Official presentation to be made at the Canadian Screen Music Awards in Toronto on 25 September 2024

Toronto, 19 August 2024: The Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC) has announced Academy Award-winning Canadian film composer Mychael Danna as the recipient of its inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award. Over a 40+ year career, Danna has made an outstanding contribution to the screen composing landscape in Canada and is perhaps best known for his score on Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi”.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an individual or collaborative team that has made a lasting impact on Canadian culture and their community. Their body of work will have garnered recognition and respect from peers and audiences whilst demonstrating the highest level of compositional skill.

This award will be presented at the third annual Canadian Screen Music Awards (CASMA) on 25 September at the El Mocambo in Toronto.

Over a 40+ year career, Mychael Danna has built a reputation for compositional storytelling at the highest level whilst blending non-western traditions with orchestral and electronic music. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Danna studied music composition at the University of Toronto before serving five years as composer-in-residence at the city’s McLaughlin Planetarium. He scored his feature film debut in 1987 for Atom Egoyan’s “Family Viewing” and has continued to work with some of the industry’s most inspiring directors.

In addition to “Life of Pi”, Danna’s scores can also be heard on many other award-winning films including “Girl, Interrupted”, “Little Miss Sunshine”, “Capote” and “Moneyball”. He has been recognised by the Oscars, Golden Globes, Emmys, Leos, Grammys and Genie awards.

“Mychael is one of Canada’s finest, most creative and accomplished composers, and the perfect recipient of our inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award,” said SCGC president, John Welsman. “His celebrated work has blazed a trail for Canadian screen composing and continues to inspire everyone in our industry. Our thanks and sincere congratulations to him.”

This award will be presented as part of the Canadian Screen Music Awards (CASMA), an annual celebration of composer’s excellence in scoring original music for the screen. Launched and administered by SCGC, the CAMSAs are open to all Canadian and permanent resident composers and are the first to be juried and awarded by fellow Canadian screen composers. In 2024, nominations for musical works are being considered in 12 categories covering feature film, television, animation, documentary, games and interactive media.

“Canada has always outperformed when it comes to music, with a rich array of composing talent, and this award is important in casting the spotlight onto their work,” said Danna. “I’m proud to inaugurate this award, and I’m deeply grateful to the SCGC for this recognition.”

Learn more at our CASMA 2024 page and at www.mychaeldanna.com.

Sales are now open for CASMA ceremony tickets and for the CASMA raffle. Thanks also to our 2024 CASMA sponsors: