Our People
George Papanicolaou
I am passionate about screen music and I have had the privilege of working with key creatives in our industry with great stories to tell. These films, documentaries, TV series and other media projects have enabled me to cross musical genres and blend orchestral, acoustic and electronic music to produce scores that reflect contemporary film narratives. In addition, I have been able to impart my expertise in academic settings, as a lecturer and coordinator of composition for film, T.V. and multimedia at a number of universities at both undergraduate and post graduate levels.
Since graduating in Screen Composition from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTR) where I was mentored by Nigel Westlake, I have worked on well over 150 screen composition projects including:
- Art and Soul, Series 2, three documentaries. Produced by Bridget Ikin of Hibiscus Films directed by Steven McGregor. Writer: Hetti Perkins
- Servant or Slave, documentary nominated for an AACTA award for best original music. Produced by Mitchell Stanley of No Coincidence Media and directed by Steven McGregor.
- Killing Ground, feature film - additional music and ADR. Produced by Oscar nominated producer Jo Weatherstone and directed by Damien Power.
- Big Name No Blanket documentary. Produced by Lisa Watts and directed by Steven McGregor and Rachel Clements.
- Dirt Game, 6 part drama series. Produced by David Taft and Michael Harvey and directed by Brendan Maher and Grant Brown.
- Cobby-the other side of cute documentary. Produced and directed by Donna McRae (2019 ADG nominated director) and Michael Vale.
- 'Into the Night' short film directed by Tony Krawitz which was awarded best film in 2002 at the Chicago International Film Festival, nominated for an AFI award in the same year and shortlisted in the drama category in the 2002 USA Oscar Academy Awards.
A keen collaborator, I work with devotion alongside other key creatives to compose and produce film scores influenced by ethnic idioms, classical traditions and contemporary styles.
Ben Wiesner
Ben has been working as a professional musician for the past 18 years. During this time he has toured and recorded with some of the biggest names in Australian and international music. These include Missy Higgins, Darren Hayes (Savage Garden), The Audreys, Christine Anu, Garth Hudson, Pete Murray, Gabrielle (U.K) as well as theatre shows such as Jersey Boys.
Ben’s love of sound design and production led to working with ambient classical composer Marvin Ayres where he had a creative engineering role from 2005 to 2008 working on sound design and 5.1 mixes for many of his acclaimed albums.
Ben currently heads up the percussion and audio departments at Box Hill Institute and is also an Apple Logic certified trainer.
Leon Ross
I am a Melbourne-based composer for Film, TV, Games and other multimedia with interests and experience extending beyond the role of a composer, i.e. Sound Designer, Sampling and Scripting Engineer, Electronic Music Producer, Multi-Instrumentalist, and Mixing/Mastering Engineer.
At Original Score I provide local filmmakers with an all-inclusive industry-grade service fulfilling all post-production needs: Composition, Sound Design, Foley and ADR, Surround Mixing and Mastering.
In 2018, I was delighted to receive the Outstanding Student Award 2018 (Composition), Best 3rd Year Film Score, AVCAT Long Tan Bursary and three films received awards overseas in festivals such as the Los Angeles CineFest and Manchester KINOFILM Festival.
With a Bachelor of Applied Music (Composition) from Box Hill Institute, I am continuing my professional development, currently completing a Master's Degree in Fine Arts (Screen Composition) at the University of Chichester.
Musical Storytelling has always been the strongest force in my life. Through experience and creative fascination, I strive to create evocative visceral journeys. Often this involves embodying the psychology of characters and using innovative techniques to illustrate complex subtext.