If Beale Street Could Talk with Nicholas Britell

Based on the novel by James Baldwin, If Beale Street Could Talk, is the story of Tish, a newly engaged Harlem woman who races against the clock to prove her lover’s innocence while carrying their first-born child. It is a celebration of love told through the story of a young couple, their families and their lives, trying to bring about justice through love, for love and the promise of the American dream.

Nicholas Britell is an Academy Award®-nominated composer, pianist, and producer. He encores with writer/director Barry Jenkins on If Beale Street Could Talk, after composing the score for the Best Picture Oscar® winner Moonlight. His score for the latter earned him an Academy Award® nomination, as well as Golden Globe® and Critics’ Choice Award nominations, among other honors. In October 2017, Britell was awarded the Discovery of the Year Award at the World Soundtrack Awards in Ghent, Belgium, as well as the Distinguished Composer Award from the Middleburg Film Festival.

Other recent projects include his original score for Adam McKay’s Oscar®-winning film The Big Short and for McKay’s HBO television series Succession, for which he wrote both the score and its popular main title theme. He has since reteamed with Mr. McKay to score his upcoming film Vice starring Christian Bale as Dick Cheney.

Britell is a Steinway Artist and is a founding member of L.A. Dance Project. He is also Chairman of the board of the New York-based ensemble Decoda, the first-ever affiliate ensemble of Carnegie Hall. He is an honors and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Harvard University, as well as a piano performance graduate of the Juilliard School’s Pre-College Division. Britell was honored to be the commencement speaker at the Juilliard Pre-College Division’s Commencement Exercises in May 2016.