When he was 16 this musician met Elmer Bernstein. It changed everything

Sydney Morning Herald

27-05-2025

Enthralled by the work of film composers such as James Horner, Alan Silvestri and Danny Elfman ('my north star'), going to the movies became an obsession, although his motives were different to those of his friends.
'They would go, 'Wow, that chick was so hot' or, 'Did you see that scene where the guy exploded?'
'And I would go, 'Did you guys hear what Jerry Goldsmith did with the French horns? I think that was the bad guys' theme, but he turned it upside down. I'm going to see it again tomorrow to find out.'
'They thought I was a weirdo,' he laughs.
In high school, McCreary met an elderly gentleman named Joe, who ran the Bellingham Yacht Club and told him legendary composer Elmer Bernstein, who wrote McCreary's favourite score of all time in To Kill a Mockingbird, moored his yacht there.
Joe offered to give Bernstein a tape of the then 16-year-old's work. Bernstein then took McCreary under his wing as a protege until his death in 2004.
'The reason I wanted to work with her is because of who she is, not just her voice. The rebel that she was. Between that recording and her untimely death we became friends. We were texting all the time. She was so funny.'
Bear McCreary on Sinead O'Connor
'I didn't know what a life in film music could be,' McCreary reflects. 'And then I met Elmer, who was the sweetest, most thoughtful man I'd ever met. He had a great relationship with his wife and kids, people respected him immensely, and yet he took no shit.
'Getting to know him gave me something to point to. It wasn't even about the music, it was personal. You could have a life. That's where I want to be when I'm pushing 80.'
McCreary's big break was scoring the 2004 TV reboot of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. But just as significant was working with Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, who sang the main title for season seven of Outlander, her final ever recording.
'The reason I wanted to work with her is because of who she is, not just her voice,' McCreary says. 'The rebel that she was. Between that recording and her untimely death we became friends. We were texting all the time. She was so funny.'
Another life-changing moment came with Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), for which McCreary recorded a hard rock cover of Blue Öyster Cult's Godzilla featuring System of a Down vocalist Serj Tankian and legendary heavy metal drummer Gene Hoglan.
'It was one of the best days of my life,' he beams. 'And I got in the car and I was driving home and I was totally buzzed. But by the time I got into my driveway I was really sad.'
Over the space of that short car ride, it dawned on McCreary that this was likely a one-off experience. Then he was struck by a revelation.
'What if I just started writing some music for the people I want to work with, and it's not for a film?' he says.
The result was McCreary's 2024 album The Singularity, a two-LP set that merges the grandeur of his scoring work with the bombast of hard rock and heavy metal. It features guests such as Tankian, Hoglan, Kim Thayil from Soundgarden, Slipknot's Corey Taylor and guitar heroes Joe Satriani and Slash from Guns N' Roses.
McCreary will perform songs from The Singularity and his scoring career in Australia in July on his Themes & Variations tour.
'It's a celebration of everything I've written in my life. And it's a chance to hear all these pieces from The Singularity, from The Walking Dead, from Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Godzilla. I'm re-envisioning it all in a format that fits the stage we're on.'
Loading
For someone experiencing his first taste of touring, adjusting to life on the road has taken some work. Luckily, McCreary has some experienced pals to call on.
'I got fantastic touring laundry advice from [Guns N' Roses bassist] Duff McKagan,' he says. 'I find myself texting a picture of my laundry to Slash and Duff and I'm like, I think I've got this figured out!'
Given the contrast between his orchestral film scores and the guitar-fuelled tracks from The Singularity, one wonders what kind of audience he's been attracting on the tour.
He reflects on a recent show in Europe.