Kelowna composers create musical score for beloved animated children's show

Photo: Contributed

Amanda Cawley and Mike Shields

Two Kelowna-based film composers will have their work featured on a globally distributed animated children’s program.

Mike Shields and Amanda Cawley created the musical score for Mattel Television’s thirteenth season of Fireman Sam.

The Okanagan duo worked with WildBrain Studios in Vancouver, which is producing the series.

“I grew up in the UK watching the Fireman Sam series,” says Cawley, “and my grandfather’s cousin was one of the lead voice actors on the show at the time. So, being part of this composing project has brought back many fond memories.”

Cawley’s scoring credits include several TV series, film shorts, commercial advertising and contemporary art projects. Gemini-award-winner Shields has scored twenty-seven feature films and hundreds of hours of animated, dramatic, and lifestyle programming. The Fireman Sam composing collaboration is the first for the multi-talented duo.

“Working with Mike and Amanda has been wonderful,” says Katrina Hadley, director, WildBrain Studios. “They have showed an incredible ability to bring this much-loved whimsical show to life. Their score is equal parts sweet, exciting and funny. It’s been nothing short of magic.”

Fireman Sam has been on TV in the U.K. since 1987. Based in the Welsh village of Pontypandy, Fireman Sam is a pillar of the community and the hero of every rescue.

WildBrain Studios operates out of a 75,000-square-foot state-of-the-art animation facility in Vancouver, BC, and produces series such as The Snoopy Show, Snoopy in Space, Chip & Potato, Go, Dog. Go! and Carmen Sandiego.