London Soundtrack Festival reveals inaugural programme

The first annual London Soundtrack Festival (LSF) is set to take place in the capital next spring. Presented in association with the British Film Institute (BFI), the festival will run from 19 - 26 March 2025 with a programme of live performances, panel discussions, composer Q&As and masterclasses with composers for films, TV and video games.

The new festival is founded by concert producer, broadcaster and musician Tommy Pearson, and will feature orchestras including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra in venues across the capital including Southbank Centre, BFI IMAX, The Roundhouse, Alexandra Palace, Wigmore Hall and Cadogan Hall. The full festival programme can be found here.

Announcing the festival, Pearson said: ‘It’s really exciting to be bringing this brand-new festival to London – the film, TV and games music capital of the world – and to celebrate the greatest composers working today who create the soundtrack to our lives. For me, it’s the culmination of a lifetime’s love of film and TV music; a chance to give audiences young and old (and everyone in between!) world-class performances, fascinating masterclasses, screenings and events for many years to come.’

The festival is inspired by the life and music of TV, film and advertising composer Christopher Gunning, the creative mind behind the iconic theme to ITV's Poirot (starring David Suchet). Each year the festival will present the Gunning Inspiration Award in Gunning’s honour to a major figure in the industry who has made a lasting impact on music and will also headline that year’s festival.

The recipient of the inaugural Gunning Inspiration Award will be Oscar- and Grammy-winning Canadian composer Howard Shore whose most famous works include music for films including the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Silence of the Lambs, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Fly and Gangs of New York.

As well as a retrospective of Shore’s work, the 2025 festival will celebrate the work of featured composers including Hildur Guðnadóttir, Anna Meredith, Anne Dudley, Harry Gregson-Williams, Stephen Barton, Natalie Holt and Paul Farrer, plus more artists yet to be announced. The Gunning Inspiration Award will be presented to Shore by his long-term collaborator director David Cronenberg as part of the LSF’s central event, the Gala Concert featuring Shore’s music along with music by all the festival’s featured artists performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Ben Palmer at the Royal Festival Hall.