Musician Chris Letcher playing the keyboard at a gig. They are cast in blue, pink and green stage lights.

Job title:

Senior Lecturer in Music for Screen

Office:

3.03, Alison House

Biography

Chris Letcher is a film composer, songwriter and senior lecturer in screen music composition at the University of Edinburgh. He has recently composed a score for the feature film Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight  (Sony Pictures Classics; 2025). He has published on issues of process in screen music creation and on musical representation in African cinema in Music, Sound, and the Moving Image, Journal of Film Music, and Ethnomusicology Forum. He has a chapter on Cristóbal Tapia de Veer’s score for The White Lotus (2021-2025) in the forthcoming Sonic Production Practices in Contemporary Film, TV and Short-Form Media.

Teaching

I teach analytical/theoretical courses in music, sound and the moving image (‘Music on Screen’ taught masters’ course), and courses in creative musical composition for screen (‘Composing for Screen’ at UG and PG levels). I also teach on the 'Instrumentation and Timbre', 'Portfolio of Compositions' and 'Creative Practice Music Project' courses, and supervise final projects on the MMus Musicology and Soundtracks for Screen prgrammes.

PhD Supervision Topics

  • Composition for the moving image
  • Film, television and video game sound
  • Musical representation in African and 'world' cinema
  • Collaborative processes in screen music production