Ben Morales Frost

Profile

Ben Morales Frost writes music for animation and musicals.

Music came to him early, and by ear. He was playing the piano before he had lessons, and he still can’t resist reshaping whatever is in front of him, turning a tune into a waltz, a march or a lullaby on the spot. He has studied the great orchestral repertoire and the great film scores in equal measure, and what he loves most is the colouring: the harmonic turn that catches the ear, the moment a tune passes from one instrument to the whole orchestra. His language is the warm, expressive tradition of the great film musicals, pushed just far enough to surprise.

Theatre shaped how he tells stories. Songs are character, and a score should grow out of its songs, so that underscore and song feel like one piece of music. A lifelong classical choral singer, who has performed at the Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall, the Barbican and the O2, he writes for voices from the inside. He has written in rehearsal rooms with the band playing around him, and for choreographers, shaping music to movement, an instinct that carries straight into animation. Theatre also taught him to listen, and to trust silence.

His original stage musicals include Billy the Kid (Curve, Leicester), Around the World in Eighty Days and A Christmas Carol. His screen scores include Beautiful Things, Blue, Let’s Talk About George and the Channel 4 series The Language of Love, as well as additional music for Kate Winslet’s Goodbye June. His concert and album work includes Forest Music and Ignition for the London City Orchestra.

He came to film through the theatre, after years inside some of the biggest scores on the stage, from The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall to Jesus Christ Superstar on its arena tour. He still orchestrates and arranges for other composers, on films including Wonka, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, Argylle and LEGO Friends: Heartlake the Musical, and the animated feature The Land of Sometimes, with songs by Tim Rice. He was music producer and arranger on Disney: The Castle, a live reimagining of Disney songs.

Ben records with orchestras in London and abroad. He is a member of BAFTA Connect, the Ivors Academy and the Society of Composers and Lyricists, and supports initiatives that promote greater equity in the industry.