Philip Sheppard is a composer specializing in film and television soundtracks, as well as large scale theatre and events. He is a solo cellist and a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music.

Photo by Nick Knight

Major films include In the Shadow of the Moon (which won numerous awards including the World Documentary Prize at Sundance), Henry Mind of a Tyrant for David Starkey’s landmark C4 series, The Tillman Story and Juliette Binoche Sketches for a Portrait. His  feature Sergio was shortlisted for the Oscars.
He has recently completed God in America for PBS and Inside the Milky Way for National Geographic in the US.

This year he has had two films premiere at Sundance, Bobby Fischer Against the World and The Flaw.

His new album Cloud Songs featured as the score in First Orbit, a film shot from the International Space Station by Paulo Nespoli and directed by Chris Riley. This film has had phenomenal success, with 3.5 million viewings in its first week of release.

He was was commissioned to compose and produce the music for the London 2012 Handover sequence at the Beijing Olympics Closing Ceremony. This included a new version of the UK National Anthem. He recorded and conducted the London Symphony Orchestra playing his Olympic sequence (entitled This Is London), and together with Steve Robson produced a new version of Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis performing Led Zep’s Whole Lotta Love for the culmination of the ceremony.

His stageworks include Sacred Monsters for Sylvie Guillem and Akram Khan and In-I starring Khan and Juliette Binoche.

He regularly writes and plays with UNKLE and has featured as a guest artist with numerous rock musicians including Scott Walker, Jeff Buckley, David Bowie and Jarvis Cocker.

Philip as recently been commissioned to rescore the national anthems of every country competing in the London 2012 Olympics. These are to be recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road, and will be used at all of the Olympic medal ceremonies.