Bear McCreary

Bear McCreary
McCreary in 2009
Background information
Born	February 17, 1979 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
Genres	Film score, orchestral
Occupation(s)	Composer, Conductor
Years active	1998–present
Labels	La La Land Records, Sparks and Shadows

Bear McCreary (born February 17, 1979) is an American composer and musician living in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for his work on the reimagined Battlestar Galactica television series and for the TV series Outlander and The Walking Dead.

McCreary won an Emmy for his main title of Da Vinci's Demons.^[1] His most recent Emmy nomination was in 2015 for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for season one of Outlander.^[2]

Personal life

McCreary was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and spent most of his formative years in Bellingham, Washington. He is the son of author Laura Kalpakian and professor Jay McCreary of University of Hawaii. He is of Irish and Armenian descent.

McCreary earned degrees in Composition and Recording Arts from the USC Thornton School of Music, and is a classically trained pianist and self-taught accordionist.^[3] He studied under the renowned film score composer Elmer Bernstein during which time he reconstructed and reorchestrated Bernstein's 1963 score for Kings of the Sun. Their collaboration allowed for the complete score to be available as a soundtrack album for the first time in 40 years.^[4]

He has also directed and produced several music videos for his brother Brendan McCreary's band, Young Beautiful in a Hurry.^[5]

McCreary is married to singer/songwriter Raya Yarbrough, with whom he worked on the music of Battlestar Galactica, Defiance, Da Vinci's Demons, and several other projects.^[6][7] They have a daughter together named Sonatine, after the musical term sonatina.^[8]

Career

Television

Battlestar Galactica and Caprica

In 2003, McCreary worked under primary composer Richard Gibbs on the three-hour miniseries which served as a pilot for the reimagined series of Battlestar Galactica. When the show was picked up, Gibbs opted not to devote full time to the regular series' production, and McCreary became the sole composer. He worked on the series until it reached its conclusion in 2009, scoring over 70 episodes. To date, six Battlestar Galactica soundtrack albums have been released, and have garnered a great deal of critical acclaim^[9][10] and commercial success. The soundtracks for seasons two and three ranked amongst amazon.com's Top 30 Music Sales on their first days of release.^[4]

McCreary composed for Caprica, a prequel series set in the fictional Battlestar Galactica universe. On February 18, 2012, McCreary announced that he would compose the score to the two-hour pilot movie Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome.

Human Target

Bear provided the score for the series Human Target (based on the comic book of the same name). The pilot episode and main theme score had been recorded with a full orchestra.^[11] The series has the distinction of having one of the largest orchestras on television.

The score to the finale of season one, "Christopher Chance," used the largest orchestra ever assembled for episodic television, and he took the opportunity to rerecord the main title theme with a new orchestration with this larger ensemble.

In July 2010, he received his first Emmy nomination for the Human Target main title.^[12]

In a post on his blog on July 25, 2010, McCreary announced the new creative leadership brought in for season two had not asked him to return for it, and he would be leaving the series.^[13]

The Walking Dead and The Cape

During Comic-Con 2010, Bear McCreary attended panels for AMC's The Walking Dead and NBC's The Cape to announce he would be composing the score for both television series.^[14][15]

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

On July 15, 2013, McCreary announced that he will compose the score for ABC's series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.^[16] On September 4, 2015, McCreary released the official Agents of SHIELD soundtrack publicly.^[17]

Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera

McCreary served as orchestral producer for the rock opera Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem airing on Adult Swim on October 27, 2013. This is a continuation of the Metalocalypse universe following the band Dethklok. The music features a 50-piece orchestra. The soundtrack was released on October 29, 2013.^[18]

Films

Bear McCreary made his theatrical feature film scoring debut with Step Up 3D^[19] and has also composed the scores for several direct-to-video features, including Rest Stop, Rest Stop: Don't Look Back, and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End.

Bear's latest feature film is Knights of Badassdom, released by Entertainment One on January 21, 2014. This is his second movie with director Joe Lynch (of Wrong Turn 2) and third with actress Summer Glau. He acted also a third time in a Joe Lynch, with Everly and was co-artist of the opening score soundtrack "Silent Night", which was a duet with Raya Yarbrough.^[20]

Video games

McCreary made an eight-bit rendition of the Dark Void theme, which was, originally, an April fools joke. However, the theme was used for the prequel, Dark Void Zero.^[21] He composed all the songs in an eight-bit fashion by connecting the wires on an actual NES console and cartridge to create authenticity.

He arranged James Rolfe's The Angry Video Game Nerd "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" parody "You’re a Mean One, Mr. Nerd" for the 2010 Christmas special, with orchestra and eight-bit audio elements.^[22]

Discography

Albums

Title	Album details
The Music of Battlestar Galactica for Solo Piano	Released: September 13, 2011[23][24] Label: BSX Format: CD, digital download

Film soundtracks

Title	Album details
Rest Stop: Dead Ahead: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Released: November 28, 2006 Label: Plan R Format: CD, digital download
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Released: September 18, 2007 Label: La-La Land Format: CD
Rest Stop: Don't Look Back: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Released: October 21, 2008[25] Label: La-La Land Format: CD, digital download
Chillerama Presents Zom-B-Movie Soundtrack	Released: November 23, 2011[26] Label: BSX Format: CD, digital download
Europa Report: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Released: August 2, 2013[27] Label: Sparks and Shadows Format: CD, digital download
Knights of Badassdom: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Released: February 11, 2014[28] Label: Sparks and Shadows Format: CD, digital download
Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Released: September 2, 2014[29] Label: Sparks and Shadows Format: digital download, Blu-ray
Everly: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Released: January 20, 2015[30] Label: Sparks and Shadows Format: CD, digital download
The Forest: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Released: January 8, 2016[31] Label: Sparks and Shadows Format: CD, digital download
The Boy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack	Released: January 22, 2016[32] Label: Lakeshore Records Format: CD, digital download
10 Cloverfield Lane: Music from the Motion Picture	Released: March 11, 2016[33] Label: Sparks and Shadows Format: CD, digital download

Television soundtracks

Title	Album details
Battlestar Galactica: Original Soundtrack from the Sci Fi Channel Mini Series	Released: March 16, 2004 Label: La-La Land Format: CD Credited for 8 tracks
Battlestar Galactica: Season One: Original Soundtrack from the Sci Fi Channel Television Series	Released: June 21, 2005 Label: La-La Land Format: CD
Battlestar Galactica: Season 2: Original Soundtrack from the Sci Fi Channel Television Series	Released: June 20, 2006 Label: La-La Land Format: CD
Battlestar Galactica: Season 3: Original Soundtrack from the Sci Fi Channel Television Series	Released: October 23, 2007 Label: La-La Land Format: CD
Eureka: Original Soundtrack from the Sci-Fi Channel Television Series	Released: August 26, 2008[34] Label: La-La Land Format: CD
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Original Television Soundtrack	Released: December 23, 2008[35] Label: La-La Land Format: CD, digital download
Caprica: Original Soundtrack from the Sci Fi Channel Television Pilot Episode	Released: June 16, 2009[36] Label: La-La Land Format: CD
Battlestar Galactica: Season 4: Original Soundtrack from the Syfy Television Series	Released: July 28, 2009 Label: La-La Land Format: CD
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan and Razor: Original Soundtrack from the Syfy Special Events	Released: February 23, 2010[37] Label: La-La Land Format: CD, digital download
Human Target: Season 1: Original Television Soundtrack	Released: October 8, 2010[38][39] Label: WaterTower, La-La Land Format: CD, digital download
The Cape: Original Television Soundtrack	Released: September 27, 2011[40] Label: La-La Land Format: CD
A Very Eureka Christmas: Original Holiday Soundtrack from the Television Series	Released: November 20, 2012[41] Label: Back Lot Format: Digital download
Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome: Original Soundtrack from the SyFy Special Event	Released: March 12, 2013[42] Label: La-La Land Format: CD
Da Vinci's Demons: Original Television Soundtrack	Released: May 28, 2013[43] Label: Sparks and Shadows Format: CD, digital download
Defiance: Original Television Soundtrack	Released: June 17, 2013[44] Label: Sparks and Shadows Format: Digital download
Caprica: Original Soundtrack to the Syfy Television Series	Released: July 30, 2013[45] Label: La-La Land Format: CD
The World of Steam: The Clockwork Heart	Released: November 20, 2013[46] Label: Sparks and Shadows Format: Digital download
Black Sails: A Starz Original Series Soundtrack	Released: January 28, 2014[47] Label: Sparks and Shadows Format: CD, digital download
Da Vinci's Demons - Season 2: Original Television Soundtrack	Released: May 27, 2014[48] Label: Sparks and Shadows Format: CD, Digital download
Outlander - The Series: Original Television Soundtrack, Vol. 1	Released: February 10, 2015[49] Label: Madison Gate Records / Sparks and Shadows Format: CD, digital download
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Original Soundtrack Album	Released: September 4, 2015[50] Label: Hollywood Records Format: CD, digital download
Outlander - The Series: Original Television Soundtrack, Vol. 2	Released: September 25, 2015[51] Label: Madison Gate Records / Sparks and Shadows Format: CD, digital download
Da Vinci's Demons - Season 3: Original Television Soundtrack	Released: November 3, 2015[52] Label: Sparks and Shadows Format: CD, Digital download

Video game soundtracks

Title	Album details
Dark Void: Original Video Game Score	Released: February 9, 2010[53] Label: Sumthing Else Format: CD, digital download
SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs: Original Video Game Soundtrack	Released: April 12, 2011[54][55] Label: Sony, La-La Land Format: CD, digital download
Moon Breakers	Released: June 19, 2012[56] Label: Conan the Furky Format: Digital download
Defiance: Original Video Game Soundtrack	Released: April 2, 2013[57] Label: Sparks and Shadows Format: Digital download
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate: Jack the Ripper Original Game Soundtrack - EP	Released: December 15, 2015[58] Label: Ubisoft Music Format: Digital download

Singles

Title	Year	Album
"Temporal Distortion"[59]	2012	N/A
"You Are My Home" (featuring Brendan McCreary)[60]		N/A
"Da Vinci's Demons" (Main Title Theme)[61]	2013	Da Vinci's Demons: Original Television Soundtrack
"I Forever" (Young Beautiful in a Hurry & Bear McCreary)[62]		N/A

Other appearances

Title	Year	Artist(s)	Album	Notes
"Maverick Regeneration"[63]	2011	Various artists	Play for Japan: The Album
"Main Title Theme Song" (Unkle Remix)[64]	2013		The Walking Dead: AMC Original Soundtrack – Vol. 1
N/A		Dethklok	Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera Soundtrack	Orchestra

Filmography

Film

Title	Year	Notes
Rest Stop	2006	Direct-to-video release.
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End	2007
Rest Stop: Don't Look Back	2008
Step Up 3D	2010	Theatrical film scoring debut
Chillerama	2011	Scored the segment "Zom-B Movie"
Europa Report	2013
Knights of Badassdom
Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie	2014
Everly	2014
The Forest	2016
The Boy	2016
10 Cloverfield Lane	2016

Television

Title	Year	Notes
Battlestar Galactica	2004–2009	Assistant composer on miniseries; became full time composer of TV series after Richard Gibbs turned down the series
Eureka	2007–2012	Took over from Mutato Muzika starting with the second season of the show in 2007.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles	2008–2009
Trauma	2009–2010
Caprica
Human Target	2010	Earned his first Emmy nomination for the main title.[65]
The Walking Dead	2010–present	Based on the comic book series. AMC original series.
The Cape	2011
Holliston	2012
Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome		10 episode web series released on machinima.com.
Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem	2013
Defiance	2013–2015	Syfy original series.
Da Vinci's Demons		Starz original series. Won his first Emmy for the main title.[66]
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.	2013-present	A continuation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Intruders	2014	BBC America series based on the novel by Michael Marshall Smith.
Constantine		NBC series based on the comic series Hellblazer published by DC Comics.
Black Sails	2014–present	Starz original series.
Outlander		Starz original series.
Arrow	2015	Uncredited. The CW series based on the Green Arrow published by DC Comics. Episode: "Haunting" featuring Constantine. Music by Blake Neely, but Constantine's theme carries over.
Damien	2016	Composer. A&E series based on The Omen characters.

Video games

Title	Year
Dark Void Zero	2010
Dark Void
SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs	2011
Moon Breakers	2012
Defiance	2013
Assassin's Creed Syndicate: Jack The Ripper	2015

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Nominated work	Result
2009	ASCAP Film and Television Music Award for Top Television Series	Eureka	Won
2009	International Film Music Critics Award for Best Original Score for Television	Caprica	Nominated
2009	International Film Music Critics Award for Best Original Score for Television	Battlestar Galactica	Won
2010	International Film Music Critics Award for Best Original Score for Television	Human Target	Won
2010	International Film Music Critics Award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media	Dark Void	Nominated
2010	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music	Human Target	Nominated
2011	International Film Music Critics Award for Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media	SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs	Nominated
2013	ASCAP Film and Television Music Award for Top Television Series	The Walking Dead	Won
2013	International Film Music Critics Award for Best Original Score for Television	Da Vinci's Demons	Nominated
2013	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music	Da Vinci's Demons	Won
2014	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music	Black Sails	Nominated
2015	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series	Outlander	Nominated

References

1. Weisman, Jon. "LIVE From the Creative Arts Emmys". Variety. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
2. "67th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". Retrieved October 11, 2015.
3. Bearmccreary.com
4. "Bear McCreary: Biography". Bear McCreary. Archived from the original on April 6, 2009. Retrieved April 13, 2009.
5. Bearmccreary.com
6. "I’m Getting Married!!". Bear McCreary. February 24, 2009. Retrieved February 29, 2012.
7. "Malibu Wedding Photographer". Archived from the original on September 5, 2010. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
8. Sonatine Yarbrough McCreary - Bearmccreary.com
9. Sepinwall, Alan (June 22, 2008). "Sepinwall on TV: Michael Giacchino and Bear McCreary, score keepers". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on March 21, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
10. Ryan, Maureen (June 16, 2008). "'Battlestar Galactica' provides some Earth-shattering 'Revelations'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 29, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2009.
11. McCreary, Bear (July 25, 2009). "Human Target Screens Today". Bear McCreary. Retrieved July 26, 2009.
12. Burlingame, Jon (July 8, 2010). "Emmy Music Nominations Announced". Film Music Society. Archived from the original on August 17, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2010.
13. McCreary, Bear (July 25, 2010). "I Am Leaving "Human Target"". Bear McCreary.
14. Comic Con 2010: The Cape Casts a Mighty Shadow
15. 'Walking Dead' reveals trailer, taps Bear McCreary as composer
16. Boucher, Geoff. "'Agents of SHIELD': Clark Gregg's 'commanding presence' calls the tune for composer Bear McCreary". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
17. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014HG067O?redirect=true&ref_=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_0
18. Indiewire.com
19. Yamato, Jen (July 2, 2010). "Exclusive: 'Step Up 3D' Billboard Art Premiere!". Cinematical. Archived from the original on July 4, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
20. Barton, Steve (March 10, 2015). ""Silent Night" music video by Raya Yarbrough & Bear McCreary, directed by Joe Lynch.". Dread Central. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
21. Diener, Matt (April 2011). "Interview with Bear McCreary (April 2011)". Squareenixmusic.com. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
22. Napolitano, Jayson (December 16, 2010). "Bear McCreary Vs. The Angry Video Game Nerd: A Christmas Special". Original Sound Version. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
23. McCreary, Bear (September 14, 2011). "Battlestar Galactica Solo Piano CD". Bear McCreary. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
24. "The Music of Battlestar Galactica for Solo Piano". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
25. "Rest Stop – Don't Look Back: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
26. "Zom-B-Movie Soundtrack". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
27. "Europa Report (Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
28. "Knights of Badassdom (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
29. "Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
30. "Everly (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
31. "The Forest (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
32. "The Boy (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Amazon. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
33. "10 Cloverfield Lane (Music from the Motion Picture)". Amazon. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
34. "Eureka". La-La Land Records. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
35. "Terminator – The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Original Television Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
36. Maureen Ryan (January 23, 2009). "'Battlestar Galactica' veterans move on to 'Caprica'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
37. "Battlestar Galactica: The Plan and Razor (Original Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
38. "Human Target (Original Television Soundtrack – Season 1)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
39. "Human Target: Limited Edition (3CD-Set)". La-La Land Records. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
40. McCreary, Bear (September 20, 2011). "The Cape Soundtrack CD". Bear McCreary. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
41. "A Very Eureka Christmas (Original Holiday Soundtrack From the Television Series)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
42. "LA-LA LAND RECORDS RE-ENGAGES IN THE CYLON WARS WITH TWO NEW SOUNDTRACKS COMPOSED BY BEAR MCCREARY". CineMedia Promotions. February 5, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
43. "Da Vinci's Demons (Original Television Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
44. "Defiance (Original Television Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
45. "Music of Bear McCreary Featured on CAPRICA Original Soundtrack, Out 7/30". Broadway World. July 25, 2013. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
46. "The World of Steam: The Clockwork Heart – EP". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
47. "Black Sails (A Starz Original Series Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
48. "Da Vinci's Demons - Season 2 (Original Television Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
49. "Outlander (Original Television Soundtrack), Vol. 1". iTunes Store. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
50. "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Original Soundtrack Album)". iTunes Store. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
51. "Outlander, Vol. 2 (Original Television Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
52. "Da Vinci's Demons (Original Television Soundtrack from Season 3)". iTunes Store. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
53. "Dark Void (Original Video Game Score)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
54. "SOCOM 4 (Original Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
55. "SOCOM 4: Limited Edition (2-CD Set)". La-La Land Records. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
56. "Moon Breakers – EP". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
57. "Defiance (Original Video Game Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
58. "Assassin’s Creed Syndicate: Jack the Ripper (Original Game Soundtrack) - EP". iTunes Store. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
59. "Temporal Distortion – Single". Apple Inc. iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
60. "You Are My Home (feat. Brendan McCreary) – Single". Apple Inc. iTunes Store. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
61. "Da Vinci's Demons (Main Title Theme) – Single". Apple Inc. iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
62. "I Forever – Single". Apple Inc. iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
63. "Play For Japan: The Album". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
64. "The Walking Dead: AMC Original Soundtrack, Vol. 1". iTunes Store. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
65. FITZ (April 26, 2011). "Music Review: Bear McCreary – Human Target Soundtrack". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
66. Variety

External links

• Bear McCreary at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website
• MAFgest 2016 interview
• Audio Interview on GeeksOn!
• "Of Duduks and Dylan: Negotiating Music and the Aural Space in Battlestar Galactica'', by Eftychia Papanikolaou; chapter in Cylons in America: Critical Studies of Battlestar Galactica, edited by Tiffany Potter and C. W. Marshall, 224-236. New York and London: Continuum, 2007.