29 Mar 2022

Composing Banjo music for The Power of the Dog

From Afternoons, 2:20 pm on 29 March 2022

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The Banjo plays a feature role in a particularly unsettling scene in Jane Campion's Oscar-winning western psychological drama The Power of the Dog.

The man tasked with bringing it to life was New Zealand composer and musician David Ward. He was the banjo tutor, advisor, arranger and composer for the film that was shot in Otago.

David joins Jesse to talk about the instrument and what it was like teaching Benedict Cumberbatch to play.

Musician and composer David Ward plays the banjo

Musician and composer David Ward plays the banjo Photo: Joanna Forsberg