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Bear McCreary performing score of Outlander at its World Premiere SDCC.

“Last summer, Ron Moore called me to score his exciting new series, Outlander. I was familiar with Gabaldon’s famous book series, and knew that it took place right in the sweet spot of my historical passion…” ~ Bear McCreary

I was lucky enough to be invited to and attend the World Premiere of Outlander at San Diego ComicCon this past weekend (fourth row center —gah!). Before the screening, the audience was treated to a performance by Composer Bear McCreary on the accordion, Musician Paul Cartright on the fiddle, and Singer Raya Yarbrough.

It was beautiful, spirited and at times ethereal. Along with composing the main title theme & Jamie & Claire’s love theme, he has incorporated Scottish folk tunes into the score—an Outlander fan’s dream come true! Turns out, Bear has been obsessed with Scotland/Scottish music since he was a young child:

“…Scottish music and culture has been an obsession of mine for nearly my entire life. Growing up in Bellingham, WA, my friends and I attended the Highland Games every summer for over a decade…First hearing the rolling and relentless Bb drone of the bagpipe bands get louder as we parked the car and headed towards the grounds gave me the euphoria that most little kids probably feel going to Disneyland…that drone would burrow into my brain, so deep that I could recall it for days, like a residual echo. When Rob Roy and Braveheart came out in the same year, I saw them each in the theaters ten times. When I learned to drive, I cruised my hometown blasting bagpipes from my car speakers.

…I began researching songs of the Jacobite Uprising and the century that followed. I was awestruck by the ability of these songs to communicate hidden meaning, tales of tragedy and triumph, with deceptively simple melodic lines and evocative harmonic progressions. At the later end of that spectrum, the texts of Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson in particular struck me. I realized how the evolutionary threads of American folk music, Appalachian and bluegrass in particular, traced back to Scottish heritage. Shortly after high school, I picked up an accordion and began playing folk tunes, transcribing my own arrangements and composing new harmonic progressions for classic melodies…” ~ Bear McCreary, Outlander Fans’ Guide to My Music

Bear is the real deal; passionate and dedicated with complex tastes—a perfect match for Outlander. I for one absolutely cannot WAIT to buy a copy of the soundtrack as soon as it (God-willing!) becomes available!

Incidentally, the Outlander Main Title Theme will be available for pre-order on iTunes 8/2/14, here is the link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/outlander-main-title-theme/id903585323?i=903585389

Bear wants to hear from Outlander fans, intends to blog about his experiences working on the show:

“Throughout the season, I will blog about my experiences working on this show as often as I can. With a new little baby in the house, my time for blogging is proving to be elusive, so I may not be able to do a full entry for each episode. Nevertheless, I look forward to hearing from all you, via Twitter, Facebook or comments right here on my blog. I want to know what themes you notice, which cues are your favorite, and what music you’d like to experience on a soundtrack album, should that one day come to fruition.” ~ Bear McCreary

I LOVE that he wants to hear from us! That just shows how committed he is to the integrity of the music and, by default, the show. How lucky are we?

Here is the link to Bear’s official site/blog, with links to his Facebook & Twitter accounts: http://www.bearmccreary.com/#blog/blog/outlander-fans-guide-to-my-music/

And here, courtesy of Outlander Kitchen, is a video of the musical performance enjoyed by the audience at the World Premiere—enjoy!: