Peter Salem
Peter has carved a very successful career for himself as a widely respected score composer who possesses the very rare ability of being able to write for any idiom. Whether it’s film, television, theatre, ballet or concert hall, Peter has constantly proved he is a composer of true expertise, innate understanding and uncompromising quality of output.
His diverse projects include four seasons of the highly acclaimed BBC series, Call the Midwife, two beautifully toned BBC productions: Cider with Rosie and Five Daughters, both for the acclaimed director Philippa Lowthorpe, and the latter of which received an RTS Award nomination for best score, The Other Boleyn Girl, Trial and Retribution, The Vice (Series 2 – 5), and Great Expectations, starring Charlotte Rampling. He also scored the hugely successful documentary series Francesco’s Venice and Simon Schama’s, The Power of Art: Caravaggio; all works for which he produced wonderfully evocative and attention grabbing scores.
Having collaborated extensively with the RSC and the National Theatre, where he has worked as composer, performer and musical director, Peter has also enjoyed a long-standing association with the renowned Shared Experience Theatre Company, for whom he has created scores and sound design for almost all of their productions, including Anna Karenina, Mill on the Floss, War and Peace and Speechless.
Peter is very much in demand among ballet companies and choreographers following a number of hugely successful and high-profile productions including Broken Wings for English National Ballet and The Little Prince for Ballet X. His full-length ballet score, Camino Real, based on Tennesse Williams’ masterpiece of the same name, was premiered by Atlanta Ballet.
“Salem’s music is richly evocative of love, hate, tenderness, pain, fear, and hope. The powerful drums are the heartbeat of the main character, but also the heartbeat of life itself, pounding above the poignant melodies” – The BackstageBeat, Atlanta.
Previous to this, his full-length ballet for Scottish Ballet, based on Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, also opened to 5-star reviews and huge international critical acclaim.
“. . . . set to the appropriately jazzy sounds of Peter Salem’s excellent new score which veers, when required, into modernist discordance” – Daily Telegraph
“… the excellent music is deeply integrated with the choreography, sometimes even telling the story alone” – Edinburgh Evening News
“. . [an] atmospheric and sustaining new score by Peter Salem – dramatic and evocative” – The Sunday Times
Other concert works include a series of pieces for strings, comprising of an octet, quartet and ‘Windhover’ for piano trio, which has been performed and recorded by the Fidelio Trio.
Film & Television
| CIDER WITH ROSIE | BBC Director: Philippa Lowthorpe Producer: Helen Gregory Starring: Timothy Spall, Samantha Morton | |
| CALL THE MIDWIFE (Series 1, 2, 3, 4) | BBC Director: Philippa Lowthorpe, Jamie Payne, Juliet May, China Moo-Young, Minkie Spiro, Roger Goldby, Thea Sharrock, Thaddeus O’Sullivan Producer: Hugh Warren, Anne Tricklebank | ***Music & Sound Awards 2015 nomination: Best Original TV Composition*** |
| FIVE DAUGHTERS | BBC Director: Philippa Lowthorpe Producer: Simon Lewis | ***RTS Award Nomination for Best Original Score*** |
| TALKING TO THE DEAD | SKY Living / Bonafide Films Director: China Moo-Young Producers: Elwen Rowlands, Margery Bone | |
| GREAT EXPECTATIONS | BBC Director: Julian Jarrold Producer: David Snodin | |
| THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL | BBC Director: Philippa Lowthorpe Producers: Ruth Caleb | |
| TRIAL AND RETRIBUTION | ITV Director: Charles Beeson Producers: P McAleese | |
| BEAU BRUMMEL: THIS CHARMING MAN | BBC Director: Philippa Lowthorpe Producer: David Edgar | |
| FALLING | ITV Director: Tristram Powell Producers: C Parr | |
| THE VICE (Series 2 - 5) | ITV Director: Justin Chadwick, John East, Michael Samuels, Philippa Langdale, Julian Holmes, Roger Gartland Producers: Stephen Smallwood | |
| SEX, THE CITY AND ME | BLAST! Films Director: Philippa Lowthorpe Producer: Edmund Coulthard | |
| FRANCESO'S VENICE | BBC Director: Sam Hobkinson, Ed Bazelgette Producer: Basil Comely | |
| SIMON SCHAMA's THE POWER OF ART: CARAVAGGIO | BBC Director: Carl Hindmarch Producer: M Harrison | |
| ANYBODY'S NIGHTMARE | ITV Director: Tristram Powell Producers: Stephen Smallwood | |
| PAINTED LADY | ITV Directors: Julian Jarrold Producer: Emma Burge | |
| ALIVE AND KICKING | Greentrees Film Director: Nancy Meckler Producer: Martin Pope Starring: Jason Flemyng, Bill Nigh | |
| THURSDAY 12th | ITV Director: Charles Beeson Producer: Emma Burge | |
| EIGHT HOURS FROM PARIS | BBC Director: Philippa Lowthorpe Producer: Philippa Lowthorpe | |
| BIG DAY | BBC Director: Tom Cairns Producer: Harriet Cruikshank Starring: Jim Broadbent | |
| THE RAT THAT WROTE | Arts Council England Director: Billy O'Brien Producer: Ruth Kenley-Letts | |
| THREE SALONS AT THE SEASIDE | BBC Director: Philippa Lowthorpe Producer: Philippa Lowthorpe | |
| PEOPLE'S COURT | Xanadu / Wide Angle Director: Bruno Sorrentino Producer: Maggie Still | |
| I MET ADOLF EICHMANN | BBC Films Director: Clara Glynn Producer: Peter Kessler | |
| HIDDEN JEWS OF BERLIN | C4 Director: Clara Glynn Producer: Peter Kessler |
Theatre
| DUTCH NATIONAL BALLET Frida – extended version of Broken Wings - Annabelle Lopez Ochoa BALLET X The Little Prince - Annabelle Lopez Ochoa ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET Broken Wings - Annabelle Lopez Ochoa NATIONAL THEATRE A Midsummer Night's Dream - Robert LePage The Miser - S Pimlott The Crucible - Howard Davies War & Peace - Nancy Meckler Rose - Nancy Meckler Whale - Tim Supple RSC Murder in the Cathedral - S Pimlott Julius Caesar - S Pimlott Victoria - Ian Brown SHARED EXPERIENCE Speechless - Polly Teale Mine - Polly Teale Ten Tiny Toes - Polly Teale The Glass Menagerie - Polly Teale Anna Karenina - Nancy Meckler Mill on the Floss - Nancy Meckler Bronte - Nancy Meckler Jane Eyre - Polly Teale A Passage to India The Clearing - Polly Teale Orestes - Nancy Meckler Kinder transport - Polly Teale The Tempest - Nancy Meckler ROYAL COURT Sweetest Thing - Ian Rickson Ashes and Sand - Ian Rickson Catch - Polly Teale NOTTINGHAM PLAYHOUSE The Nose - Martin Duncan Cabinet of Dr. Cagliari - Martin Duncan SALISBURY PLAYHOUSE The Tempest - Deborah Paige A Midsummer Night's Dream - Deborah Paige TRAVERSE THEATRE Great Expectations |