Spitfire Audio unveils new Ambassador Programme with award-winning composers Pinar Toprak (Captain Marvel, Stargirl, Fortnite) and Kris Bowers (Bridgerton, Green Book, King Richard, Respect)

Spitfire Audio, the British music tech company acclaimed for world-leading sample libraries and software instruments, announces today a new Ambassador Programme. 

Reinforcing Spitfire’s mission “to inspire a generation of composers”, the initiative will shine a light on the creative practises of leading international music makers and artists while allowing participants to feed into the development of future audio products and provide mentoring to the wider creative community. 

The Programme’s first Ambassadors are two of the world’s fastest rising young composers: Pinar Toprak and Kris Bowers.

Pinar is an award-winning Hollywood-based composer, whose soundtrack work includes Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel, DC’s Stargirland the SY-FY Superman prequel series Krypton. Captain Marvel was the first major superhero movie to be scored by a woman, and the first female-composed film to take more than $1bn at the box office. 

Noted for the diversity of her compositions across film, television and video games, Pinar also scored Epic Games’ massively popular Fortniteand HBO docuseries McMillions, as well as crafting the main theme for Walt Disney World’s iconic EPCOT theme park and music for Christina Aguilera’s Xperience show in Las Vegas. 

Her work has been recognised with numerous accolades, including the 2019 ASCAP Shirley Walker Award and a 2019 IFMCA (International Film Music Critics Association) “Best Original Score for a Documentary Film” award for TheTides of Fate. Pinar had previously won two other IFMCA Awards for her work on The Wind Gods and The Lightkeepers. The latter was also shortlisted for an Academy Award in 2011 for “Best Original Score”.

Kris has enjoyed an equally storied career. 

An Emmy-award winning composer and pianist, he has gained global renown for combining a background in jazz with inspiration from artists including Steve Reich, Radiohead, Stevie Wonder, Kendrick Lamar, Brian Eno, Herbie Hancock and Jimi Hendrix, establishing himself at the forefront of Hollywood’s emerging generation of genre-defying composers. 

In 2018, Kris collaborated with director Peter Farrelly and Academy Award-winning actor Mahershala Ali to score the soundtrack to Green Book (Academy Award Winner, ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Original Screenplay,’ 2019). More recently, he received two Emmy nominations for the acclaimed Netflix drama series Bridgerton and provided music for the acclaimed Aretha Franklin biopic Respect, Reinaldo Marcus Green’s award-winning King Richard, and Space Jam: A New Legacy.  

Displaying an uncommon versatility, Kris’ roll call of scoring credits also includes the documentaries Kobe Bryant’s Muse(SHOWTIME, 2015) and Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You(2016), as well as scripted series such as Shonda Rhimes and Paul William Davies’ For The People (ABC), Netflix’sDear White People, and SHOWTIME’S Black Monday(Exec. Produced by Seth Rogen & Evan Golberg).  

Beyond his composition work, Kris has recorded and performed with artists such as Q-Tip, Aretha Franklin, Ludacris, Christian Rich, Jay-Z, and Kanye West and contributed to albums by Marcus Miller, José James, Moses Sumney and Murs. 

Both Kris and Pinar are passionate advocates for greater diversity in composition, and are regular users of Spitfire Audio’s products and services.  

Pinar recently oversaw a competition for Spitfire users to reimagine an exclusive clip from Stargirl with their own original score. Attracting more than 5,000 entrants, the competition has inspired Pinar to feature even more video content and, as part of the Ambassador Programme, to take part in internal and external mentoring sessions with Spitfire users in a bid to raise visibility and inspiration around the world of scoring and composition. 

Pinar Toprak:
"It is an absolute honor and pleasure to be a part of the Spitfire Audio family as an ambassador. Spitfire libraries are not only superbly recorded and incredible sounding but also very intuitively designed and inspiring to create with. This partnership is an organic one for me as I could not imagine my template without Spitfire libraries, including Albion, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Eric Whitacre Choir, Olafur Arnalds Evolutions and many more. I am thrilled for this collaboration and very excited about what we can do together to inspire musicians across the world."

Kris Bowers: 
“From the very first samples I ever purchased, to the projects I work on today, Spitfire libraries have always been an integral part of my writing process. These libraries became even more important during the pandemic as projects like Bridgerton required a hybrid approach of blending MIDI with the live players we recorded remotely. Whenever I’m asked to recommend libraries, Spitfire is always the first name I give."

Will Evans, CEO, Spitfire Audio:
“I am so proud that we can bring Spitfire Audio’s Ambassador Programme to life, and with two world’s most exciting composers. Despite being in the early stages of their careers, Kris and Pinar have both continued to raise the creative bar and smash barriers. We believe they will be an inspiration for others to follow and learn from. 

“It’s such a hugely exciting time to be a composer, and combined with the innovation and products offered by Spitfire, we hope the Programme encourages all music-makers to think outside the box and embrace the growing opportunities that exist beyond the traditional recording and live sectors.”