Biography

Francis Shaw is a versatile composer familiar with many different styles and genres. Concert music for orchestra, ensemble and choirs, music for children, Opera, Film and Television.

Ranging from Ancient Greek, Roman and Celtic music realisations using period instruments, (Sounds of the Ancient World and Ancient Empires) to orchestral film scores, (Jamaica Inn, Shackleton, Vendetta and Evil) and computer generated TV music, (Mummies of the Taklamakhan Desert and Mysteries of Karnak) his media music is wide ranging in style.

He studied composition with Lennox Berkeley in London and Goffredo Petrassi in Rome. Contact with Yehudi Menuhin resulted in the commission of ‘Divertimento for Strings’, which he conducted at the Windsor Festival in 1972. This was the start of his professional life as a composer.