Sibelius Sweeps the Board at Grammys, Oscars & Baftas

Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake and Dixie Chicks albums, Last King of Scotland, Casino Royale and Happy Feet films among winners scored using Sibelius

Sibelius was used for live instrumentation on Dixie Chicks' Taking The Long Way, which won Best Album

Strings on Beyoncé's B'Day were arranged and scored with Sibelius

Arranger David Campbell worked with Sibelius on Justin Timberlake's FutureSex / LoveSounds

Music for Oscar-winning film The Last King of Scotland was produced using Sibelius

London, 26 February 2007 – Sibelius, the world’s best-selling music notation software, was used to produce albums and films winning more than 20 awards at the 2007 Oscars, Grammys and Baftas - inlcuding Best Screenplay, Best Album and Record of the Year.

Sibelius was used to arrange live instrumentation on Dixie Chicks' Taking The Long Way, which swept the board at the Grammys by taking Best Album, Best Song and Record of the Year. Beyoncé’s B’Day, which won Best Contemporary R&B Album at the awards, was also produced using Sibelius, as was Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex / LoveSounds, which featured the Best Dance Recording and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

Sibelius was also used on the Best Classical Album - a new recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 7 by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas.

The music on Bryn Terfel's album Simple Gifts, which picked up Best Classical Crossover, was also arranged entirely using Sibelius.

The Oscars turned out to be a great night for Sibelius, too. The score for The Last King of Scotland - which picked up Best Actor for Forest Whitaker's performance - was produced using Sibelius. The notation software was also used on Happy Feet, which won Best Animated Feature Film, and on the The Supremes bio-pic Dreamgirls, which won Best Sound Mixing and Best Supporting Actress for Jennifer Hudson's performance.

Over at the UK Bafta awards, the Sibelius-produced The Last King of Scotland picked up three major awards - Outstanding British Film of the Year, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Forest Whitaker. Happy Feet won Best Animated Feature Film, Sibelius project Casino Royale won Best Sound, and Dreamgirls picked up Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Jennifer Hudson’s performance.

David Campbell, who worked as arranger on the Dixie Chicks album, says about Sibelius, “I really enjoy the program and use it on almost all my projects now. Its quick and easy format helps me meet tight deadlines.”  

This year’s Oscar and Bafta results confirm Sibelius’s position as the choice of the film score industry. In the past year alone the program has been used on film scores by David Arnold, Harry Gregson-Williams, Patrick Doyle, Michael Price and Bafta-winner Gustavo Santaolalla. Most recently, Sibelius has been used on the score to the new British comedy Hot Fuzz, staring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

“We’re delighted that more and more of the world’s most talented film composers are choosing Sibelius,” said Jeremy Silver, MD of Sibelius Software. “Every year the list of Bafta- and Oscar-winning films that Sibelius has been used on just grows and grows. It underlines the fact that the product really is the number one choice for the film industry."

To encourage young people into careers in Film and TV music, this year Sibelius has launched a UK-wide competition to find talented film and TV composers in the UK’s schools. The competition is being judged by Lord Puttnam, David Arnold (James Bond films), Harry Gregson-Williams (Flushed Away, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason), Michael Price (Lord Of The Rings films) and Patrick Doyle (Harry Potter films), and over 500 students from 200 schools have entered. For more information please click here.

For more information about how Sibelius is used for Film and TV music click here.