Adrian Ellis(I)
- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Adrian is known for his inventive, story-driven approaches to creating his scores. Former VP of Music at Disney, Andy Hill, has described his music as "beautiful, mysterious... haunting..." and praised his "deft" scoring. Whether using a solo piano, a full orchestra, or a power saw and other "found sounds", Adrian is always searching for musical signatures that are as compelling as the stories he is helping tell. A seasoned composer with over 100 credits to his name, his music can be heard around the world in cinemas and on television. His work has garnered 2 Canadian Screen Music Award (CASMA) and 3 Canadian Screen Award (CSA) nominations. In 2024 he won a CASMA for his work on Mother Father Sister Brother Frank.
Adrian is most at home when working with other storytellers, solving creative problems, and is noted for his instincts and process as much as his music. Investing himself fully into each project, he works to find the right questions to ask of his creative partners before a single note is written.
Born in Canada to a musical family, he grew up partly in Germany where his father found work playing French horn in the Wuppertal Sinfonieorchester. There, he was immersed in symphonic and operatic music and began to learn music's narrative power. As a boy, he would often be found dressed up in home-made costumes, acting out imagined scenes from Holst's The Planets. Later, studies in fine art and classical guitar further laid the groundwork for his career as a musical storyteller.
At renowned festivals such as TIFF, Vancouver International, and Hot Docs, Adrian has shared the stage and led conversations with luminary composers such as Oscar winners Mychael Danna (Life of Pi), Hans Zimmer (Inception), Laura Karpman (Marvel's What If?), and Nathalie Holt (Loki), as well as developing and leading talks for The Canadian Film Center and The Directors Guild of Canada. He also produced & hosted 3 seasons of The Screen Composer's Studio podcast.
Adrian is the Chair of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada.
Adrian is most at home when working with other storytellers, solving creative problems, and is noted for his instincts and process as much as his music. Investing himself fully into each project, he works to find the right questions to ask of his creative partners before a single note is written.
Born in Canada to a musical family, he grew up partly in Germany where his father found work playing French horn in the Wuppertal Sinfonieorchester. There, he was immersed in symphonic and operatic music and began to learn music's narrative power. As a boy, he would often be found dressed up in home-made costumes, acting out imagined scenes from Holst's The Planets. Later, studies in fine art and classical guitar further laid the groundwork for his career as a musical storyteller.
At renowned festivals such as TIFF, Vancouver International, and Hot Docs, Adrian has shared the stage and led conversations with luminary composers such as Oscar winners Mychael Danna (Life of Pi), Hans Zimmer (Inception), Laura Karpman (Marvel's What If?), and Nathalie Holt (Loki), as well as developing and leading talks for The Canadian Film Center and The Directors Guild of Canada. He also produced & hosted 3 seasons of The Screen Composer's Studio podcast.
Adrian is the Chair of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada.
