Internationally acclaimed and regarded as one of Australia’s leading screen composers, Burkhard Dallwitz was born in Germany where he began classical piano training from the age of eight. In 1979 he settled in Australia and studied music at Latrobe University where he majored with Honours in Composition.
In 1983 Burkhard began his career as a screen composer for feature films, television drama series, animations and documentaries.
To date Burkhard has been the recipient of multiple International and Australian screen music awards and nominations, including those from APRA/AGSC, AACTA and ARIA.
In 1999, he was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Original Score in a Motion Picture for
The Truman Show, directed by Peter Weir and starring Jim Carrey. The score also won the Chicago Film Critics’ Award and the ASCAP Film and Television Award. The soundtrack reached number two on the Billboard charts.
Burkhard’s second collaboration with Peter Weir was on
The Way Back, and in 2011 the score was nominated for Feature Film Score of the Year.
In 2001 he won the APRA award for Best Television Theme for Network 7’s coverage of the
2000 Sydney Olympics.
Burkhard received multiple screen music awards for the hugely successful
Underbelly
franchise that were produced from 2008 to 2018 and for which he also wrote the now iconic title theme “It's a Jungle out There”.
In 2015 Burkhard scored the multi award-winning ABC mini-series
The Secret River directed by Daina Reid. This won the 2015 Screen Music Award for Best Music for a Television Mini-Series and was nominated for the 2015 AACTA award for Best Original Music Score in Television.
Again working with director Daina Reid, Burkhard scored the AACTA Award-winning series
Sunshine produced for SBS.
In 2016 Burkhard scored the six part television series
Wolf Creek for STAN, which premiered to critical acclaim.
In 2018/19 he scored the Netflix series
Pine Gap and the feature film
Locusts which received an ARIA nomination for Best Soundtrack Album.
In 2019 Burkhard co-founded Zeitgeist Music with screen composers Brett Aplin and Dmitri Golovko, a collaboration committed to providing original, high quality scores for TV drama, feature films and documentaries.
Zeitgeist Music projects to date include the big budget Chinese feature film
The Longest Shot, directed by Xu Shunli.
Television drama series include the acclaimed Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, My Life is Murder and The Gloaming. Zeitgeist Music also scored the feature length documentary Splice Here: A Projected Odyssey.
Burkhard has been an APRA AMCOS Ambassador since 2010 and in 2021 he was elected to the APRA board as a non-executive Writer Director.
As part of his commitment to the art of screen composition, Burkhard, with Brett Aplin, co-founded a Melbourne based screen composers’ network to advise, encourage and mentor emerging talent and to share experiences in an increasingly complex work environment.
Photography: Daniel Boud
Internationally acclaimed and regarded as one of Australia’s leading screen composers, Burkhard Dallwitz was born in Germany where he began classical piano training from the age of eight. In 1979 he settled in Australia and studied music at Latrobe University where he majored with Honours in Composition.
In 1983 Burkhard began his career as a screen composer for feature films, television drama series, animations and documentaries.
To date Burkhard has been the recipient of multiple International and Australian screen music awards and nominations, including those from APRA/AGSC, AACTA and ARIA.
In 1999, he was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Original Score in a Motion Picture for
The Truman Show, directed by Peter Weir and starring Jim Carrey. The score also won the Chicago Film Critics’ Award and the ASCAP Film and Television Award. The soundtrack reached number two on the Billboard charts.
Burkhard’s second collaboration with Peter Weir was on
The Way Back, and in 2011 the score was nominated for Feature Film Score of the Year.
In 2001 he won the APRA award for Best Television Theme for Network 7’s coverage of the
2000 Sydney Olympics.
Burkhard received multiple screen music awards for the hugely successful
Underbelly
franchise that were produced from 2008 to 2018 and for which he also wrote the now iconic title theme “It's a Jungle out There”.
In 2015 Burkhard scored the multi award-winning ABC mini-series
The Secret River directed by Daina Reid. This won the 2015 Screen Music Award for Best Music for a Television Mini-Series and was nominated for the 2015 AACTA award for Best Original Music Score in Television.
Again working with director Daina Reid, Burkhard scored the AACTA Award-winning series
Sunshine produced for SBS.
In 2016 Burkhard scored the six part television series
Wolf Creek for STAN, which premiered to critical acclaim.
In 2018/19 he scored the Netflix series
Pine Gap and the feature film
Locusts which received an ARIA nomination for Best Soundtrack Album.
In 2019 Burkhard co-founded Zeitgeist Music with screen composers Brett Aplin and Dmitri Golovko, a collaboration committed to providing original, high quality scores for TV drama, feature films and documentaries.
Zeitgeist Music projects to date include the big budget Chinese feature film
The Longest Shot, directed by Xu Shunli.
Television drama series include the acclaimed Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, My Life is Murder and The Gloaming. Zeitgeist Music also scored the feature length documentary Splice Here: A Projected Odyssey.
Burkhard has been an APRA AMCOS Ambassador since 2010 and in 2021 he was elected to the APRA board as a non-executive Writer Director.
As part of his commitment to the art of screen composition, Burkhard, with Brett Aplin, co-founded a Melbourne based screen composers’ network to advise, encourage and mentor emerging talent and to share experiences in an increasingly complex work environment.
Between 1985 and 1995 Burkhard Dallwitz also composed and produced music for over 100 commercials and Audio/Visual productions.
2024
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Awards (Nomination) Best Soundtrack Album: Travels On My Donkey
2024
AACTA Award (Nomination) Best Original Score In A Documentary:
Splice Here: A Projected Odyssey
2023
ARIA Award (Nomination) Best Original Soundtrack or Musical Theatre Cast Album:
Splice Here: A Projected Odyssey
2022
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Awards (Nomination) Best Music for a Television Series or Serial: Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries
2022
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Awards (Nomination) Best Music for a Television Series or Serial: Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries
2020
Melbourne Indie Film Festival Feature Film Award : Best Music Score: Locusts
2020
Melbourne Indie Film Festival Feature Film Award : Best Music Score: Locusts
2019
ARIA Award (Nomination): Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album: Locusts
2019
ARIA Award (Nomination): Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album: Locusts
2019
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Music For A Mini-Series Or Telemovie: Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries
2019
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Music For A Mini-Series Or Telemovie: Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries
2019
Best Independents International Film Festival (Nomination): Best Independents Score Award:
Sohrab & Rustum
2019
Best Independents International Film Festival (Nomination): Best Independents Score Award:
Sohrab & Rustum
2019
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Music For A Short Film:
Sohrab & Rustum
2019
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Music For A Short Film:
Sohrab & Rustum
2018
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Music For A Mini-Series or Telemovie:
Underbelly Files: Chopper
2018
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Music For A Mini-Series or Telemovie:
Underbelly Files: Chopper
2015
Australian Screen Sound Guild (Nomination): Best Achievement in Sound for a Tele-Feature :
The Secret River
2015
Australian Screen Sound Guild (Nomination): Best Achievement in Sound for a Tele-Feature :
The Secret River
2015
AACTA Award (Nomination): Best Original Music Score In Television:
The Secret River
2015
AACTA Award (Nomination): Best Original Music Score In Television:
The Secret River
2015
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Music For A Mini-Series or Telemovie:
The Secret River
2015
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Music For A Mini-Series or Telemovie:
The Secret River
2014
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Television Theme:
Fat Tony & Co
2014
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Television Theme:
Fat Tony & Co
2013
AACTA Awards (Nomination): Best Sound for a Documentary:
Red Obsession
2013
AACTA Awards (Nomination): Best Sound for a Documentary:
Red Obsession
2013
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Awards (Nomination): Best Music for a Documentary:
Red Obsession
2013
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Awards (Nomination): Best Music for a Documentary:
Red Obsession
2013
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Awards (Nomination): Best Music for a Television Series or Serial:
Underbelly: Badness
2013
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Awards (Nomination): Best Music for a Television Series or Serial:
Underbelly: Badness
2012
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Music for a Television Series or Serial:
Underbelly: Razor
2012
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Music for a Television Series or Serial:
Underbelly: Razor
2012
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Soundtrack Album:
Underbelly: Razor
2012
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Soundtrack Album:
Underbelly: Razor
2011
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Feature Film Score of the Year:
The Way Back
2011
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Feature Film Score of the Year:
The Way Back
2011
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Music For A Mini-Series Or Telemovie:
Underbelly Files: Tell Them Lucifer Was Here
2011
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Music For A Mini-Series Or Telemovie:
Underbelly Files: Tell Them Lucifer Was Here
2010
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Music for a Television Series or Serial:
Underbelly: The Golden Mile
2010
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Music for a Television Series or Serial:
Underbelly: The Golden Mile
2010
ARIA Award (Nomination): Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album:
Underbelly: Original Television Soundtrack
2010
ARIA Award (Nomination): Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album:
Underbelly: Original Television Soundtrack
2009
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Music for a Television Series:
Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities
2009
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Music for a Television Series:
Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities
2009
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie:
False Witness (The Diplomat)
2009
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Music for a Mini-Series or Telemovie:
False Witness (The Diplomat)
2008
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Television Theme:
Underbelly: It's a Jungle Out There
2008
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Television Theme:
Underbelly: It's a Jungle Out There
2008
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Music for a Television Series:
Underbelly
2008
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Music for a Television Series:
Underbelly
2008
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Song Composed for the Screen:
Underbelly: It's a Jungle Out There
2008
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Song Composed for the Screen:
Underbelly: It's a Jungle Out There
2006
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Television Theme:
Torino 2006 Winter Olympics
2006
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Television Theme:
Torino 2006 Winter Olympics
2006
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Soundtrack Album:
The Caterpillar Wish
2006
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Soundtrack Album:
The Caterpillar Wish
2006
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Feature Film Score of the Year:
The Caterpillar Wish
2006
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Feature Film Score of the Year:
The Caterpillar Wish
2004
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Television Theme:
Crashburn
2004
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination): Best Television Theme:
Crashburn
2004
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Music For a Television Series:
Crashburn
2004
APRA/AGSC Screen Music Award: Best Music For a Television Series:
Crashburn
2001
APRA Award: Best Television Theme:
Sydney 2000 Olympic Theme
2001
APRA Award: Best Television Theme:
Sydney 2000 Olympic Theme
1999
Golden Globe Award: Best Original Score:
The Truman Show
1999
Golden Globe Award: Best Original Score:
The Truman Show
1999
Chicago Film Critics Award: Best Original Score:
The Truman Show
1999
Chicago Film Critics Award: Best Original Score:
The Truman Show
1999
ASCAP Award:
The Truman Show
1999
ASCAP Award:
The Truman Show
1999
APRA Award (Nomination): Best Film Score:
The Truman Show
1999
APRA Award (Nomination): Best Film Score:
The Truman Show
1999
Online Film & Television Association Best Music: Original Dramatic Score:
The Truman Show
1999
Online Film & Television Association Best Music: Original Dramatic Score:
The Truman Show
1998
AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination):
The Truman Show
1998
AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination):
The Truman Show
1998
Awards Circuit Community Awards Best Original Score:
The Truman Show
1998
Awards Circuit Community Awards Best Original Score:
The Truman Show
1998
International Film Music Critics Awards (Nomination):
Breakthrough Film Composer of the Year
1998
International Film Music Critics Awards (Nomination):
Breakthrough Film Composer of the Year
1996
AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination):
The Web - Wolf
1996
AGSC Screen Music Award (Nomination):
The Web - Wolf
1996
AGSC Screen Music Award:
Brilliant Light Of Australia
1996
AGSC Screen Music Award:
Brilliant Light Of Australia
1993
AGSC Screen Music Award:
SEC 75th Anniversary
1993
AGSC Screen Music Award:
SEC 75th Anniversary
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