Colin Towns

British composer Colin Towns is "one of the country's most prolific score writers for big and small screen" (quote: Financial Times). He not only writes for television drama and feature film but also for animation, documentary, adverts, idents and theatre. He also writes and arranges for numerous big bands across Europe, subsequently recording, touring and releasing his work. His nominations include: BAFTA Best TV Music Award for the Crow Road; Ivor Novello Award for three of his TV scores (Goodbye Mr Chips, Clarissa and Blackheath Poisonings); the Royal TV Society Craft & Design Award for the Sculptress and the Canadian Gemini Award for best score for the animation Fungus the Bogeyman. Theatre music credits include work for the Donmar Warehouse, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Hampstead Theatre, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Theatre Royal Bath, Art Sphere Theatre Tokyo, Royal Shakespeare Company Stratford-upon-Avon, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and Druid Theatre, Galway. He is the founder of the ensemble The Colin Towns Mask Orchestra, with whom he has released 7 albums and is also the owner of Provocateur Records. The Mask Orchestra have also recorded and toured Towns' ballet score The Orpheus Suite a commission by choreographer David Bintley of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. In 2011 he launched a 6-piece band Blue Touch Paper and he also works with some of Europe's most innovative big bands including NDR Bigband; HR Bigband and The Bohuslän Bigband. British television work includes the much loved comedy Doc Martin, the final series of Foyle's War, Mobile, a 3 parter directed by Stuart Orme; psychological thriller Half Broken Things directed by Tim Fywell; Ghostboat, feature length drama directed by Stuart Orme; The Man Who Lost His Head, black comedy directed by Terry Johnson; A Good Murder, drama directed by Graham Theakston; Cold Blood, thriller drama series directed by Stuart Orme; Not Only But Always, comedy directed by Terry Johnson; Jack Taylor - The Guards, drama directed by Stuart Orme. German and French television and film includes: Tatort; Flemming; Der Usedom-Krimi, Mon Ange (My Angel) starring Vanessa Paradis and directed by Serge Frydman; Rivieres Pourpres 2 (Crimson Rivers 2) starring Jean Reno, directed by Olivier Dahan; Double Zero directed by Gerard Pires; Albert Schweitzer, starring Jeroen Krabbe and directed by Gavin Millar. Animation credits include: Fungus the Bogeyman for Gala Films; The Tale of Jack Frost for Zoo Films; Toot and Puddle for National Geographic; Angelina Ballerina for Hit Entertainment. Past television, feature film and animation credits include: Man Dancin, feature film; Red Mercury, feature film; Goodbye Mr. Chips; Am Kreuzweg, German television drama; Sons and Lovers, television drama; Flemming, German television series: Maybe Baby, feature film; Essex Boys, feature film; Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, TV feature length; The Crow Road; Our Friends in the North, television series; The Sculptress, television drama; Cadfael, television series; World of Peter Rabbit and Friends, animation; Full Circle, feature film; The Puppet Masters, feature film; Vampire's Kiss, feature film.