Biography

Emmy Award-winning composer and music editor Stephen Gallagher is a film and media composer and music editor from Wellington, New Zealand, with over two decades of experience in the film and television industry.

His recent work includes composing the score for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim and, in 2026, winning the Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction and Composition alongside composer David Long for Secrets at Red Rocks - a significant milestone in his career as a composer.

Stephen's work spans global blockbusters, Emmy-winning television, independent documentaries, and contemporary theatre and dance. His music is shaped by a fascination with "making sounds and worlds out of sound," and by a deep understanding of how music amplifies story, character, and emotion.

As a composer, Stephen's credits include the multi-award-winning Canadian horror-comedy Puppet Killer, and the documentaries Conquering Cancer and Kimana Tuskers. Alongside his Secrets at Red Rocks collaborator David Long, he co-composed the Emmy Award-winning series INSiDE and three seasons of the BBC children's series Mystic. His score for Human Traces earned a nomination for Best Score at the 2018 APRA Silver Scroll Awards, and he received a Best Original Score nomination for Kimana Tuskers at the 2021 International Sound and Film Music Festival. His score for The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim received nominations at the 2025 World Soundtrack Awards and the International Film Critics' Awards.

In earlier Middle-earth projects, Stephen wrote the iconic songs "Blunt the Knives" and "The Torture Song" for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and contributed additional music alongside Brian Eno for The Lovely Bones.

As a music editor, Stephen is known for his sensitivity to narrative and emotional nuance. He has received three MPSE Golden Reel Award nominations, winning in 2022 alongside an Emmy Award for his work on Peter Jackson's landmark documentary series The Beatles: Get Back. His music editing credits include District 9, the entire Hobbit trilogy, West of Memphis, and The Lovely Bones, on which he served as Supervising Music Editor.

Throughout his career, Stephen has collaborated with filmmakers and artists including Peter Jackson, Brian Eno, Ed Sheeran, Nick Cave, Junkie XL, and many others. He is recognised for his collaborative approach, attention to detail, and his ability to craft music that supports and elevates the narrative vision of each project.
- IMDb mini biography by: Stephen Gallagher