Joby Talbot was born in Wimbledon, England, in 1971.
He studied composition privately with Brian Elias and at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College before completing a Master of Music (composition) at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under Simon Bainbridge. Highlights from among Talbot’s diverse catalogue include a trumpet concerto for Alison Balsom and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (Desolation Wilderness, 2006); a 60-minute a cappella choral journey along the Camino de Santiago for Nigel Short’s Tenebrae (Path of Miracles, 2005); arrangements of songs by Detroit rock duo The White Stripes alongside Talbot's original works for Wayne McGregor’s Chroma (The Royal Ballet, 2006); two collaborations with Christopher Wheeldon for The Royal Ballet and the National Ballet of Canada: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (2011) and The Winter’s Tale (2014); Genus Quartet (2013) for Los Angeles' acclaimed Calder Quartet; and Worlds, Stars, Systems, Infinity, commissioned as an addition to Holst’s The Planets for the Philharmonia Orchestra's 2012 interactive digital installation, Universe of Sound, under Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Talbot has considerable experience writing for the screen, including the classic British comedy series The League of Gentlemen; feature films The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Garth Jennings, 2005), Closed Circuit (John Crowley, 2013) and, most recently, the animated sensation Sing (Garth Jennings, 2016) for Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me, Minions); and has been twice commissioned by the British Film Institute to re-score silent films The Lodger (1999) and The Dying Swan (2002).
Talbot’s critically acclaimed first opera, the one-act Everest, was given its premiere in 2015 by the Dallas Opera. He is currently writing a second, full-length opera for Dallas, as well as a third narrative ballet with Christopher Wheeldon and a guitar concerto for the acclaimed soloist Miloš Karadaglić. (JobyTalbot.com)
