Dirk Campbell was born in 1950 in Ismailia, Egypt and lived in Kenya till the age of 11. His family moved to England in 1962. He studied composition at the Royal College of Music with Edwin Roxburgh, gaining his ARCM diploma in 1974. He began his full-time career as a composer in 1989 with several commissions from Redwing Films, one of whose directors was David Anderson. Dirk Campbell had composed the score to Anderson's BAFTA-winning animated film Dreamland Express in 1983. During the last 25 years, in addition to film, TV, commercials and stage composition, he has become a noted performer on a wide range of folk wind instruments (see Performer Credits). He has created two successful sound libraries distributed by ILIO Entertainments (see CDs and Audio Products below) and is currently working on the third.
FILM SCORES
LOST HEARTS
(Blanche McIntyre 2007) Dramatisation of Henry James horror story
(Magali Charrier 2006) Quirky and personal short by IMZ award-winner. Live action and animation
THE WALNUT HARVEST
(Iraj Emami 2003) Feature film: romantic tragedy set in Iran
A SENSE OF GRAVITY
(David Anderson 2002) Dance For Camera
THE CASE (Mark Warner 2001) Feature film: crime thriller set in India
DEUTSCHE POST (David Anderson 2000) Launch of German Post Office on the international market
(David Anderson 1995) international award winner, various festivals
DOOR
(David Anderson 1991) international award winner, various festivals
DREAMLAND EXPRESS
(David Anderson 1983) BAFTA 'Best Animated Short'
TELEVISION
VOODOO
Fulcrum TV 2006 (various directors)
BBC2 2001 (Ovidio Salazar/OR Media) – 2004 Best Documentary winner, Trento Film Festival
UNDER THE INFLUENCE C4 2001 (James Bates/Fulcrum Productions)
THE GOD LIST C4 2001 (James Bates/Roger Bolton Productions/Fulcrum Productions)
THIRSTING FOR WAR BBC1 2000 (Chris Mitchell/OR Media)
TRAILBLAZERS Discovery Channel 2000 (James Bates, TransatlanticFilms)
WILDLIFE ON ONE 'BUSHBABIES' BBC1 1999 (Luke Schiller, Ammonite Films)
WESTERN SAHARA: A FORGOTTEN WAR BBC2 1999 (various directors/OR Media)
LIVING IN THE DEAD ZONE 1999 (Chris Mitchell, Source Films)
WHEN THE SEAS RISE 1999 (David Mansfield, Open University)
FACES OF ISLAM BBC1 1998 (David Mansfield, OR Media)
PARADISE BLUES 1998 Channel 4 1999 (Victoria Bridges, IBT
COMMERCIALS
BAILEYS IRISH CREAM
Creative Circle Bronze ‘Best Music’
DANEPAK Cannes Gold Lion
CO-OPERATIVE BANK Cannes Silver Lion
K CIDER
Independent Cinemas Award 'Best Music'
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND
VAX
BRITVIC ORANGE JUICE
LUCOZADE
VITTEL
LANDROVER
OPEL
EUROSTAR
HYUNDAI
KWIKFIT EURO
TABOO
GOLDFISH
PONDS
PURDEYS
COMFORT
RONSEAL
GLASGOW HERALD
SANYO DIGITAL
ELECTRICITY COUNCIL
LILT
PTT
BANK OF BOSTON
MULLER YOGHURT
BRITISH HOME STORES
PILLSBURY DOUGH
RICE KRISPIES
OCEAN SPRAY
LG ELECTRONICS
STAGE
SOMETHING TO DANCE ABOUT (Paddock Productions, Lewes, 2006): 'Walking and Talking' (chor. Virginia Fairman) music for four cellos and two marimbas; 'The Rise of Spring' (chor. Anna Carlisle) music for violin, two piccolos, two percussionists and border pipes
RED SUN 2003 play by David Rudkin/ajtc theatre company, director Geoff Bullen
THE CONFERENCE OF THE BIRDS 1994 opera/ballet from the original poem by Farid ud-Din Attar, theatre:X, director Maria Koripas, choreographer Darlene Stephens
CDS AND AUDIO PRODUCTS
Safar/The World Wind Band Audio CD 2005 Hermes Records
Featured on BBC Radio 3 Late Junction
Origins DVD ROM 2005 'Everything on it sounds brilliant, and it recreates an exotic and faraway world, all the while hitting a niche market like a home run out of the park.' Roger Hooper, AudioMidi.com
World Winds CD ROM 2002 'This is by far the best sampled presentation of ethnic wind instruments I’ve ever found.' Ernie Rideout, Keyboard
World Winds and Origins are distributed by Ilio Entertainments
Music from a Round Tower Audio CD 1994 Voiceprint
Fifth place in the Green Dolphin international critics' poll 1996
LITERARY
Subud and Sufism (internet article, updated November 2006) The techniques and terminology of classical Sufism compared with the 20th century Subud movement. 'Especially useful are Campbell's comparisons of Idries Shah's assessments of Subud with Pak Subuh's own remarks' (Dr. Alan Godlas, University of Georgia) 'Dirk Campbell has investigated this issue and written this account in the most objective and informative way' (Raymond Harding-Cox, Subud Britain)
Gaelic Music and Art (internet article, updated November 2006) quoted as reference in a paper by John Baily, Goldsmiths' College Music Department
Various articles for Chanter, the Bagpipe Society journal (from 1988)
The Anishinabe Legacy (internet article 2006)
Dirk Campbell
