John Debney is a composer for the show The Orville, writing the music for the Season 1 episodes Command Performance, Pria, Majority Rule, Cupid's Dagger, and Firestorm, the Season 2 episodes Ja'loja, Primal Urges, All the World is Birthday Cake, Identity, Pt. 1, Blood of Patriots, Lasting Impressions, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and the Season 3 episodes Shadow Realms and From Unknown Graves, as well as being credited for additional music for Domino.
Background[]
Debney received his BA in Music Composition from the California Institute of Arts. He began work at Disney in the copying department before becoming a freelance composer and then as a television series composer, including music for Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, as well as a 1996 TV movie based upon Doctor Who.
He was nominated for an Academy Award for the soundtrack of The Passion of the Christ.
The Orville[]
The show's creator, Seth MacFarlane, recruited Debney[1] for The Orville in August, 2017. Debney was the third composer hired after Joel McNeely and Bruce Broughton.[2] "I didn't want to say no," he later recalled, when MacFarlane offered him the job.[1]
Debney was first announced in September, when MacFarlane posted a videos of him directing their orchestra for Pria.[3]
Debney works by creating a digital mock-up of his compositions for MacFarlane's early feedback.[4]
At the close of Season 1, Debney commented: "Seth wants these to have a big, cinematic feeling. It’s huge for television, and it’s the biggest gift a composer can get. We go from funny, comedic scenes to big, adventurous battle scenes."[5] Shortly after Season 2, he remarked, "It’s so much fun and so creatively stimulating being able to write this big, wonderful music every week. We get an opportunity to write emotional themes."[1]
Awards[]
In 2018, Debney, McNeely, Broughton, and Andrew Cottee collectively won Best Original Score for Television from the International Film Music Critics Association Awards for their music for Season 1 of The Orville.[6] Debney, McNeely, and Cottee were nominated for the award again in 2020 for their work on Season 2.[7]
Trivia[]
- His favorite episode is Identity, Pt. 1.[4]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Burlingame, Jon. "From ‘Yellowstone’ to ‘The Twilight Zone,’ Small-Screen Dramas Lure Big-Screen Composers". Variety. June 3, 2019.
- ↑ "John Debney Joins ‘The Orville’ Music Team". Film Music Reporter. Aug. 15, 2017.
- ↑ @macfarlaneseth. "John Debney conducting his score for The Orville episode 5 - tryin to hide the screen so there's no spoilers". Instagram. Sept. 19, 2017.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Orville Q&A with Stan Jones, Jason Clark and Oscar Nominated Composer John Debney. The Los Angeles Film School. June 8, 2020.
- ↑ Burllingame, John. "Emmys 2018: The Orchestral Arms Race of TV’s Sci-Fi". Variety. June 4, 2018.
- ↑ "IFMCA Award Winners 2017". IFMCA. Feb. 22, 2018.
- ↑ International Film Music Critics Award (IFMCA). IMDB. Last accessed June 23, 2020.