About this artist
British post-classical composer, producer and pianist Derek Kirkup is a graduate of the UK’s Academy of Contemporary Music, a foundation that kick-started his career in songwriting before invitations to score for film soon came in.
He scored interactive feature Olive Green (2014) which picked-up the Gold World medal at New York Festivals TV and Film awards in competition with HBO’s Game of Thrones’ spin-off web series. 2016 saw a collaboration with writer/director Carl Mackenzie on the acclaimed short The Interrogation of Olivia Donovan. Successes that increased demand for Kirkup’s scores and continued the flow of awards.
His most recent feature score for James Webber’s multi-award-winning Sorority (2022) starring Kate Dickie and Sophie Kennedy Clark, saw him pick-up the Alan Parsons Award for Best Original Score at the Scotland International Festival of Cinema.
Kirkup’s skilful eclecticism is on show in his latest and very different score for Director Giles Buchanan’s horror short Terror, which has recently embarked on a festival run.
Kirkup has just completed an engaging collection of piano-based electronica, ‘Hauntings’, set for release in March 2024.