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Nicholas Pike
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Key Information
Nicholas Pike is an English film and television music composer.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Nicholas Pike was born in Water Orton, Warwickshire, England. He started his music career at the age of 7 at the Canterbury Choir School and subsequently moved to Cape Town, South Africa at the age of 10 where he continued in music becoming Head Chorister at St George's Grammar School, Cathedral choir as well as playing the flute with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra at the age of 15. He was a member of the rock band Hammak and toured the country with this and other bands. At age 17 he left to study flute and composition in Boston at the Berklee School of Music.[1]
Career
[edit]Pike moved to New York City, where he recorded and performed with his band FluteJuice featuring Bill Frisell, Billy Hart, Kenny Werner, and Hank Roberts among many others. He recorded and released the album Waterlilies with Brazilian percussionist Nana Vasconcelos and guitar virtuoso Bill Connors. Before embarking on his film scoring career he conducted and recorded his suite "Master Harold and the Boys" with the London Symphony Orchestra which was based on Athol Fugard's apartheid era play of the same name.[2]
As a film composer, he is known for featuring unique sounds and instrumentation. He has written for projects ranging from Stephen King's The Shining to Disney's Captain Ron as well as animated films such as Disney's The Prince and the Pauper.[1][3][4] Awards include the Elmer Bernstein Award for his score to Love Object at the Woodstock Film Festival, the Best Music Award from the Sitges Cinema Fantastic Festival for his score to Critters 2 and the Emmy for original music at the 34th News & Documentary Emmy Awards for the HBO documentary In Tahrir Square about the beginnings of the Arab Spring. He received an ACE Award for the work on Tales From The Crypt.[1]
He composed music for large-scale music videos including Michael Jackson's "Ghost" and "You Rock My World", MC Hammer's "Too Legit to Quit" and "Here Comes The Hammer" and Will Smith's "Wild Wild West". He was chosen by actress/comedian and talk show host Bonnie Hunt to create and lead the first-ever daytime talk show live band for The Bonnie Hunt Show which aired on the NBC network. Pike composed the music for the show. He wrote and produced the song "On Ghost Ridge" for the documentary 100 Years: One Woman's Fight for Justice chronicling the epic battle between Blackfoot Indian Elouise Cobell and the US government. The song was performed by Malaysian pop star Yuna and long-listed for an Academy Award Nomination in the Best Original Song category [5][6]
Pike arranged, produced, and composed the score for the first episode of Apple TV+'s series Amazing Stories.
In 2023, Pike appeared as a guest at Kingvention, the annual Michael Jackson fan convention held in London.[7][8]
Pike composed the score and produced an operatic piece performed by Ana María Martínez for the documentary Viva Verdi! released in 2025.[9][10][11][12]
Filmography
[edit]Film
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Studio(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–1996 | Tales from the Crypt | Various | HBO | 10 episodes |
| 1997 | The Shining | Mick Garris | ABC | TV miniseries |
| 1999–2001 | The Lot | Various | American Movie Classics | 17 episodes |
| 2005–2007 | Masters of Horror | Various | Showtime | 6 episodes |
| 2011 | Bag of Bones | Mick Garris | A&E | 2 episodes |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Goff, John (29 August 1992). "Pike Fills Sails For Disney's Captain Ron With Music" (PDF). Cash Box: 15.
- ^ "Nicholas Pike Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & Mo..." AllMusic. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
- ^ "'Shining' airs in TV version Sunday By Miles Beller". Jackson Citizen Patriot. 24 April 1997. p. 36. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
- ^ "Martin Short is a hit in 'Captain Ron' film By John Douglas ON FILM". The Grand Rapids Press. 19 September 1992. p. 7. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
- ^ Reporters, F. M. T. (14 December 2016). "Yuna makes Oscar longlist for 'Best Original Song'". Free Malaysia Today | FMT. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
- ^ Kho, Byline: Gordon (16 December 2016). "Yuna's song on Oscar long-list". Local Singapore News. Retrieved 18 October 2025.
- ^ "2023 — Kingvention - MJ Fan Convention | London". Kingvention. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ^ "Iconic". MJVibe. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
- ^ "Nicholas Pike / Film Composer / Biography". Nichola Pike Film Composer.
- ^ "The Third Act: Christine La Monte on Music, Memory, and Meaning". Musée Magazine. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
- ^ Salazar, David (2 October 2025). "'Viva Verdi!' Documentary Set to LA Premiere". OperaWire. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
- ^ "Viva Verdi - Laemmle.com". www.laemmle.com. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
- ^ "Nicholas Pike to Score Stephen King's 'Bag of Bones' | Film Music Reporter". Retrieved 11 October 2025.
External links
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