The International Film Music Critics Association has announced their nominations today. Bear McCreary leads all nominees with 8 nominations, including his score for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power which is the first TV score ever nominated for Score of the Year. High praise for McCreary’s work on Rings of Power from their members was included in their press release:
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power received nominations for Score of the Year – the first television score nominated in that category in IFMCA history since the rule change to allow TV scores to be included was announced in 2022 – plus Best Television score, and for three different tracks in the Composition of the Year category, while McCreary himself was nominated for Composer of the Year.
IFMCA member James Southall called The Rings of Power “a real triumph, undoubtedly McCreary’s own career-defining moment,” and IFMCA member Conrado Xalabarder said that the score was “one of the best in the history of music for television series … a work made from intelligence, commitment and above all respect for Tolkien and the audience. All its central themes work impeccably, coherently, and they develop and interact with each other, creating first-rate narration and dramaturgy.” IFMCA member Jon Broxton similarly praised the score, saying “the level of research and intelligent design McCreary has done in terms of creating the musical structure of The Rings of Power is absolutely astonishing, and is probably unparalleled in the history of television music.”
The nominees are:
SCORE OF THE YEAR
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, music by Simon Franglen
THE BATMAN, music by Michael Giacchino
THE FABELMANS, music by John Williams
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER, music by Bear McCreary, theme by Howard Shore
NOPE, music by Michael Abels
COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
SIMON FRANGLEN
MICHAEL GIACCHINO
BEAR MCCREARY
DANIEL PEMBERTON
COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR*
“Galadriel” from THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER, music by Bear McCreary
“Leaving Home (Hometree)” from AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, music by Simon Franglen
“Mother and Son” from THE FABELMANS, music by John Williams
“Númenor” from THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER, music by Bear McCreary
“Sailing Into the Dawn” from THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER, music by Bear McCreary
“The Batman” from THE BATMAN, music by Michael Giacchino
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION
THE ENGLISH, music by Federico Jusid
INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, music by Daniel Hart
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER, music by Bear McCreary, theme by Howard Shore
MOON KNIGHT, music by Hesham Nazih
THE ORVILLE, music by John Debney, Joel McNeely, Andrew Cottee, and Kevin Kaska, theme by Bruce Broughton
McCreary also received nominations for Best Original Score for an Animated Film for Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank and Best Original Score for a Video Game or Interactive Media for God of War: Ragnarök. Congratulations to Bear McCreary on his nominations!
