Dressed up: Debbie Wiseman at the anniversary
Debbie Wiseman OBE is a composer best known for her scores for films such as Wilde and To Olivia, and TV dramas such as The Undeclared War, Father Brown and Wolf Hall, writes York Membery.
The 60-year-old is Classic FM’s composer-in-residence and has scored number one classical albums with The Mythos Suite (in collaboration with Stephen Fry), The Music Of Kings And Queens and Signature with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Debbie, who was the official composer and musical director of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration in Windsor in 2022, and composed a new setting of the Gospel Alleluias for the coronation of King Charles III, lives in London with her husband Tony.
What did your parents teach you about money?
I was one of two children and grew up in a modest semi-detached house in Finchley, north London, but my late father was an accountant turned company director who gave me sound financial advice.
One of his favorite sayings was “Don’t destroy the ship for a harbor full of tar.” His way of saying that you shouldn’t take a “make do and fix” approach to things like home repairs because it’s worth paying more for. the job was done well. He also told me to set aside money to pay the taxes, another piece of advice I took to heart.
Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?
Absolute. After leaving the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, when I was trying to break into the music world as a composer, money was tight. So my singer husband Tony – we met in college – and I formed a two-piece band to play evening gigs, birthday parties and anniversaries to make some money.
We did that for about four or five years, getting paid up to £200 per gig, and it helped us pay the bills until I got my first TV commission in the late 1980s.
Have you ever been given stupid money?
I thought the few thousand pounds I got for my first TV job – a Channel 4 drama documentary – was a lot of money at the time, in the 1980s.
Writing music for advertising pays quite well, pound for pound, bar for bar – over the years I have composed music for a few things, including a soft drinks commercial, and more recently one for potatoes – although I much prefer to compose longer forms of music in instead of 30 second chunks.
The money for TV dramas and documentaries varies enormously depending on the budget involved; costume dramas are more expensive and likely have a larger budget for the score.
One of the things I’m most proud of was composing the music for the TV adaptation of Wolf Hall. I am currently working on the score for the final part of the trilogy.
What was the best year of your financial life?
Financially speaking, there wasn’t one year, but there were several pivotal years – for example in 1989 when I composed my first TV score, and in the mid-1990s when I composed the music for Tom & Viv (1994), my first major film . screen score. My phone started ringing much more often, so those jobs paved the way for other jobs and strengthened my profile as a composer, although I prefer to hope that my best financial year is still to come.
The most expensive thing you bought for fun?
I was music director of the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration in Windsor in 2022, and conducted the show’s finale on stage – and decided that such a special occasion required a special outfit. So I bought a beautiful rainbow dress from London fashion designer store Suzannah.
It cost around £2,000 – the most I’ve ever paid for an item of clothing – but it was worth every penny. And besides, I couldn’t have turned up in overalls to conduct a concert for the Queen, right?
What is your biggest money mistake?
Twenty years ago I decided to upgrade my home studio music technology system. I ordered a large amount of equipment for around £8,000, which I was told would make composing easier. After showing me how it worked, the tech guys left it to me, but it was so clunky that I could never get it to function properly, and it got in the way of my composing.
After a few months I got rid of it all and returned to my old sequencer program from the early 1990s and couldn’t have been happier.
Score big: Debbie composed the music for the TV series Wolf Hall
Best money decision you’ve made?
About ten years ago I bought a beautiful new black Yamaha concert grand piano. It cost about £20,000 but it has a beautiful sound and I compose on it every day so it was worth the money.
Do you have a pension?
No, because I don’t really plan on retiring. I can’t imagine life without composing and I never see myself wandering around the house watering the plants – I’m not good at gardening anyway.
Do you have property?
Yes, a modern five-bedroom detached house with a home studio in North West London that my husband and I bought in 2001.
It was a huge financial challenge at the time, but my mother always said it was worth it to buy something more expensive than one could afford, and she was right. We are also lucky to have a swimming pool that I use every morning.
If you were Chancellor, what would you do?
Firstly, I would subsidize music education in schools and give everyone the opportunity to play a musical instrument. Unfortunately, music has been given third class status in education for too long, but it can also help you with so many other disciplines.
Secondly, I’d give every freelance session musician in the country a Freedom Pass, regardless of age – freelance musicians don’t get paid hugely well and it would be good for the environment too.
What is your number one financial priority?
To continue writing music, which is central to my life and to my financial security, and to follow my dear father’s advice and set aside enough money to pay any future tax bills.
- Debbie Wiseman’s soundtrack album featuring her original soundtrack for Wolf Hall 2 – The Mirror And The Light will be available from Silva Screen Records later this year. debbiewiseman.co.uk
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