University News Last updated 27 June 2018
The highly anticipated new series of ‘Doctor Who’ will be scored by an alumnus of Birmingham City University's Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
Segun Akinola will provide an “exciting and emotional score” beckoning in a new era for the show, including a fresh take on the legendary theme tune. The first new ‘Doctor Who’ composer since 2005, Segun’s music will be heard when the programme returns to television screens in autumn, and which features the first female Doctor, portrayed by Jodie Whittaker.
London-based Segun Akinola, said:
“Doctor Who is woven into the fabric of British culture and recognised globally. I am absolutely thrilled to be given the privilege of working on such a beloved series and to bring my musical voice to it.”
After initially learning the piano and drums at a young age, he later turned his attention to composition, graduating from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with first-class honours in 2014. He later studied at the National Film and Television School for an MA in Composing for Film and Television.
Rising star
As part of the BAFTA Breakthrough Brit program in 2017, Segun has already been recognised as one of the rising stars among British composers.
Segun’s “modern, rich and varied work” on programmes such as ‘Black and British: A Forgotten History’ attracted the attention of Showrunner, Chris Chibnall. He said:
Segun also scored Shola Amoo’s debut feature film ‘A Moving Image’, which had its world premiere at the 2016 LA Film Festival, won the Special Recognition in Narrative Directing award at BlackStar Film Festival 2016 and had its European premiere at the 60th BFI London Film Festival in 2016.
His score for ‘Dear Mr Shakespeare’ received an Honourable Mention for the 2017 BSO Jerry Goldsmith Award for Best Original Score for a Short Film’. Recently, he completed the scores for the major three-part series ‘The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed’ and the two-part series ‘Expedition Volcano’, both for BBC Two and PBS.