David Schweitzer

Here are a selection of testimonials from some of the talented directors & producers I have worked with over the years. I would like to thank them all for being kind enough to contribute to this page.

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David is an extraordinary talent; warm, funny, dedicated, and both expansive and pensive, qualities which are all reflected in his music. We were lucky to have him.
KITTY TAYLOR - Director, Charlie & Lola, Series 1-3 (Tiger Aspect / BBC)

David is, quite simply, a genius. His music and songs for The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That are beyond compare; and are the highlight of every episode.
TONY COLLINGWOOD – Director, The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That

David’s compositions are fresh and unusual and his music perfectly compliments the action on screen.  For Inside the Human Body, he created a highly emotional and engaging score, his music adding warmth and drama without ever overpowering the content. He was also a delight to work with and handled the last minute pressure with amazing calm and professionalism.
ALICE HARPER – Series Producer, Inside the Human Body (BBC)

Working with David is a huge pleasure, he has always given exactly what the brief asked for and much much more, going beautifully and playfully beyond what I could imagine. Receiving his music and putting it onto a film is quite stupidly exciting every time – it is my favourite bit.
EMMA LAZENBY – Director, One of a Kind & Mother of Many (BAFTA winner Best Short Animation 2010)

David mixes his  memorable melodies with fresh and whimsical lyrics , making his songs for shows simply delightful!  Treehouse has had the pleasure of featuring his music on two of our preschool shows, The Cat in The Hat Knows a lot About That and Mike the Knight and we can’t wait for more! Encore!
JAMIE PIEKARZ – Director of Original Programming, Corus Television

Utterly delightful – and I say that in praise of both David’s music and the experience of working collaboratively with him for two years on The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That.
HELEN STROUD – Head of Development/Producer, Collingwood O’Hare

David was the perfect creative collaborator – hugely talented and combining a sophisticated understanding of our project with perfectly pitched and beautifully crafted music.
ALEX MARENGO - Director, The Taking of Prince Harry (Juniper / Channel 4)

His music is always unexpected, warm and joyful with all important moments of quirkiness. With superb moments of drama and also the important elements of silliness throughout the series, the music feels fresh and alive – a difficult thing to achieve in a 52 part series. His scores have created a whole new and exciting layer within Mike the Knight.
JO JORDAN – Creative Producer, Mike the Knight (Hit Entertainment)

David has a special talent for composition that encompasses a wide range of musical styles and is perfectly suited to the audio-visual medium.  He has an instinctive feel for character and story whereby his music becomes a natural part of the soundtrack, knowing when to highlight the drama or when to create an atmosphere or when to rouse the audience.  Though the two films we have worked on together are polar opposites in terms of genre, setting and emotion, David’s themes and motifs whether utilizing a symphonic orchestra or small ensemble always underpin the drama and draw the viewer in — creating music that not only perfectly serves the film, but is memorable in its own right.
ASHLEY SIDAWAY – Executive Producer, Silence Becomes You & Day of Wrath (Feature Films)

Schweitzer’s lyrical touch is light, the melodies  sprightly and infinitely hummable—not at all in a jingly kind of way but in a Harold Arlen-Sammy Cahn kind of way. What an exciting new talent! Kids—and all of us—are lucky he has happened along.
KATE KLIMO – Vice President, Creative Development, Random House Children’s Entertainment

The quality of David’s music always exceeded our expectations – he was able to weave in each episode’s theme seamlessly and subtly into the music track. He has proved very flexible and is equally happy to get on with things on his own as he is with a very close partnership. David has always met every deadline, however tight, and we have been delighted with work.  He is a joy to work with.
HELEN BAKER - Producer, Tommy Zoom (BBC / CBeebies)

David is a musical magician who uses an eclectic menagerie of instruments to create distinctively beautiful composed sounds that are made to measure. (Sometimes, he even gives clunky objects that aren’t even supposed to be musical instruments their moment to shine). His music never fails to delight and inspire by working in (seemingly) effortless harmony with whatever visuals they are intended for.
LEIGH HODGINKSON - Director, Moo(n); Flighty

David gets it. He has an intuitive sense of what works. Whether in drama or documentary, he interprets more than the actual pictures, capturing instinctively the mood and nuance of the story. David will bring something fresh and distinctive to a piece, without it ever taking over. It just feels as if the music was always there, always at one with the picture. And that tells the story, which is what I’m always looking for.
STEVE BOOKBINDER - Film / TV Writer & Director

David’s scores have that rare combination of memorable themes, a cinematic sense of scale and wonderfully imaginative orchestration – whatever the budget he’s working to. And he’s a joy to collaborate with – able to respond to a ‘wish list’ with work of musical grace, expressed with rich production values.
DAVID HICKMAN - Director, The True Story: Escape from Alcatraz (Blink / Five)

I couldn’t have wished for a better experience than working with David. His music always managed to capture the essence of a character or scene and he was enormously thoughtful and responsive in developing the final score. Comrades was an almost impossible brief: six separate characters with their own individual sound but a score that still held the film together. I’ve watched Comrades hundreds of times but I’m always struck by how original and empathetic David’s music is. The film owes him lot.
POPPY SIMPSON - Director, Comrades (Simtar Productions)

David is a true gem for TV production. I have given him a range of productions over the years and he is always such a talent and utter joy to work with. Nothing is ever too much trouble and his creative flair is unbeatable. He will always be my first stop for composition.
EMMA PALMER-WATTS - Producer, Jamie’s Chef, To The Manor Bowen, Mirror Signal Manoeuvre

David is a delight to work with, not to mention pitch-perfect and able to beautifully translate intellectual ideas into music and poetic language. For Sunny Intervals, he nailed several cues and songs on practically his first attempt – even replacing Roy Orbison from the temp track with ease! When I started work on my current film, there was no question that David would be attached from the beginning; and he’s been a pillar of support throughout a challenging 3-year (and counting) process where other composers may have grown impatient. It’s truly a pleasure to recommend David!
JONATHAN GOODMAN LEVITT - Director / Producer, Sunny Intervals & Showers (2007 Grierson Award Nominee)

David has the enviable ability to be able to characterise a show with his music so that you could not imagine it existing in any other way.
STEPHEN CANNON – Producer, Tommy Zoom

David is an amazingly talented and versatile composer. It’s always been thrilling to work with someone so creative. The great thing about David is that he gets it; he understands film language and is able to make music that is not only beautiful, but also, more importantly, works as part of the story. His music has always taken my films to the next level and given me a feeling of completion.
JENNI LINKO - Director, Asylum (Best Documentary, Lubeck Film Festival, 2007)

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