Doug Johnson

I’ve been writing music for picture since 1998, and more than 200 broadcast episodes later, documentary is the work I love most. Recent scores include the feature documentaries RiverBlue and Last Paddle?, and the APTN series Northern Air Rescue and Power to the People.

Before film, there was the stage. I’m a founding member and the keyboardist of Loverboy, inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2009. Decades in the studio with the band taught me that the best music often knows when to get out of the way. In a film, the story comes first.

I’m a classically trained pianist with an ARCT diploma (Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto) and the Silver Medal. That training shows up in my concert work, including the album Notes to Self for piano, strings and flute, and in commissions for the City of Surrey’s 2010 Olympic torch ceremony and the BC Summer Games openings in 2011 and 2012.

I write, perform and produce every score in my home studio in Surrey. Directors work with one person from first spotting session to final mix.