Craig Armstrong

Craig Armstrong was born in Glasgow and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he won many prizes and awards. He has since progressed to become one of the world's most sought-after and respected composers and arrangers. In contemporary pop music, Madonna, U2, Björk and Massive Attack are among the acts to have benefited from his talents, but he is also a skilled and experienced writer for theatre and film.

Amongst his many credits are the scores for the Baz Luhrmann hits, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (for which he received the Anthony Asquith BAFTA Award and an Ivor Novello for Best Original Score) and Moulin Rouge (for which he received a Golden Globe Award and the American Film Institute Award). Other films that he has composed music for include Ray, which won a Grammy for Best Soundtrack; The Quiet American; Love Actually; The Bone Collector and Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Orchestras to have commissioned work from him include the Northern Sinfonietta, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Scottish Ensemble and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, who premiered his concert work 'When Morning Turns To Light' in December 2002. He also collaborated with author Ian Rankin to produce a new short opera for Scottish Opera’s 5:15 series.

This year, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama issued its first Craig Armstrong Composition Prize, for the best composition submitted in its annual Plug Festival for new music.

I see music as a positive force in life. I cling on to the beauty of music, because life can be very difficult. And so for me the purpose of music is that it is an uplifting thing, it comes from the spiritual side of people.