Stephen Gallagher

Composer

13 Reviews

Stephen Gallagher is an Emmy Award-winning film and television composer (The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Secrets at Red Rocks) based in Wellington, New Zealand.

Stephen Gallagher is an Emmy Award-winning film and television composer based in Wellington, New Zealand, known for sweeping, emotionally driven scores that pair orchestral scale with intimate storytelling.

His orchestral voice reached a global audience with The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (Warner Bros. / New Line Cinema) — a World Soundtrack Awards finalist score that placed him among the leading composers working in epic fantasy. In 2026 he won the Children's & Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for Secrets at Red Rocks, co-composed with David Long — a score also recognised as a finalist at the APRA Screen Awards and New Zealand Screen Awards.

Stephen's path to composing runs through some of modern cinema's most celebrated music departments. He won an Emmy for Music Editing on Peter Jackson's The Beatles: Get Back, served as music editor on The Hobbit trilogy — for which he also wrote the song "Blunt the Knives" — and composed additional music alongside Brian Eno's score for The Lovely Bones. His collaborators have included Peter Jackson, Brian Eno, Ed Sheeran, Nick Cave, and Junkie XL.

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Credits

AllMusic verified credits for Stephen Gallagher

Ulmer Spatzen Chor
Howard Shore

Discogs verified credits for Stephen Gallagher

Howard Shore
Breathe (4)
Stellar
Luke Buda
Barry Saunders
Hera
MrWinter
The Huhu
Craig Terris
September Girls
Peter Hollens

Reviews

Review by Tiny Triumph Recordings (9 years ago)
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Stephen is an absolute genius. Whenever I have a track that I need help with from an arrangement point of view; Stephen is always the man to go to! His knowledge of composition and arrangement is second to none! Plus, he is without a doubt the friendliest guy in the industry!
Review by Cyndi Trissel (10 years ago)
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Stephen is such an utter joy to work with. As an editor, being able to work with an understanding and most of all patient composer is truly a gift. We have worked together on two different projects and his talent has only been surpassed by his kind and genuine nature.
Review by Jamie Lawrence (10 years ago)
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Stephen's score truly brought our film to life. He knows how to write music that is felt in bone and fibre. He's the real deal - an artist and a bloody nice guy.
Review by Arty Papageorgiou (10 years ago)
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Stephen's ever calming manner is always a pleasure to be around during post production. His work is never selfish.
Review by Matt Berry (10 years ago)
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Stephen’s a fascinating composer.
Review by Greg Jennings (10 years ago)
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Stephen's ability to nail the tone was remarkable.
Review by Dan Henry (10 years ago)
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If there's an easier composer to work with than Stephen, then I haven't met them yet!
Review by Bevin Linkhorn (10 years ago)
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From high school rock god to theatre composition supremo.
Review by Khurram H. Alavi (10 years ago)
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An absolute joy to work with, Stephen Gallagher is serious talent and professionalism personified.
Review by Phoebe Gittins (10 years ago)
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Everything you need to know about Stephen is in his music.
Review by Nat Boltt (10 years ago)
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Stevie G is a gentleman and a great talent.
Review by Jack Nicol (10 years ago)
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Excellent results that lifted our production to the next level.
Review by Mark Willsher (10 years ago)
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A powerhouse talent, who is incredibly humble and easy going.