Legendary composer Gabriel Yared will be performing extracts from his prolific reportoire of film soundtracks as a tribute to the late Oscar winning British Direcor Anthony Minghella, in an exclusive live performance at Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) as part of SOUNDTRACK: The International Film and Music Festival for Wales.

One of the most influential and acclaimed composers of modern times, Gabriel Yared on piano will be accompanied by BBC National Orchestra for Wales during the performance, showcasing a selection of music from his film soundtracks, including cult classic Betty Blue, Cold Mountain, and the Oscar award winning score of The English Patient. 

Beginning his career in film music in France in the 80s, Lebanese born Yared has dedicated most of his time to composing original scores for movies, scoring over 70 soundtracks in the last four decades.

Establishing his reputation with directors Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Jacques Annaud, a longstanding collaboration with British director Anthony Minghella earned Yared many of his critical accolades, including an Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy for his soundtrack for The English Patient. His soundtrack for the directors' films The Talented Mr Ripley and Cold Mountain also secured Oscar nominations, with Cold Mountain winning Best Original Soundtrack at the 2004 World Soundtrack Awards.

On his involvement, Gabriel Yared said; "I am delighted to be celebrating my music and collaboration with Anthony Minghella at SOUNDTRACK. The opportunity to pay tribute to his memory with the BBC National Orchestra for Wales, at such a revered venue as the Wales Millennium Centre, is extremely appealing to me as a musician and composer.
    
 Leading a masterclass to explain my personal approach to writing music for film is another reason I was attracted to the festival. It is wonderful that SOUNDTRACK will honour my work and that of my dear friend Anthony."

The life and works of Yared will be celebrated throughout the SOUNDTRACK program, in a number of dedicated film screenings, a hosted masterclass session, and culminating with the performance at WMC on November 28.