Deborah Mollison (born 29 May 1958) is a British composer and songwriter, who works in both the United Kingdom and the United States. She is best known for her score for the 1999 independent British film East is East .
Mollison began composing at the age of seven, having received free music lessons at school. [1] From the age of thirteen, she studied composition, piano and flute at the Royal Academy of Music where she won the Else Cross Prize for pianoforte. [2] She then moved to UCLA and to Middlesex University where she received her PhD in music. [2] Mollison subsequently taught composing at Middlesex for eight years. [1]
Mollison is best known for her scores for films and television programmes, but she has a greater diversity of style: songs, jazz, rock and orchestral works. She has composed for commissions from the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Britten Sinfonia. [3] [4] She is best known for her score for the 1999 independent British film East is East . [4] Mollison regularly conducts her own work and has conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Irish Film Orchestra. [5] [2] [1]
Mollison's "Global Nation" celebrates a multi-cultural world set into England's "green and pleasant land"; "Ocean Witness" highlights the suffering of whales and dolphins at the hands of people. [2] Her 2020 orchestral work Secret Garden was inspired by reading the Pope's book Laudate Si' while recovering from Covid. [1] It became an educational project funded by the Jesuit Fund for Social Justice and supported by the Dicastery for Culture and Education.
Her works include: [6]
She has won the following awards: [6]
