David Hirschfelder

Meet the other piano man behind the success of Shine. DAVID HIRSCHFELDER was the music director and composer for the Academy Award® winning movie, and himself a 1996 Oscar ® nominee for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score.

Hirschfelder has long been regarded as a key figure on the Australian music scene. He first came to prominence in 1980, fronting the groundbreaking contemporary jazz ensemble Pyramid. He soon expanded his reach into television and film scoring and, in 1987, received a Penguin Award for Best Musical Score for the documentary Suzi’s Story. He has since gone on to build an impressive list of major feature film credits including Strictly Ballroom, for which he earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Original Film Score, and Shine and Elizabeth, which resulted in two Academy Award ® nominations for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score. His other credits include Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, Australia, The Children of Huang Shi, Shake Hands With the Devil, The Weight of Water, Hanging Up and Sliding Doors. He has collaborated with such noted directors as Baz Luhrmann, Scott Hicks, Shekhar Kapur, Diane Keaton and Kathryn Bigelow, among others.

Hirschfelder's talents are in demand outside of the film industry as well. He worked as a keyboardist, songwriter and arranger for Australia's preeminent singer John Farnham on the platinum-selling album “Whispering Jack” and multiplatinum albums “Age of Reason,” “Chain Reaction” and “Full House.” He also served as Farnham's musical director on many of the singer's record-breaking Australian and overseas tours.

In 1992, Hirschfelder reorchestrated, produced and performed on one of that year's major chart successes, the Australian cast recording of “Jesus Christ Superstar.” The album entered the charts at No. 1, shipping platinum on its first day of release and reaching double-platinum status in only two weeks.

Also in 1992, Hirschfelder returned to film work with the release of Strictly Ballroom. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, this distinctly Australian comedy was a resounding success locally and internationally. The film was nominated for a staggering 13 Australian Film Institute awards and won three BAFTAs (one of which Hirschfelder received for Best Original Film Score).

The bands Little River Band, Southern Sons, Skyhooks and Dragon have featured Hirschfelder on their albums as a producer, performer and composer. He has also lent his style to albums by guitar virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel and classical flautist Jane Rutter.

In 1993, Hirschfelder was nominated for Producer of the Year at the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) awards.

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