BBC and Netflix composer up for national award

A composer whose work has featured on the BBC and Netflix says he is "really humbled" to be nominated for a national award.

Thomas Farnon, from Guernsey, whose credits include the BBC's Mammals, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, and Netflix's Our Planet II, has been nominated for an Ivors Composer Award.

His score for David Frost Vs... is shortlisted in the Best Original Documentary Score category at the awards, which recognise composers for their contribution to contemporary culture.

Farnon, whose grandfather was also a composer, said the Ivors had inspired him since childhood after seeing one on his grandfather's shelf but believing one of his own was "out of reach".

Born in Guernsey, Farnon is the son of composer David Farnon and the grandson of composer Robert Farnon who both worked on television and film scores.

He attended school on the island before moving to Somerset at the age of 12 to study at Wells Cathedral School.

He later studied music in London and remained in the UK capital for 15 years.

Farnon returned to Guernsey with his wife two years ago and said changes in the way composers work had made it possible to build an international career from the island.

"For a long time, living here whilst working as a composer didn't seem particularly practical, but in recent years it's become so much easier to work from wherever you like," he said.

"Guernsey has been working out brilliantly, and it's not too much of a hard sell persuading musicians to fly over and work here."

Farnon said the creation of a dedicated documentary score category was an important step for the industry.

"Documentary scores are so often overlooked, so for the Ivors Composer Awards to recognise them with their own category is brilliant and really shines a light on an often overlooked part of our industry," he said.

"I'm really humbled to be nominated alongside such brilliant composers."

Winners of the Ivors Composer Awards will be announced at a ceremony in London on 17 November.

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