Jessica Curry facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jessica Curry
Nationality	British
Alma mater	University College London National Film and Television School
Occupation	Composer
Spouse(s)	Dan Pinchbeck

Jessica Curry is a talented English composer and radio presenter. She used to be a co-leader at a British video game company called The Chinese Room. In 2016, she won a big award, a BAFTA, for the music she created for the video game Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. Later, in 2023, she received a special honorary degree from Abertay University.

Career

Starting in Games: Dear Esther

Jessica Curry began her journey in video game music thanks to her husband, Dan Pinchbeck. He was working on an experimental video game called Dear Esther. He asked Jessica to write the music for it. This is how Jessica became a co-founder of The Chinese Room game studio.

Making Music Interactive

After Dear Esther became a success, The Chinese Room developed another game, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. Jessica felt this game was her first real step into making "interactive" music. For Dear Esther, her music was added in later. But for Amnesia, the music was more connected to how players experienced the game.

While Amnesia was being made, a big company called Sony Computer Entertainment asked The Chinese Room to create a special game just for them. This game was Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. It was first planned for computers, but it became a game only for PlayStation 4. Jessica said that Rapture was the first time she truly wrote music that changed and reacted to what was happening in the game.

New Paths and Challenges

In October 2015, Jessica shared on her blog that she would be stepping back from some of her creative work at The Chinese Room. She explained that this decision was due to several reasons. These included health reasons and some challenges she faced while working in the game industry. Even though she stepped back, she remained a director of the company.

Winning Awards and New Projects

In April 2016, Jessica Curry won a BAFTA award for her amazing music in Everybody's Gone to the Rapture. This was a huge achievement!

After leaving her main creative role at The Chinese Room, Jessica started working on other exciting projects. For example, she teamed up with poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy. In July 2016, they presented poems by Duffy with music by Jessica and others. This special event took place at Durham Cathedral to remember the Battle of the Somme.

In October 2016, the music from Dear Esther was performed live by a full orchestra. This concert happened at the Barbican Centre in London. It was held to celebrate the game's release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles.

Radio Shows

Jessica also became a radio presenter. In January 2017, it was announced that she would host High Score. This was a six-episode series on Classic FM that focused on video game music. The show was so popular that it was renewed for another six episodes later that year.

Starting in October 2019, Jessica began presenting Sound of Gaming on BBC Radio 3. This was a weekly show that explored the world of video game music.

Personal Life

Jessica Curry and her husband, Dan Pinchbeck, have been together since 2000. They live in Brighton and have one son. Jessica is a big fan of film director Peter Greenaway and the composer Michael Nyman.

Awards and Recognition

Jessica Curry has been recognized for her amazing work in video game music.

• In 2013, her music for Dear Esther was nominated for Best Audio at the 9th British Academy Games Awards.
• In 2016, she won two BAFTA awards for Everybody's Gone to the Rapture: one for Best Audio and another for Best Music.
• She has also been nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition at the D.I.C.E. Awards for Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (2016) and Little Orpheus (2021).

Works

Video Games

Here are some of the video games Jessica Curry has composed music for: