Composer, Arranger, Musician
Michelle Lorimer
Scoring for Screen
Concert/Stage
about me
Music is an expression of the heart, a reflection of all that is listened to & felt.
Michelle Lorimer is a composer
for visual media and concert stage.
She has worked as assistant composer to Bruce Fowler, composing cues for a recent episode of CBC's The Nature of Things ("Bug Sex, It's Complicated"), now streaming on CBC GEM. Her music is featured in the short doc Farm-Acist, which screened at the Toronto Short Film Festival (March 2023), and in Loud & Here, a short doc for the 2023 Citizen Minutes series, directed & produced by Toronto filmmaker Josiane Blanc and featured at Toronto's Hot Docs Festival (May 2023) & streaming on CBC Gem. She's also worked with Toronto filmmaker Geordie Sabbagh, scoring his feature length documentary,When I Go Outside, on Kurdish-Syrian visual artist Bistyek, and an IPF trailer on Canadian-Russian cyber clerk, Igor Gouzenko, called Out in the Cold. Her latest score is for the feature length documentary,Words Left Unspoken, directed by Josiane Blanc & produced by Rayne Zukerman.
Michelle enjoys composing for live performance as well. A movement from her Grief Suite placed runner-up in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra's Explore the Score program for emerging Canadian composers in 2022, and since then, she's been busy composing for ensemble, orchestra & choir: "Commuting," was recently commissioned by two Toronto Symphony musicians (flute and violin duo, The Sonority Sisters), for a relay piece featuring six Toronto composers, funded by the New World Symphony. "Daybreak, Drawn to the Fire," her piece for wind ensemble/concert band, will premiere in summer 2024 and was commissioned through the Peterborough Concert Band's Emerging Composer competition. And in 2024, her pieces for solo cello, a cappella choir & small ensemble will be read at the American String Teachers National Conference (ASTA) by the Pax Christi Chorale & the VIVA Singers Toronto choir, and performed by two Ontario ensembles: Duo Holz (violin & percussion) & the Charis Collective (viola & cello).
Michelle loves to bring live recording into her media scoring. She took part in the Alliance for Women Film Composer's inaugural Live Recording Initiative, composing & recording a piece for string orchestra with the FAMES recording orchestra in Macedonia, under the mentorship of American film composer Ariel Marx (Candy, A Small Light, Sanctuary). In addition to this, through the SCGC mentorship program, she enjoyed being mentored by Canadian Screen Award nominee Deanna Choi (Last of the Right Whales), and participating in SOCAN's Lab for Emerging Screen Composers (2022-23).
Michelle studied Music Composition at Humber College, where she was awarded the Dean's Award for Music Composition. Her teachers included noted bassist and recording engineer Justin Gray, composer Kevin Wilks Lau, and orchestrator Becca Pellett. She holds an ARCT in piano performance and has enjoyed performing with local ensembles, including the Ontario Pops Orchestra. Before switching careers to follow her passion for composing music, she worked as a music director and as an English and French teacher for the York Region School Board.
She lives in the Etobicoke neighbourhood of Toronto with her husband, two kids, and two cats. In her spare time, she likes to sing with friends at L'Arche Daybreak & teach music to young people & her children.
credits
When I Go Outside
Feature-length Documentary
directed by Geordie Sabbagh
Premiered at the Art of Brooklyn Film Festival, June 2023
The Farm-Acist
Short Documentary
directed by Claire Lloyd & Allie Fripps
Premiered at the Toronto Short Film Festival, March 2023
Out in the Cold
IPF Trailer, produced & directed by George Sabbagh.
Bug Sex: It's Complicated
(The Nature of Things)
streaming on CBC GEM, March 2023.
5 Cues from my work as assistant composer to Bruce Fowler
(directed & produced by Andrew Gregg & Deborah Parks)
Short Documentary
directed by Josiane Blanc
Citizen Minutes Series II. Screened at Hot Docs FF 2023.
streaming on CBC GEM
Paper Walls
silent short directed by Humber student Anastasiia Klymova
Words Left Unspoken
Feature-length Documentary
directed by Josiane Blanc (2023)
Remembrance
silent short directed by Humber student Denise Peda
Bridgerton Rescored
Spitfire Scoring Competition 2022
my entry in this fun competition
testimonials
Michelle has an incredible sensibility to her compositions, which are always harmonically rich and rhythmically engaging. Her intricate melodies are filled with nuance, and she has a very strong command of narrativity in her writing. She's an absolute rising star!
Ariel Marx, composer of A Small Light, Candy, Sanctuary
Michelle’s music comes from a deep place of compassion. She connected immediately with the subject of our film, Jozé Piranian. Through music she was able to help weave together his Lebanese and Canadian identities. Her music was a rollercoaster of emotion that helped anchor the narrative. A truly wonderful collaborator.
Rayne Zukerman, Zazie Films Inc. Producer of Paris Paris & Words Left Unspoken
Michelle is a joy to work with. She's not only a talented composer, but she takes the time to dig into the film, its perspectives, and themes. To understand the story we were telling so the music could not only serve the story but make it even stronger. A wonderful collaborator.
Geordie Sabbagh, director & producer, When I Go Outside
Michelle was absolutely fantastic to work with! She was fast and responsive to feedback, very accommodating and knowledgeable, and always very kind. Her score was exactly what we needed and really brought the project to life. I can't recommend working with her enough.
Claire Lloyd, director Farm-acist
Michelle was a pleasure to work with as a composer on Remembrance.
She was incredibly prompt with her deadlines and with her communications. She was always ahead of schedule which allowed me plenty of time to review the work and give feedback. Michelle was very accommodating to my specific vision of the project and she was always open to making changes. She listened respectfully to my feedback and skillfully incorporated it into her work. Her final composition was lovely and truly elevated my project. I'd be very happy to work with her again.
Denise Peda, director, Remembrance