The Zurich Film Festival will honor three-time Academy Award winner Howard Shore with the Career Achievement Award for his life's work. The Canadian composer is best known for his music for the film trilogies LORD OF THE RINGS and THE HOBBIT, for which he won multiple Academy Awards for Best Original Score. In Zurich, he will preside over the jury of the 12th International Film Music Competition. The award will be presented to him on October 5, 2024, during the «Cinema in Concert» gala at Tonhalle Zürich.

Howard Shore is one of the most renowned composers of our time and a prodigious talent whose works have made film history and whose music is performed in concert halls around the world by the most prestigious orchestras. Shore's interpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginative world of LORD OF THE RINGS and THE HOBBIT, has captivated people of all generations for years. His contributions to film music have been recognized with Academy, Grammy, and Golden Globe Awards, as well as numerous honors at film festivals and institutions worldwide. His recent works include film scores such as PIECES OF A WOMAN and THE PALE BLUE EYE underscoring his continued influence in the world of film and music.

In addition to his film compositions, Shore has made significant contributions to classical music. His notable works include the opera «The Fly» the piano concerto «Ruin and Memory» and the song cycle «A Palace Upon the Ruins.» His concert pieces including «The Lord of the Rings Symphony» and «The Lord of the Rings Live to Projection» have been performed over 500 times worldwide. 

Howard Shore is delighted to come to Zurich for the 20th ZFF: «I am honored to have been invited to the 20th anniversary of the Zurich Film Festival to receive the Career Achievement Award and to be the jury president of the 12th International Film Music Competition. I am looking forward to the 'Cinema in Concert' gala with the great Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich conducted by Frank Strobel celebrating the art of music in films.» He is also eager to give young film composers the opportunity to present their work in such a setting, creating new perspectives.