scarlatti, although he has written about other subjects including American minimalism. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and has written a number of scholarly articles, including a chapter to the book Domenico Scarlatti Adventures: Essays to Commemorate the 250th Anniversary of His Death,[6] and articles in the journals Early Music and Eighteenth-Century Music.[7]

Filmography

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Feature films

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Year Title Director(s) Notes
2017 The Death of Stalin Armando Iannucci —
2019 The Personal History of David Copperfield —
2023 Old Dads Bill Burr —
2024 Goodrich Hallie Meyers-Shyer —

Television

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Year Title Network Notes
2012–2017 Veep HBO Composed with Rupert Gregson-Williams
2013–2019 Mickey Mouse Disney Channel
2016–2019 The Lion Guard Disney Junior
2016—present Agatha Raisin Sky One
Acorn TV 		Composed with Rupert Gregson-Williams
2020–2023 The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse Disney+
2021–2023 Schmigadoon! Apple TV+ [8]
2022 Cat Burglar Netflix Children's and Family Emmy Awards for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for an Animated Program
2024—present Ariel Disney Jr.

Theme park attractions

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Year Title Park Notes
2020 Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway Disney's Hollywood Studios/Disneyland
2020 Vacation Fun - An Original Animated Short with Mickey & Minnie Disney's Hollywood Studios
2022 AquaMouse Disney Wish
2023 Mickey's Toontown Disneyland He composed "Our Homespun Melody" as well as his song "Nothing Can Stop Us Now" which was remixed and they are the land's background themes

References

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  1. ^ "Christopher Willis". IMDb.com. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  2. ^ "91st Oscars Shortlists". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  3. ^ "Proms - 2010 season". BBC. Archived from the original on 2 April 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Bbc Proms". Radiolistings.co.uk. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  5. ^ "London 2012". London2012.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  6. ^ "Domenico Scarlatti Adventures. Essays to Commemorate the 250th... - Ut Orpheus Edizioni". Utorpheus.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  7. ^ "Scarlatti, father and son". Em.oxfordjournals.org. 2 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  8. ^ "Christopher Willis Scoring Apple TV+'s 'Schmigadoon!'". Filmmusicreporter.com. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
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