Peter Allen (composer)

{{Short description|Canadian composer (born 1952)}}

File:Peter at the Leo Awards 2019.png

{{Use Canadian English|date=August 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}

Peter Allen is a Canadian composer, organist, and keyboard player. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre and a member of the Canadian League of Composers, his compositions encompass a broad repertoire from film scores and commercial jingles to sacred music and avant-garde electroacoustic music. He has composed numerous works for CBC Radio and CBC Television.

Education and career

File:Peter At ThePiano 2010.jpg

Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Allen was a pupil of Boyd McDonald and Robert Turner{{Cite web |url=http://robert-turner.com/?p=631 |title=Robert Turner website |access-date=16 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630080727/http://robert-turner.com/?p=631 |archive-date=30 June 2018 |url-status=dead }} at the University of Manitoba where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 1975. Between 1976 and 1977 he pursued graduate studies at McGill University where his teachers included Bengt Hambraeus, Alcides Lanza, and Bruce Mather. During the 1970s he was a founding member of the contemporary concert series IZ Music,[https://www.musiccentre.ca/node/37361/biography Peter Allen at the Canadian Music Centre website] along with three other Manitoba composers; Bruce Carlson, William Pura and James Hiscott. Their concerts were regularly recorded by the CBC and broadcast on Two New Hours, CBC Radio Toronto. Allen also worked as a pianist with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and was active as a keyboardist with a number of local club and rock bands. In 1980 he became organist at St. Mary's Cathedral, Winnipeg and in 1984 was appointed music director for Pope John Paul II's papal mass outdoors at Bird's Hill Park in Winnipeg, for which he was also commissioned to compose a new mass setting. From 1985 to 1986 he worked for Century 21 Studios as their in-house composer and music producer.[http://www.canadianencyclopedia.ca/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0000055 Peter Allen at canadianencyclopedia.ca]{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Allen moved to Los Angeles, California in 1986 to pursue studies in film scoring at the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California. In 1988 he moved to Vancouver British Columbia to open his own recording and sound production studio, Peter Allen Associates Inc.[http://issuu.com/reelwest/docs/rw_julaug2013_web Peter Allen in Reel West Magazine 2013 (pages 12 & 13)] He has composed music for more than 100 films for American, Canadian and British film companies, including Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers, Disney, Universal Pictures, CineTel Films, The National Film Board of Canada, the CBC, LifeTime, Hallmark as well as numerous independent film producers, and has written music for various television shows and series, including a theme song for the Winnipeg Jets in 1979, the broadcast theme for the Toronto Blue Jays, the Montreal Expos, the Winning Spirit theme for the Vancouver Canucks,[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0020906/bio IMDB Bio] and also the international broadcast theme for the 1994 Commonwealth Games. In October 2012, "Tear The Curtain", directed by Kim Collier, played on the Canadian Stage, the largest theatre stage in Canada. "Tear The Curtain" is a simultaneous mix of live theatre and film, and features a score by Peter Allen,{{Cite web |url=https://www.straight.com/arts/tear-curtain-one-seasons-most-ambitious-projects |title=Tear The Curtain review, Georgia Straight |access-date=8 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416182228/http://www.straight.com/arts/tear-curtain-one-seasons-most-ambitious-projects |archive-date=16 April 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }} both in the film segments and the live segments of the production. Peter worked with Kim Collier again in 2019 to create the score for "The Full Light of Day", which played at the Luminato Festival in Toronto in 2019. In 2003 he won a Leo Award for his score for the film Flower & Garnet and in 2019 for his score for the film Truly Madly Sweetly.[http://www.leoawards.com/2014/2003_winners.php Leo Award Winners 2003]

Filmography

=Films=

class="wikitable"

!Year

!Title

!Notes

1993

| Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow

|

1994

|

rowspan="3" |1995

|Heaven's Tears

|

Dangerous Prey

|

For a Few Lousy Dollars

|

rowspan="2" |1997

|Crackerjack 2

|

Sleeping Dogs

|

rowspan="4" |1998

|Hell Mountain

|

Dark Confessions

|

Sparky Versus Rocco

|Short Film

Act of War

|

rowspan="4" |1999

|A Twist of Faith

|

Escape Velocity

|

The Silencer

|

Lethal Target

|

rowspan="5" |2000

|Bear with Me

|

Fatal Conflict

|

Crackerjack 3

|

The Operative

|

Last Stand

|

2001

|Ripper

|

rowspan="3" |2002

|Flower & Garnet

|

Starfire Mutiny

|Direct-to-video

The Barber

|

2003

|Casanova at Fifty

|Short Film

rowspan="2" |2004

|11:11

|

Ripper 2: Letter from Within

|

rowspan="3" | 2005

|Sara Under Siege

|Short Film

Thralls

|

The Score

|

2006

|Shock to the System

|

rowspan="3"| 2007

|A Dennis the Menace Christmas

|Direct-to-video

Blonde and Blonder

|

Tit for Tat

|Short Film

rowspan="6"| 2008

|Scourge

|

Incident at a Truckstop Diner

|Short Film

On the Other Hand, Death

|

The Art of War II: Betrayal

|Direct-to-video

Ice Blues

|

Christmas Town

|Direct-to-video

rowspan="4"| 2009

|The Cycle

|

Attention, the Doors Are Closing

|Short Film

Driven to Kill

|Direct-to-video

Damage

|

rowspan="3"| 2010

|Dancing Ninja

|

The Stranger

|Direct-to-video

The Diner Suit

|Short Film

rowspan="6" |2011

|Pressed

|

Skew

|

Jesus Christ

|Short Film

Rise of the Damned

|

Dead Simple

|Short Film

Liz

|Short Film

rowspan="2"| 2012

|American Mary

|

Now and Forever

|Short Film (music written and performed)

rowspan="2"| 2013

|''Out of Business'

|Short film

Cup Runneth Over

|Short film

rowspan="2"| 2014

|The Clockwork Girl

|Feature Animation

Toxin

|

2015

|A Perfect Wedding

|

2016

|Mostly Ghostly 3: One Night in Doom House

|Direct-to-video

rowspan="2" |2017

|Bigger Fatter Liar

|Direct-to-video

Selfie From Hell

|Feature Film

2018

|The Big Top Fury

|Short Film

2023

|If You're Reading This

|Documentary

=Television=

class="wikitable"

!Year

!Title

!Notes

1991

|Tales from the Crypt

|1 episode

1994

|Metro Cafe

|

1996

|Downdraft

|Television film

rowspan="2" |1997

|Kleo the Misfit Unicorn

|26 episodes

Dead Fire

|Television film

1998

|The Other Side of the Picture

|Documentary

rowspan="3" |1999

|Escape from Mars

|Television film

Slightly Bent TV

|

Sasquatch Odyssey: The Hunt for Bigfoot

|Documentary

2002

|atHome

|

rowspan="5" |2004

|On Course

|

Deep Evil

|Television film

Happyland

|Television film

Eve's Christmas

|Television film

A Very Cool Christmas

|Television film

rowspan="3" |2005

|Steklo

|Mini-series (3 episodes)

Home for the Holidays

|Television film

His and Her Christmas

|Television film

rowspan="8" |2006

|Lesser Evil

|Television film

The Obsession

|Television film

Family in Hiding

|Television film

Deadly Skies

|Television film

Breaking Ranks

|Documentary

Four Extraordinary Women

|Television film

21st Annual Gemini Awards

|Television special

All She Wants for Christmas

|Television film

rowspan="3" |2007

|A Valentine Carol

|Television film

Witness to Murder

|Television film

Destination: Infestation

|Television film

rowspan="5" |2008

|The Afterlife with Suzane Northrop

|Documentary (10 episodes)

Let's Talk Sex

|10 episodes

Making Mr. Right

|Television film

Love Sick: Secrets of a Sex Addict]

|Television film (international version)

Mixed Nutz

|

rowspan="6" |2009

|Storm Seekers

|Television film

Black Rain

|Television film

Encounter with Danger

|Television film

Vancouver Vagabond

|Documentary

Health Nutz

|Television film

Something Evil Comes

|Television film

rowspan="2"| 2010

|A Family Thanksgiving

|Television film

Two Men in a Boat: Chasing Spring

|Documentary

rowspan="2"| 2011

|The Adventures of Artie the Ant

|12 episodes

Past Obsessions

|Television film

rowspan="3" |2012

|What's Up Warthogs!

|19 episodes

Broken Trust

|Television film

Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade

|Television film

rowspan="4" |2013

|Health Nutz

|7 episodes

The Trainer

|Television film

Profile for Murder

|Television film

Forever 16

|Television film

rowspan="5" |2014

|Irreplaceable

|Documentary

My Mother's Future Husband

|Television film

The Color of Rain

|Television film

Recipe for Love

|Television film

Wedding Planner Mystery

|Television film

rowspan="5" |2015

|I Do, I Do, I Do

|Television film

The Wrong Girl

|Television film

Ties That Bind

|9 episodes

Angels in the Snow

|Television film

Debbie Macomber's Dashing Through the Snow

|Television film

rowspan="3" |2016

|Stop the Wedding

|Television film

Chesapeake Shores

|1 episode

Terres d'Exploration

|Television mini-series documentary

rowspan="2""| 2017

|Nations at War

|Documentary

The Christmas Train

|Television film

2018

|Truly Madly Sweetly

|Television film

2020

|Charlie's Christmas Wish

|Television film

=Video games=

class="wikitable"

!Year

!Title

!Notes

2004

|Spongebob Squarepants: A Day in the Life of a Sponge

|

Theatre

class="wikitable"

!Year

!Title

!Notes

2008

|Titus Andronicus

|Bard On The Beach

2010

|Tear The Curtain

|Arts Club Theatre

2013

|You Are Very Star

|Electric Company Theatre

2019

|The Full Light Of Day

|Electric Company Theatre

Awards

File:Peter Allen at the Leo Awards 2004.tif

class="wikitable"

!Year

!Project

!Category

!Result

2000

|A Twist of Faith

|Best Musical Score in a Motion Picture (Leo Award)

|Nominated

2002

|The Barber

|Feature Length Drama: Best Musical Score (Leo Award)

|Nominated

rowspan="2" |2003

|Casanova at Fifty

|Short Drama: Best Musical Score (Leo Award)

|Nominated

Flower & Garnet

|Feature Length Drama: Best Musical Score (Leo Award)

|Won

2005

|11:11

|Feature Length Drama: Best Musical Score (Leo Award)

|Nominated

rowspan="2" |2006

|The Score

|Best Music Score in a Feature Length Drama (Leo Award)

|Nominated

The Score

|Best Original Music Score for a Program or Mini-Series (Gemini Award)

|Nominated

rowspan="2" |2008

|A Dennis the Menace Christmas

|Best Musical Score in a Feature Length Drama (Leo Award)

|Nominated

Scourge

|Best Music Score in a Feature Length Drama (Leo Award)

|Nominated

2009

|The Art of War II: Betrayal

|Best Musical Score in a Feature Length Drama (Leo Award)

|Nominated

2014

|Destination: Infestation

|Domestic Feature Film Award (SOCAN Award)

|Won

2019

|Truly, Madly, Sweetly

|Best Musical Score in a Television Movie (Leo Award)

|Won

2023

|[https://www.leoawards.com/2023/nominees_and_winners/nominees_and_winners_by_name_2023.php#Feature_Length_Documentary If You're Reading This]

|Best Musical Score in a Feature Length Documentary (Leo Award)

|Nominated

References

{{reflist}}