Geoffrey Burgon was born on July 15, 1941 in Hambledon, Hampshire, England as Geoffrey Alan Burgon. He is known for his work on Life of Brian (1979), Longitude (2000) and When Trumpets Fade (1998). He was married to Jacqueline Kroft and Janice Garwood. He died on September 21, 2010 in London, England.
Being asked to write music for Doctor Who (1963) came out of the blue and as a complete surprise. I had previously written only two scores for television, but it was the second of these that attracted director Douglas Camfield. It was a ghost story, the music of which was scored for a small and unusual group of instruments, plus two countertenors. The supernatural quality of the score appealed to Douglas, and I imagine it was the small number of musicians that appealed to the producer, because the Doctor Who (1963) budget ran to just four players, plus myself on whatever I could play, and access to the Radiophonic Workshop. I used the latter quite sparingly, mostly putting selected instruments through a ring modulator to make them sound quite unlike the original, thereby creating a bigger sounding group than I actually had. It was a great experience for an emerging composer, and I am terribly gratified to have been part of such a legendary television phenomenon.
#
Fact
1
Despite his numerous highly-regarded compositions for TV programs and film, his main focus was concert music.
2
The 1976 performance of his "Requiem" at the Three Choirs Festival made him famous, and led to several major commissions.
3
Early in his career, he composed mostly music for ballet and modern dance.
$1.3 Million
