In the sleepy port town of Bellingham, Washington, sixteen-year-old aspiring composer Bear McCreary imagined and wrote his own films, just so he could score them. A chance encounter led him to film-music legend Elmer Bernstein, who moored his boat in Bellingham harbor. The maestro recognized a passion for musical storytelling in the ambitious high school student and encouraged him to study composition at the USC School of Music in Los Angeles, where he took him on as a protégé. Two decades later, McCreary has validated Bernstein’s instincts, having proven himself one of the most versatile and in-demand composers in the industry. Forbes declared, “As a composer, his genre track record is one of the most impressive in modern day Hollywood.” His myriad of credits includes the hit series Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead, and Outlander; the films Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Happy Death Day, and 10 Cloverfield Lane; and Sony PlayStation’s iconic God of War video-game series. Currently, McCreary is scoring The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Amazon Studios’ record-shattering series.
McCreary recently announced The Singularity, an ambitious multimedia project that combines an eclectic rock concept album, a graphic novel published by Image Comics, and a live concert. McCreary is joined by an extraordinary ensemble, including legends such as Slash (Guns N’ Roses), Rufus Wainwright, Serj Tankian (System of a Down), Corey Taylor (Slipknot), Jens Kidman (Meshuggah), Joe Satriani, Buck Dharma (Blue Öyster Cult), Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), and Scott Ian (Anthrax), among many others. The accompanying story is revealed in three spoken-word monologues, performed by celebrated actors Lee Pace (The Hobbit), Danai Gurira (Black Panther), and Ryan Hurst (Sons of Anarchy). Beyond The Singularity, McCreary partnered with multiplatinum artist Hozier, cowriting and performing “Blood Upon the Snow” for God of War Ragnarök. He has also collaborated with Fiona Apple for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Shirley Manson (Garbage) for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and Mark Hamill (Star Wars) for 2019’s Child’s Play. He was honored to work closely with the iconic Sinéad O’Connor on the seventh season Outlander main title theme, a recording that tragically became her last.
McCreary is increasingly recognized for his musical innovation. Of his Godzilla score, SuperHeroHype declared, “There’s a level of supremely effective bombast in the soundtrack that is unrivaled by the current batch of blockbuster films.” In stark contrast, McCreary created a manic “toy orchestra” for Child’s Play. The film features “The Buddi Song,” which Charleston’s Post and Courier described as “the creepiest thing I’ve heard all year.” Time magazine raved that the film 10 Cloverfield Lane’s “finest feature may be Bear McCreary’s playfully malicious score, a beehive of worried-sounding strings that channels the spirit of Hitchcock fave Bernard Herrmann.” McCreary won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme for Da Vinci’s Demons, a composition that is a carefully constructed palindrome (sounding the same forwards and backwards). His score for the epic Apple TV+ series Foundation was orchestrated around custom computer software, inspired by the show’s mathematical premise. McCreary also received Emmy nominations for the pirate drama Black Sails, from executive producer Michael Bay; Outlander, Ronald D. Moore’s global-hit adaptation of Diana Gabaldon’s acclaimed novels; and FOX’s Human Target, which, along with his brassy score for Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., were early examples of large orchestral scoring’s triumphant return to television. His music for Battlestar Galactica was lauded by Variety as “innovative,” “like no other” by NPR, and earned him a coveted spot on io9.com’s “Ten Best Science Fiction Composers of All Time.” He earned the prestigious BAFTA and DICE awards, as well as a Grammy nomination for his scores to Sony PlayStation’s 2018 smash hit God of War and its massive sequel God of War Ragnarök, in which he also played a character, portraying a surly hurdy-gurdy-playing dwarf named Ræb. In 2023, his diverse body of work inspired the Ringer to declare McCreary the 23rd Most Definitive Bear in popular culture!
Having carved his own path in the media-scoring business, McCreary is proud to nurture the next generation of screen composers. He has enthusiastically encouraged the team at Sparks & Shadows, a collective of his musical protégés, to branch out into their own projects, including Disney+’s megahit Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Paramount+’s series adaptation of the iconic game series Halo, Kevin Smith’s Masters of the Universe: Revolution, the Blumhouse and Lionsgate feature film Imaginary, and Sony’s beloved video-game experience God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla, among others.
McCreary has conducted performances of his music throughout North America and Europe. He has composed concert commissions for the Calder Quartet and Getty Center, the Hagen Philharmonic and Ballet in Germany, the Television Academy, the Seattle Symphony, and the Golden State Pops Orchestra. His music has been performed on multiple occasions at the Hollywood Bowl including in 2014 when Maestro Gustavo Dudamel masterfully conducted a suite of McCreary’s music with the L.A. Philharmonic and L.A. Master Chorale. In 2011, he composed “Fanfare for STS-135,” a rousing orchestral work played at the launch of NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis, commemorating the final shuttle launch in American history.
In quiet moments (few and far between), McCreary often wonders what his longtime friend and mentor Elmer Bernstein would say about his career. Sadly, he will never know. The iconic Bernstein passed away on the very day that McCreary began composing the original score for his first television series, Battlestar Galactica. “Elmer’s guidance was a gift I can never repay,” says McCreary, “but I will spend my life trying to do so.”