CASMA: Celebrating the best Canadian screen composing

Now in its third year, the Canadian Screen Music Awards (CASMA) is an annual celebration of composer’s excellence in scoring original music for the screen. Launched and administered by Screen Composers Guild of Canada, these awards are open to all Canadian and permanent resident composers with winners chosen by the SCGC’s roster of judges.

The CASMAs aim to honour these composers for their outstanding work in media and screen-based industries. These accolades are the first to be juried and awarded by fellow screen composers in Canada.

In 2024, nominations for musical works were considered in 12 categories covering feature film, television, animation, documentary, games and interactive media, plus a special lifetime achievement award.

The awards took place at the El Mocambo on September 25th.

CASMA Winners for 2024

Best Original Score, Animated Series or Special
Nominees

Caleb Chan & Brian Chan – “Fairly Oddparents: A New Wish: Ep 101 – Fly”

Erica Procunier – “Thomas & Friends: The Great Bubbly Build”

Henry Mitton – “Vida The Vet: Ep 01B – Toby Needs Glasses”

Meiro Stamm – “Carl’s Rescue Crew: Ep 101 – Rumble Mountain”

Winner: Amanda Cawley – “Ostinato”
Best Original Score, Comedy Series or Special
Nominees

David DeDourek – “Space Janitors: Ep 405 – Til Death”

Dillon Baldassero – “Davey and Jonesies Locker: Ep 09 – Bean and Nothingness”

Joel Schwartz & Antoine Gratton – “Paris Paris: Ep 12 – Mon coeur est dans l’enclos”

Peter Chapman – “The Lake: Ep 208 – Death on Denial”

Winner: Jeff Toyne – “Palm Royale: Ep 102 – Maxine Saves A Cat”
Best Original Score, Documentary, Factual, Reality Series or Special
Nominees

Amanda Cawley – “Visionary Gardeners: Ep 2 – Communities in Harmony”

Andrew Gordon Macpherson – “Dark Side of the Ring: Ep 506 – Chris Colt: Welcome to my Nightmare”

Andy Milne – “Black LIfe Untold Stories: Ep 2 – Revolution Remix”

Julien Verschooris, Chief Dan George & Bob George – “Passionate Eye: Warrior Spirit”

Winner: Suad Bushnaq – “Secret World of Sound – The Nature of Things: Ep 1 – Hunters and Hunted”
Best Original Score, Dramatic Series or Special (Sponsored by DGC National)
Nominees

Andrew Lockington – “Lioness: Ep 108 – Gone is the Illusion of Order”

Jesse Zubot & Wayne Lavallee – “Bones of Crows: Ep 2 – To Be Separated”

Lora Bidner & Rob Carli – “Ruby and the Well: Ep 301 – I Wish I Knew Where it Was”

Paul Aitken, Rob Carli & Jono Grant – “Murdoch Mysteries: Ep 1718 – Why is Everybody Singing?”

Winner: Spencer Creaghan – “Surreal Estate: Ep 201 – Trust the Process”
Best Original Score for a Documentary Feature Film
Nominees

Iva Delic – “Lost in the Shuffle”

Jesse Zubot & Josh Zubot – “Resident Orca”

Jonathan Kawchuk – “Send Kelp”

Tom Third – “A Mother Apart”

Winner: Jonathan Kawchuk – “Hunt for the Oldest DNA”
Best Original Score for a Narrative Feature Film (Sponsored by Orchestral Tools)
Nominees

Andrew Lockington – “Atlas”

Spencer Creaghan – “I Don’t Know Who You Are”

Steph Copeland – “Cascade”

Steph Copeland – “Reveillon”

Winner: Adrian Ellis & Walker Grimshaw – “Mother Father Sister Brother Frank”
Best Original Main Title Theme Music (Sponsored by SOCAN)
Nominees

Allison Leyton-Brown & Laura Kleinbaum – “Vida the Vet”

Andrew Lockington – “Lioness”

Andrew Lockington – “Poacher”

Suad Bushnaq – “From the Ashes (Jaras Enzar)”

Winner: Jeff Toyne – “Palm Royale”
Best Original Score for a Short Film
Nominees

Justin Delorme – “Ohskennón:ten Owí:ra”

Meiro Stamm – “Fiego and the Magic Fish”

Tom Third – “EarthWorm”

Tom Third – “The Everlasting Pea”

Winner: Anthony William Wallace – “Borders”
Best Original Score for a Television Special
Nominees

Caleb Chan & Brian Chan – “The Thundermans Return”

Darren Fung – “Calamity Jane”

Jordan Andrew – “Lowlifes”

Toby Sherriff & Jake Monaco – “Taz: Quest for Burger”

Winner: Steph Copeland – “Binged to Death”
Best Original Song (Sponsored by Music Publishers Canada)
Nominees

Alexandra Petkovski & Maks Simchenko – “Black Skylands”

Paul Aitken – Murdoch Mysteries: Ep 1718 – “Why is Everybody Singing?”

Spencer Creaghan, Kristyn Johnson & Bryn V McCutcheon – “Surreal Estate: Ep 203 – The Butler Didn’t”

Steph Copeland & Sarah MacDougall – “Cascade”

Winner: Carmen Elle & Ben Kunder – Sort Of: Ep 308 – “Sort Of Gone Again”
Best Original Score for Games and Interactive Media
Nominees
  • Janal Bechthold & La-Nai Gabriel – “Where the Poppies Blow: The Life and Lessons of John McCrae”
  • Maxime Goulet – “One More Gate: A Wakfu Legend”
Winner: Amanda Cawley – “Siegebreaker”
The SCGC Award for Lifetime Achievement Sponsored by Screen Composers Guild of Canada
Winner: Mychael Danna

Watch the 2024 CASMAs

Thanks to Our 2024 Sponsors