Trevor Jones to receive WSA Lifetime Achievement Award

Jones, whose career spans more than five decades, is known for scoring over 100 films and television projects, including The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Notting Hill (1999) and Mississippi Burning (1988). Over the years, he has collaborated with leading orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra and worked with artists like David Bowie, Sting and Sinéad O’Connor.

The award will be presented on 10 October 2026 at Music Centre De Bijloke in Ghent. During the ceremony, the Brussels Philharmonic, conducted by Dirk Brossé, will perform a selection of Jones’s music. In 1988 Jones was part of the international jury at Film Fest Gent, which awarded the Grand Prix to the Norwegian film The Ice Palace.

From Cape Town to the world of film music

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1949, Jones developed an interest in film music at the age of five. During the Apartheid Era he received a scholarship to attend high school and the South African College of Music at the University of Cape Town. When he left South Africa at the age of seventeen he went to the Royal Academy of Music in London and was stateless for several years when his South African passport was revoked by the Apartheid government. He later became a British citizen and continued his studies at the University of York and the National Film and Television School, where he would eventually serve as Chair of Music.

Jones became known for his sweeping orchestral scores, always setting the mood from the very first note. With dark fantasy films like Excalibur (1981), his breakthrough score, and The Dark Crystal (1982) and psychological horror films like Angel Heart (1987) he gained international recognition in the 1980s.

Later he went on to score classics like Mississippi Burning, The Last of the Mohicans (1992), and Brassed Off (1996), earning him multiple nominations, including three BAFTA nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. He also won a Primetime Emmy Award for his work on a television miniseries. Explaining his recipe for success to The New York Times, Jones emphasizes his ambition to write melodies that suit the script organically. “That’s the telling difference between imposing a sound, and scoring one from the belly.”

In addition to film scoring, Jones has collaborated widely in the music industry. He worked with David Bowie on the soundtrack for Labyrinth (1986) and has produced or collaborated with artists including U2, Charlotte Church and Elvis Costello. He has also written music for theatre and concert music, and he has been a regular jury member and guest lecturer at major film and music institutions.

WSA Film Music Days 2026

This year's WSA Film Music Days will be held from 8 - 10 October 2026, during Film Fest Gent (7 - 18 October). The World Soundtrack Awards Ceremony & Concert is the closing event on 10 October.

Tickets are now available.