Mychael Danna is an Academy Award-winning film composer recognized for his evocative blending of non-western traditions with orchestral and electronic music. His highly awarded works include the Oscar-winning score for Ang Lee's L'odyssée de Pi (2012), and his many Genie Award-winning scores for director and longtime collaborator, Atom Egoyan.
His passion for presenting complex ideas in a musically accessible way began as Danna learned his craft at the University of Toronto. There, he was exposed to early- and world-music that later influenced his style. Danna earned the school's inaugural "Glenn Gould Composition Award" in 1985 and also began scoring for student theatre groups, as he launched his artistic partnership with Egoyan. Danna has scored all of Egoyan's films since 1987's Family Viewing (1987).
Danna's work on Egoyan's films, Ararat (2002), Le voyage de Felicia (1999), De beaux lendemains (1997) and Exotica (1994), secured him Genie awards from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television; as did his score for Deepa Mehta's Oscar-winning film, Water (2005).
Danna earned the 2013 Golden Globe and 2013 Oscar for scoring Ang Lee's L'odyssée de Pi (2012), following his collaborations with Lee on Ice Storm (1997) and Chevauchée avec le diable (1999).
L'odyssée de Pi (2012)'s rich soundscape reflects a deeply transnational story with inventive cross-cultural arrangements: Indian sitars play French melodies, European play South Asian motifs, a church choir sings in Sanskrit, and a variety of other musical combinations soar alongside a full studio orchestra.
The highly awarded work embodies Danna's approach to composition-creating rich soundscapes to be appreciated by a wide audience.
Other celebrated collaborations include those with Bennett Miller on his multiple Oscar-nominee Le stratège (2011) and his Oscar-winning drama, Truman Capote (2005); with Terry Gilliam on his Oscar-nominated L'imaginarium du docteur Parnassus (2009) and Tideland (2005); with Mira Nair on Vanity Fair - La foire aux vanités (2004), Le mariage des moussons (2001) and Kama Sutra, une histoire d'amour (1996); and with Billy Ray on Agent double (2007) and Le mystificateur (2003).
Danna's credits also include the Oscar-winning Little Miss Sunshine (2006), for which he shared a Grammy Award nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album; Marc Webb's acclaimed romantic comedy, 500 jours ensemble (2009); and James Mangold's Oscar-winning film, Une vie volée (1999).
