Bear McCreary

Bear McCreary
Role:	Composer
BSG Universe:
Date of Birth:
Date of Death:	Missing required parameter 1=month! ,
Nationality:	USA
[{{{site}}} Official Site]
IMDb profile

A classically trained composer and multiple-award recipient, Bear McCreary is the mastermind behind the music of the "Re-imagined" Battlestar Galactica TV series.

Biographical Notes

McCreary's work is available in the Season 1 and Season 2 soundtracks to the hit SF series. Having composed music since he was just 6 years old, and being a graduate of the USC Thornton School of Music, McCreary has a knack for creating classical pieces, as well as quirky, off-beat melodies. When not working on the Battlestar score, McCreary also composes soundtracks for independent movies as well.

McCreary worked on thew Miniseries with soundtrack composer Richard Gibbs as an additional composer, also collaborating with Gibbs for the soundtracks in episodes 2 and 3 of season 1, "Water" and "Bastille Day". However, Gibbs opted not to devote full time to the regular series production, due to scheduling conflicts as he wanted to devote more time to scoring theatrical films. As a result McCreary scored "33" (which was actually the first episode) and then stayed on as soundtrack composer for all subsequent episodes of the series.

Leitmotifs in the Battlestar Galactica Soundtrack

McCreary makes use of several recurring character or event leitmotifs in the series' soundtrack. Among them are:

• Boomer theme: Indonesian gamelans and bells, heard in "Helo Rescued", "Boomer Flees", and "Two Boomers".
• Adama family theme: Irish whistle or bagpipe, heard in "Wander My Friends", "A Good Lighter", and "Reuniting The Fleet".
• Cylon Centurion theme: Tuvan throat singing, heard in "Helo Chase", and "Helo in the Warehouse".
• Starbuck theme: "Starbuck Takes on all Eight", "Flesh and Bone" or "Escape from the Farm". Sometimes also used for hope and success in general.
• Tigh theme: "Martial Law" from the episode "Fragged". Played on a french horn and also used in "Occupation".
• Six theme: A simple 9-note motive used in virtually all Six scenes and peformed on a gamelan. On the soundtrack in "Six Sex" and "The Sense of Six".
• love theme: "Reunited" and "To Kiss or not to Kiss" from the miniseries. Also heard very briefly in the episodes "The Farm" and "Sacrifice".
• death theme: "Bloodshed" from the episode "Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II". Also heard in "The Farm" and "Resurrection Ship, Part II" among others.

External Links

• Official Bear McCreary website.

Re-imagined Series definition: Battlestar Group ^{(TRS: "Water")}. It also doubles as an acronym for the television series itself.