Craig Armstrong Scores Oliver Stone's Controversial WORLD TRADE CENTER

By: Randall D. Larson
Date: Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Soundtrack release from Sony Classical August 8th

Golden Globe winning film composer Craig Armstrong has composed a "haunting score" to Paramount Pictures' WORLD TRADE CENTER, Oliver Stone's true story of John McLoughlin and William Jimeno, two police officers who became trapped under the rubble of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Nicholas Cage and Michael Pena star as the two officers. The film opens August 11th, and Sony Classical releases the score August 8th.

This is the first time Stone and Armstrong have worked together.

Craig Armstrong, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, has composed, arranged, produced, and performed a multitude of respected works. He began his professional music career with the group The Big Dish, performing on keyboard, writing, and arranging; this led to arranging assignments for artists including Massive Attack, U2, and Madonna. Later, Armstrong became composer in residence at Glasgow's Tron Theatre Company, writing commissioned pieces for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

In the last ten years, Armstrong has composed extensively for film. He won a Golden Globe and was named AFI's Composer of the Year for his score to Baz Luhrman's musical MOULIN ROUGE. His work on the Ray Charles biographical film, RAY, earned him a Grammy for Best Score Soundtrack Album, and was included in Cinescape's Best of 2005 soundtracks. His other credits include THE CLEARING, THE QUIET AMERICAN, PLUNKETT AND MACLEAN, and LOVE ACTUALLY.

In addition to his film scores, Armstrong has released three solo albums, and recently his new musical trio The Dolls released its first self-titled album. Currently, his music can be heard as part of an exhibit at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. He will perform with a full orchestra October 19th in Belgium at the 33rd Flanders International Film Festival, incorporating several of his popular film scores.

Official site: www.craigarmstrong.com

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