Star Wars: Ryan Shore discusses creating music for Galaxy of Adventures

Ryan Shore added his musical talents to the Star Wars universe, creating compositions for Galaxy of Adventures. He spoke about the opportunity and more in this interview.

There are few people who have worked on music composition for Star Wars. Ryan Shore gets to add his name to the list as the composer created music for Galaxy of Adventures.

Galaxy of Adventures are animated shorts geared toward children. They take moments that happened in the movies and turn them into snackable videos, giving them a fun and different take on the films.

More from Interviews

Shore’s music adds to the fun and feel and of Galaxy of Adventures as he uses the foundation John Williams has built to add his own flair.

Dork Side of the Force had a chance to speak to Shore about his music and working on such an iconic brand.

Dork Side of the Force: When composing the music for Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures, given the music that has come before in Star Wars with John Williams, how do you make it your own?

Ryan Shore: When I’m composing the music, I mostly thinking about how to honor John Williams incredible legacy and music vocabulary that he has so brilliantly established for the Star Wars universe. I’m certain that through the writing process my own musical voice must come through, however I’m usually not thinking about ways to specifically do that. I’m always only thinking about what may be best musically for any given moment that I’m scoring.

DSOF: Is there a piece you have done for Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures that stands out to you or enjoyed working on most?

RS: I have so many favorite moments and so it’s difficult to single out just one. I do really love the episode “Luke vs. the Death Star X-Wing Assault” because of the way I was able to incorporate The Force theme into a moment which was scored differently in the original film.

DSOF: You have worked with so many artists and companies, but how does working on Star Wars rank within your body of work?

RS: Scoring for Star Wars continues to be one of the greatest musical highs of my entire career. I would say that it’s a “dream come true”, however I never even thought it’d be possible to compose for Star Wars, and so I never even dreamed of it. I absolutely love working with all my friends at Lucasfilm every day.

Ryan Shore. Photo credit: Impact 24 PR

DSOF: I see you have performed with John Williams. What was it like performing with him?

RS: This was another experience I never thought I’d have an opportunity to do. I played saxophone, my principal instrument, under John Williams baton for a concert of his film music in Los Angeles. Among John Williams’ iconic scores, the program also included a medley of great film scores from other composers. Within that medley was The Pink Panther theme composed by Henry Mancini, and so I was asked to play the Plas Johnson saxophone part as heard on The Pink Panther theme.

In addition to playing under his baton, one of the most incredible parts of the experience was simply being able to watch him rehearse the orchestra during our 3 rehearsals. The refinement in his language, and the way he’s able to convey to the orchestra his intentions in the most eloquent of ways, was absolutely brilliant.

DSOF: What was your reaction the first time you heard John Williams’ Star Wars theme song over the opening credits?

RS: His music immediately grabbed my ears and established a sense of adventure, possibility, and excitement to come in the film. I was hooked from the very first notes, and my ears were glued to the film until the very last note of the end credits.

DSOF: What is your favorite Star Wars movie?

RS: I would say A New Hope, since this was the film that established the musical themes and overall musical sound for the Star Wars universe.

Check out Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures on YouTube page.