Christopher Willis (born 21 August 1978) is an Australian-born British composer and musicologist.
Career He is the composer of the 2013 Disney television series Mickey Mouse, and co-composer (with Rupert Gregson-Williams) of the music to the HBO comedy series Veep. He has also written music for a number of film scores (credited with "additional music") with several other film composers including Carter Burwell, Harry Gregson-Williams, and Henry Jackman. His filmography includes The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012), Winnie the Pooh (2011), X-Men: First Class (2011), Shrek Forever After (2010), Grown Ups (2010), You Don't Mess With The Zohan (2008) and the television series Veep. His score for The Death of Stalin (2017) was shortlisted along with 14 others for the Academy Award for Best Original Score.
His concert music includes a piece written specially for The BBC Proms in 2010 entitled Mashup. The music is a written-out mashup of other pieces from the programme of the concert at which it was premiered. He has also composed music for educational purposes including Boom Town for chamber orchestra and young children, which was part of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
He is also a musicologist specializing in eighteenth-century music, especially Domenico Scarlatti, although he has written about other subjects including American minimalism. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and has written a number of scholarly articles, including a chapter to the book Domenico Scarlatti Adventures: Essays to Commemorate the 250th Anniversary of His Death, and articles in the journals Early Music and Eighteenth-Century Music.
Filmography Feature films Year Title Director(s) Notes 2017 The Death of Stalin Armando Iannucci 2019 The Personal History of David Copperfield 2023 Old Dads Bill Burr 2024 Goodrich Hallie Meyers-Shyer
Television Year Title Network Notes 2012–2017 Veep HBO Composed with Rupert Gregson-Williams 2013–2019 Mickey Mouse Disney Channel 2016–2019 The Lion Guard Disney Junior 2016–2022 Agatha Raisin Sky OneAcorn TV Composed with Rupert Gregson-Williams 2020–2023 The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse Disney+ 2021–2023 Schmigadoon! Apple TV+ 2022 Cat Burglar Netflix Interactive specialChildren's and Family Emmy Awards for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for an Animated Program 2024—present Ariel Disney Jr. 2025 Prep & Landing: The Snowball Protocol Disney Channel Television specialThemes by Michael Giacchino202670 UpITVFinal part of the 7 Up series
Theme park attractions Year Title Park Notes 2020 Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway Disney's Hollywood Studios/Disneyland 2020 Vacation Fun - An Original Animated Short with Mickey & Minnie Disney's Hollywood Studios 2022 AquaMouse Disney Wish 2023 Mickey's Toontown Disneyland He composed "Our Homespun Melody" as well as his song "Nothing Can Stop Us Now" which was remixed and they are the land's background themes
References
External links
Piano music by Christopher Willis reviewed Christopher Willis on SoundCloud