Past Clients

Jamie Messenger Bio

Jamie Messenger is a composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist based in Melbourne, Australia. Jamie has composed music for every major Australian symphony orchestra, collaborated with many of the country’s most successful artists including Sia and the Hilltop Hoods and composed soundtracks to award winning Film and TV projects

Jamie musical passion began with piano lessons from his grandfather William Messenger. Although showing promise as a classical pianist, it was his love of orchestral music and in particular film music led him to study composition. During his time at Adelaide University Jamie learnt the art of orchestration, studying under leading Australian composer Graeme Koehne and achieved first class honours.

His instinct for orchestral composition and combined skills as both arranger and performer saw him working with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) before even completing his degree. Messenger soon became an integral part of the ASO’s Showtime series of concerts both performing and arranging. In this capacity he arranged the music of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, Jeff Buckley, Muse and Radiohead to name just a few. His prodigious skill in orchestration and fast, flexible work ethic led to composing and arranging for every leading symphony orchestra in the country (SSO, MSO, ASO, WASO, TSO, QSO, DSO, OV).

In 2005 Jamie collaborated with singer and songwriter Sia, performing on piano, singing backup vocals, arranging and conducting a cover of Radiohead’s Paranoid Android. The track appeared on the album Exit Music: Songs With Radio Heads, and also featured on an episode of the popular US TV show The O.C. (S04 E07)

In 2006 Jamie began working with Australia’s most successful hip hop group, Hilltop Hoods, composing the orchestral score for the album The Hard Road: Restrung. The album subsequently went on to win the "Best Urban" Aria Award and achieved platinum record status. This spawned an ongoing collaboration with the Hilltop Hoods with Messenger arranging, composing and performing on most of their subsequent album releases.

Messenger’s strong interest in film music was the inspiration for his first major commission, Music For An Absent Film. The piece was written for a large symphony orchestra and choir and the live performance, recorded in the Adelaide Town Hall, has been actively requested on ABC Classic FM. This led to a number of other commissions including a series of fanfares for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. 

Jamie has composed soundtracks for many short films, four of which have gone on to receive AFI/AACTA nominations. (Spike Up, The Not-So-Great Eugene Green, The Orchestra and Reg Makes Contact). Jamie has also composed for television networks ABC, Nickelodeon and Sesame Street and a national advertising campaign for Choices Flooring.

2015 saw the release of a five year collaboration with director/animator Mikey Hill. The 15 minute animated short film The Orchestra is set in a world where everyone has a team of musicians following them around playing a soundtrack to their lives. The complicated soundtrack won awards locally and internationally, winning the award for Best Original Score at St Kilda Film Festival and in Spain, the Jerry Goldsmith Award for Best Original Score in an Animated Short Film. The Orchestra won over 35 awards throughout its international festival run.

Messenger’s latest collaboration with the Hilltop Hoods Drinking From The Sun, Walking Under Stars Restrung was released in February 2016 and debuted at number one around Australia. Messenger composed the orchestral and choral scores for the entire album and in April was Musical Director for the national stadium tour, playing keyboards alongside the Hilltop Hoods and Australia’s leading Symphony Orchestras and Choirs. The Hilltop Hoods went on to win the ARIA award for the Best Australian Live Act for the Restrung Tour.

In 2018 Jamie began work on the long running television series Neighbours in the role of composer, music editor and music supervisor. In this role Jamie composed and placed music for 6 half hour episodes of tv every week; over 250 episodes a year.

In 2019 Jamie composed a soundtrack to a 7 part documentary series and feature film called The Bikes Of Wrath by Katering Show director Cameron Ford. 

In 2020, amidst the pandemic, Jamie arranged and played piano for a recorded Christmas Comedy special with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and a slew of Melbourne comedians. Jamie also orchestrated arrangements for two shows with Orchestra Victoria. The first was The Teskey Brothers recorded and filmed live at Hamer Hall. The second show was Mo’Ju and Orchestra Victoria live at Sidney Myer Music Bowl.

In 2022 Jamie finished up as composer for Neighbours, with the show ending after an amazing 37 year run. In the 4.5 years on the show Jamie composed and placed music for over 1108 half hour episodes, composed 2661 music cues and produced the final ever version of the theme song.

Jamie is currently working on orchestral arrangements for the Hilltop Hoods third restrung album and is about to start work composing on a feature film for release later this year.