Craig Armstrong

Biography:

Craig Armstrong, OBE (born 29 April 1959) is a Scottish composer acclaimed for his work in modern orchestral music, electronica, and film scores. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in 1981, he has written for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the London Sinfonietta.

Armstrong first gained wide recognition with his score for Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, which earned him both a BAFTA Award for Achievement in Film Music and an Ivor Novello. He went on to collaborate with Luhrmann on Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby, with the former bringing him numerous accolades, including the AFI Composer of the Year, a Golden Globe, and another BAFTA. His score for Ray (2004) won him a Grammy Award. Other major film credits include Love Actually, The Quiet American, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, and The Incredible Hulk.

Born in Shettleston, Glasgow, Armstrong studied composition, violin, and piano at the Royal Academy of Music from 1977 to 1981 under teachers such as Cornelius Cardew and Malcolm MacDonald. During his studies, he won multiple awards, including the Charles Lucas Prize and Harvey Lohr Scholarship, and later the GLAA Young Jazz Musician of the Year in 1982. After graduation, he worked as a music and dance specialist with Strathclyde Regional Council, toured with Midge Ure and Ultravox, and composed music for the Royal Shakespeare Company between 1994 and 2002.

Armstrong has consistently bridged classical and popular genres, famously collaborating with Massive Attack on their 1994 album Protection, which led to the release of his first solo albums on their Melankolic label. Beyond film, his output includes Visconti (2002) for the London Sinfonietta, One Minute (2004) with artists Dalziel + Scullion, and Memory Takes My Hand (2008), his first classical album on EMI Classics. He has also worked with major artists including U2, Madonna, Tina Turner, Texas, and Luciano Pavarotti.

His career further includes commissions for ensembles such as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Hebrides Ensemble, and the Scottish Ensemble. He co-created the exhibition Once (2006) for the reopening of Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery, premiered his first opera 5:15 with Scottish Opera in 2007, and released The Edge of the Sea (2020), inspired by Gaelic psalm traditions.

In recognition of his contributions to music, Armstrong was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours.