BIOGRAPHY
THE BASSOONIST
American bassoonist and contrabassoonist Michael Elderkin is an accomplished player, performing internationally as an orchestral, chamber, and session musician. Performing with the London Symphony Orchestra, Britten Sinfonia, and London Mozart Players, among others, Michael is an active freelancer in London, where he resides.
Michael is a frequent session player in London, recording with the major session fixers, and also works out of his home studio to record remotely -- having recorded for Amazon, Apple TV+, Disney, Audio Network, and various other projects - both on bassoon and contrabassoon. He has been featured as a soloist on the video game soundtrack to "Age of Fear 3: The Legend" and can be heard on numerous film/television scores.
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Michael attended the Eastman School of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, studying with John Hunt, Daniel Jemison and Dominic Morgan.
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(Michael can be booked directly or through Musicians Answering Service.)
THE COMPOSER
With a portfolio including music for concert, film, television, and musical theatre, Michael Elderkin is a versatile composer with a style firmly rooted in strong thematic content with lush orchestrations and vivid colors.
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In April of 2017, he produced a semi-staged workshop of his musical, Mascherato, in partnership with the Barbican Centre.
Following a successful workshop, he recorded a full cast album in Abbey Road Studios with a 22-piece orchestra which is now available on all streaming platforms. The recording has been praised as "a score that is of the highest quality" and having "the colour, warmth and escapism of the best of what we love in musicals and the familiar-yet-new resonance of what Ashman and Menken did for the Disney renaissance."
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He has orchestrated for films including 'Black Widow' (2021), 'Gemini Man' (2019), 'His Dark Materials' (2019), and 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout' (2018). He has written music for numerous films including Nightrounds and Pacalu. (click here to visit IMDb)
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Michael has worked extensively as a conductor and arranger for the Empire Film Music Ensemble. He has also worked as a copyist for numerous film and television projects.