Dr. Jessica Curry
NationalityBritish
Alma mater
OccupationComposer
SpouseDan Pinchbeck
Websitejessicacurry.co.uk

Dr. Jessica Curry (born c. 1973) is an English composer, radio presenter and former co-head of the British video game development studio The Chinese Room. She won a BAFTA award in 2016 for her score for the video game Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and received an honorary doctorate from Abertay University in 2023.

Education

Curry earned B.A.(Hons) English Literature and Language at University College London, graduating in 1994. Four years later, she obtained a Postgraduate diploma in Screen Music at the National Film and Television School. Recently, she was also awarded the honorary doctorate in music by Abertay University Dundee in 2023.

Career

When Dan Pinchbeck was developing his experimental video game Dear Esther he turned to his wife Curry to write a score. Thus Curry became the co-founder of The Chinese Room game studio.[1]

Following the success of that game, The Chinese Room went on to develop Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs which Curry describes as her first "journey into interactivity" as her score had been "shoehorned" into Dear Esther.[1]

While Amnesia was in production, The Chinese Room received an approach from Sony Computer Entertainment's Santa Monica Studio to develop an exclusive game for them. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, which had originally been envisioned as a PC release, subsequently became a PlayStation 4 exclusive.[1] Curry describes Rapture as "the first time I would say that I wrote a truly interactive score".[1]

In October 2015 Curry announced via her blog on The Chinese Room's website that she was leaving her role with the studio. She stated that her decision was based on various factors including a degenerative condition, the stress that she felt from the studio's relationship with a commercial publisher and her treatment as a woman in the game industry.[2]

In April 2016, Curry won a BAFTA at the 12th British Academy Games Awards for her music on Everybody's Gone to the Rapture.[3]

After her departure from The Chinese Room, Curry embarked on various other projects including a collaboration with poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy[1] which saw poems by Duffy performed to music by Curry and others at Durham Cathedral in July 2016 as part of a centenary remembrance of the Battle of the Somme.[4]

In October 2016 Curry's score to Dear Esther was performed live by a full orchestra at London's Barbican Centre to coincide with the release of the game for the PS4 and Xbox One consoles.[5][6][7]

In January 2017, it was announced that Curry would present High Score, Classic FM's six-episode series on video game music.[8][9] In October 2017 it was announced that Curry's show was renewed for another six episodes, starting 4 November.[10]

Starting October 2019, Curry presented Sound of Gaming on BBC Radio 3, a weekly series on video game music.[11][12]

Personal life

Curry and husband Dan Pinchbeck have been together since 2000. They are based in Brighton and have one son.[7]

She is a fan of film director Peter Greenaway and his frequent collaborator, composer Michael Nyman.[13]

Awards

BAFTA Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2016 Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Best Audio Won
Best Music Won
2013 Dear Esther Best Audio Nominated

Works

Video games
YearTitle
2008Dear Esther
2009Korsakovia
2013Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
2015Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
2017So Let Us Melt
2020Little Orpheus

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Interview: Jessica Curry". M magazine. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  2. ↑ Hall, Charlie (10 October 2015). "In a heartbreaking letter, Jessica Curry says goodbye to The Chinese Room". Polygon. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "Games in 2016". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  4. ↑ "Durham Hymns". Durham Cathedral. Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  5. ↑ "Dear Esther, Live at the Barbican". 15 October 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  6. ↑ "Dear Esther". Barbican Centre. Archived from the original on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Gaming company puts on classical performance with a twist world famous venue". The Argus. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  8. ↑ "Classic FM will celebrate 25th birthday with composition competition and video game show". Classic FM. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  9. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (25 January 2017). "Classic FM to launch a new video game music show". Eurogamer. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  10. ↑ "High Score with Jessica Curry will return to Classic FM in November". Classic FM. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  11. ↑ Stuart, Keith (9 October 2019). "'It's a new golden age': Radio 3 launches video game music show". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  12. ↑ "BBC - BBC Radio 3 launches Sound Of Gaming with Bafta award-winner Jessica Curry - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  13. ↑ "'It's all about precision and flow': Dear Esther creator talks live performances, politics and game design". Retrieved 5 February 2017.
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