(2026) Hope

2026-03-04T13:18:11+01:00

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been captivated by the power of music to tell stories. As a child, I would watch Charlie Chaplin’s films and marvel at how music could convey emotion without a single word. It touches us more deeply than language ever can. It opens our hearts, moves our minds, and speaks to the part of us that words cannot reach. That wonder has stayed with me throughout my life, whether as a cellist, a filmmaker, or simply a human being seeking to connect with others through art.

The HOPE album was born from that fascination: a desire to unite award-winning film composers from around the world to create something that could inspire and remind us of the timeless human virtues every film hero embodies, such as courage, compassion, hope, and love. These virtues are not confined to cinema. They live in all of us, waiting to be nurtured.

The music of HOPE is cinematic by design, yet unbound from any moving image to leave room for imagination. It draws inspiration from the hero’s journey, specifically the pivotal moment in every meaningful story that screenwriters call “the dark night of the soul”. It’s the moment when all seems lost, when the hero must pause, look inward, and undergo a spiritual transformation that enables them to find clarity, overcome struggle, and finally achieve victory. Some may call it soul-searching, others a silent moment of prayer: a connection with our higher self to find hope and guidance for the next steps to take, knowing that we can only give our best but must ultimately entrust the outcome to the greater divine.

This became the guiding principle for the twelve compositions that make up this album and inspired its title. In classical opera – a precursor to film in many ways – the hero’s reflection on their innermost feelings is often marked by a cello solo. Many film composers have continued this tradition, using the cello in key emotional moments of the score. In this sense, the cello’s singing tone represents the hero’s inner voice, symbolizing both hope and the quiet strength that precedes triumph.

Recording the album at Abbey Road Studios with the London Symphony Orchestra was a profoundly moving experience. Composers who had never met before came together, listening and bonding like family. Once again, I was reminded that music is more than just sound. It’s a thread that binds us together. There’s a deeper truth to this: modern physics affirms that everything is vibration. Matter, energy, and light all oscillate. Music, so to speak, is made of the same essence that holds the universe together. When we play, hear, or feel music, we participate in that universal symphony. It moves us individually and unites us collectively.

I hope that the HOPE album will help listeners feel this invisible connection, and perhaps spark a small shift in consciousness. Astronauts often speak of the profound sense of unity they experience while seeing Earth from space: a feeling where divisions, conflicts, and differences fade in the light of our shared existence. In times of political tension, I sometimes wish we could send world leaders on such a journey together, to witness how collaboration and a deeper sense of purpose can transcend strife. Until that is possible, music can serve as a gentle reminder of our common ground.

Beyond its call for resonance and resilience, the HOPE album is also a tangible act of giving. The proceeds will be dedicated to supporting children affected by war and conflict through humanitarian aid. Children, whose lives are shaped by forces beyond their control, all carry immense potential: the ability to create, love, and dream with unburdened spirits that may one day change the world for the better. By purchasing, streaming, or broadcasting this album, you directly help transform music into hope where it is most needed.

This album could not have been realized without the extraordinary generosity of countless artists.

My deepest gratitude goes to the composers, who crafted 12 magnificent musical jewels; to conductor Ben Palmer, whose visionary leadership brought it all to life; to sound engineer and mixer Nick Wollage and sound engineer Serge Christen, whose expertise captured the music in its most beautiful form; and to immersive sound specialist Katia Sochaczewska, who created the Dolby Atmos version of the album – all of whom gave their time and expertise in the name of charity.

Many thanks also to Mario de Sa and Caitlin Lobo at the London Symphony Orchestra, and Kayla Hopkins and Lucy Launder at Abbey Road Studios, along with their teams, for their guidance and support in making the recording process smooth and efficient; to Phillip Schulz for the music editing, and to sound editor Norbert Eichler for his assistance in post-production. A big thank you also to Patrick Peikert at Claves Records for his collaborative spirit in releasing this album in support of charity.

A remarkable group of volunteers and supporters accompanied the journey of HOPE’s creation with unwavering commitment. My heartfelt thanks to (in alphabetical order): Tom Baumann, Josua Beureux, Bernhard Blum, Hannah Eve Bonini, Marianne Branca, Merel Burleigh, Sara Christen, Andrew Cohen, Hung Doan, Iris Eggler, Fernando Ekkelenkamp Bulnes, Kenny Espinel, Florian Formica, Kunal Ghodasara, Gavin Greenaway, Samuel Gyger, Aleksandra Hoffman, Simon Huber, Anthony Martino, Nicolas Minder, Maddy Myer, Tristan Noon, Adrian Portmann, Timon Rupp, Boris Schaarschmidt, Lewis Simpson, Boris Siromahov, Fabian Steiner, Andrea Savo, Nicholas Wells, Bernhard Wyss and Eren Yagmuroglu. Your collective spirit embodies the hope this album celebrates.

Last but not least, I’m forever grateful to my parents and family for introducing me to the world of music and for nurturing my passion for it from an early age. Their love and talent have always inspired me and continue to shape my journey.

May the HOPE album remind us of our shared humanity and inspire us to live by the timeless virtues that give life meaning.

Andreas Graf / Bern, December 2025
hopealbum.com

SARA BARONE

Sara Barone is an Emmy nominated composer for film, television, and video games. She is known for creating visceral sound worlds that draw from a wide range of modern classical and electronic influences, often featuring experimental orchestrations. Sara is known for scoring BBC’s landmark series Planet Earth III, narrated by David Attenborough, alongside Jacob Shea, which earned them a Primetime Emmy nomination and a win for Best Original Score for a Documentary Series at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards in 2024. Other recent credits include Netflix’s psychological thriller limited series The Beast in Me, drama feature film To Kill A Wolf, which won Best Composition in a Feature Film in the 2025 Music and Sound Awards, the virtual reality game Alien: Rogue Incursion developed by Survios, Netflix’s action-thriller Exterritorial, Amazon’s Silver and the Book of Dreams, and Hulu’s Grimcutty.

KATHRYN BOSTIC

Award-winning, Emmy-nominated composer and singer-songwriter Kathryn Bostic is known for her original work in film, television, Broadway, and symphonic music, including The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat, Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir, and Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am. She is recipient of numerous awards and fellowships including the BMI Streaming Media Award, Hollywood Music in Media Award for “Best Score TV Streamed Movie”, Society of Composers and Lyricists “Outstanding Music for Independent Feature Film”, African American Film Critics Award for “Best Music in Film”, Sundance Time Warner Fellowship, Sundance Fellowships for Feature and Documentary Film Scoring, and BMI Conducting Fellowship. Her end title song “High Above the Water” from Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am was Oscar shortlisted. Her symphonic performances and score commissions include the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Bangor Symphony Orchestra, and Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. She is member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy of Arts & Sciences, and the Recording Academy.

SHARON FARBER

Sharon Farber is a Grammy-winning and Emmy-nominated composer for film, television, and the concert stage. Other awards and nominations include the Society of Composers & Lyricists, Hollywood Music in Media, the World Soundtrack, ASCAP and more. She is known for her work with Amazon/MGM, Netflix, NBC, CBS, WB, Disney and more, with film scores that are both commercially released and widely performed. Credits include Tyler Perry’s From Italy With Love and Why Did I Get Married Again, Jacob The Baker, October 8, Brainwashed and more. The International Film Music Association praised her music from Children of the Fall, When Nietzsche Wept, and The Dove Flyer, while her UN-supported project I’m Standing With You, in collaboration with legendary songwriter Diane Warren, united artists worldwide. In the concert world, Sharon has received commissions from the Los Angeles Master Chorale, The Juilliard School, the National Children’s Chorus, and many others. Her music is celebrated for its emotional depth, lyrical expressiveness, and rich harmonic language. Sharon serves as a board member of ASCAP and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the Television Academy, and the Recording Academy.

PETER HAUSER

Peter Hauser comes from a family of musicians and was a “Jugend Musiziert” prizewinner early on. After graduating from Musikhochschule Stuttgart with distinction in cello and top marks in piano as a minor, he continued his studies with the renowned Prof. Natalia Gutman. Hauser has focused extensively on modern music, performing with the Gaudeamus Foundation, and has collaborated with major orchestras, including the Württemberg State Theater Stuttgart and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Since 1994, he has been deputy solo cellist of the Bern Symphony Orchestra. His passion for electronic and film music is reflected in his compositions, embodying his motto: “Without good film music, (mostly) no good film.” Recent works include music for Swiss commercials and additional compositions for the German film House of Rooms.

PATRICK KIRST

German-born, Los Angeles–based composer Patrick Kirst is best known for Netflix’s hit trilogy The Kissing Booth, which broke streaming records across all three films. His work spans feature films, television, documentaries, and immersive media, including Woman of the Dead (Netflix), Breaking Surface (Amazon Prime), Inherit the Viper (Lionsgate), and documentaries such as An African Election (Sundance), Welcome to Pine Lake (CBSN), and Wasteland (Paramount+). He also scored the theme-park show Orca Encounter and Dominique Rey’s video installation Motherground. Most recently, he contributed additional music to Alex Prager’s feature debut Dreamquil. Since 2007, Kirst has taught in USC’s film-scoring master’s program—serving as chair in 2021—and is core faculty of the Chigiana Film Music Workshops in Siena, Italy. His international background shapes a distinctive voice marked by conceptual clarity and emotional depth.

DAVID KUDELL

David Kudell is an American composer of orchestral music. He is well-known for being selected the winner of 2020’s hugely popular Westworld Scoring Competition, which garnered entries from over 11,000 composers and was judged by JJ Abrams, Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, and Ramin Djawadi. His groundbreaking score, blending orchestral and video game sounds, shook up the composer community with its originality. Based in the Los Angeles area, David composed the score for the 2024 film Paging Mr. Darcy with co-composer Anne-Kathrin Dern. He contributed additional music to the video game Metro: Awakening (2024), and the Netflix film The Claus Family 2 (2021). His highly thematic and memorable musical style can be heard on his album of orchestral music, Reel One, available on all streaming platforms. His follow-up album will debut in 2026.

TOMASZ JAKUB OPALKA

Tomasz Jakub Opalka is a Polish composer of film, theater and concert music. “One of the most creative and distinctive voices of new music in a long while” wrote Grammophone, and musicologist Małgorzata Gąsiorowska attested: “Opalka is a master of color. He never uses the traditional orchestra conventionally. He combines instruments in original ways and creates new soundscapes.” Opalka’s music is characterized by energy, sophisticated orchestration and harmonic innovations. His bold explorations transcend the boundaries of theoretical trends and are firmly rooted in creative intuition combined with thoughtful technique. The composer pays close attention to structure, musical form, and narrative development. Nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award for his work at EXPO 2020 Dubai. His first album has been released by Warner Classics. He currently holds a position as composition professor at The F. Chopin University of Music in Warsaw.

TOM ROBERTS

Tom Roberts is an English film and media composer. His work with production music companies, trailer houses, and major record labels has been featured in many high-profile releases and productions. Recent usage includes releases by Disney, Universal Studios, Pixar, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+, amongst others. He studied music at Cambridge University and began composing professionally while working in London and in UK theatre before some of his music was featured on television programmes for the BBC and Channel 4. Films with his scores have premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and been screened at the London BFI. His music and songwriting have also been performed at major music festivals such as Glastonbury Festival and Latitude Festival in the UK. His original compositions and arrangements have been published by Novello Music Sales and released by Signum Records and BMG.

ANDREW MORGAN SMITH

Andrew Morgan Smith is an American composer whose work encompasses concert music, film, and television. His classical compositions have been performed and recorded by distinguished ensembles, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra, and major European studio orchestras. His catalog includes works for orchestra, wind ensemble, and jazz ensemble, noted for a clear melodic voice, refined craftsmanship, and expressive harmonic writing. Alongside his concert repertoire, Andrew has scored more than eighty film and television projects, including The Old Way, You Might Be the Killer, Boneyard, and Jeepers Creepers 3. His experience across drama, action, animation, and documentary shapes his sense of narrative flow and musical architecture. His work reflects a dedication to artistic integrity, emotional depth, and a musical language that seeks direct and sincere connection with audiences.

NATHAN STORNETTA

Nathan Stornetta is a Swiss composer whose work includes music for Puy du Fou España and Puy du Fou France’s super shows, recorded at AIR Studios with leading London ensembles and soloists. He also writes concert music, including a Percussion Concerto premiered at the 2021 Jura Festival. His recent credits include Canal+’s The Secret of Wakany and Puy du Fou France’s Le Mime et l’Étoile. Stornetta also arranged music for Piaf Symphonique with Warner France, using Edith Piaf’s original vocals. A Royal College of Music graduate, he began his career in Hans Zimmer’s studios, contributing to major films (The Little Prince, Chappie, Fast & Furious 6) and touring in Zimmer’s core band. In 2025, he wrote and premiered his first opera Bien vus!, for orchestra and a cast of eleven singers, based on Icelandic mythology and targeting young audiences.

OLEG TROYANOVSKY

Oleg Troyanovsky is a New York–based composer who grew up in Geneva and studied composition at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. His writing is built on cinematic, self-contained episodes with pauses that invite the listener to complete the story. The material often originates from hidden words or real-world data encoded into the score, drawing structure directly from lived reality. He has composed music for over 50 films, released original albums and created sound art installations presented in museum and public art settings internationally. In 2015 he received the Prix Italia Grand Prix and the Prix Europa for the radio projects Encrypted in Music and Radio Symphony Musical Observatory. In 2020 he was selected from 11,000 participants by J.J. Abrams, J. Nolan and L. Joy as one of six finalists in the HBO Westworld Scoring Competition.

CHRISTOPH ZIRNGIBL

Christoph Zirngibl is an award-winning German film composer based in Munich, Germany. He has written music for over 120 productions across feature films, prime-time television, TV series and documentaries, including the score for the first German Apple TV+ series Where’s Wanda?, the animated feature The Hero of Centopia, as well as the documentaries SKANDAL! Bringing Down Wirecard and The Flight of Bryan. His music has received the Hollywood Music in Media Award, the Jerry Goldsmith Award and the “German Emmy” (Preis der Deutschen Fernsehakademie). In 2022 he was one of 10 international composers selected for Cannes’ “Spot the Composer” program. Christoph’s versatility in finding the right musical vocabulary for each project is rooted in his background as a drummer, keyboard player and singer in various choirs, bands and orchestras. He is a member of the German Film Academy as well as the Society of Composers and Lyricists.

ANDREAS GRAF
Cello

Basel-born cellist Andreas Graf combines artistic depth with stylistic versatility, performing as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player across Switzerland and Europe. After earning his soloist diploma with top marks from the Bern University of the Arts and the University of Music and Performing Arts Frankfurt am Main, he has pursued an active performing career marked by collaborations with the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, Kiel Philharmonic, Jena Philharmonic, Bern Chamber Orchestra, and Swiss Chamber Orchestra, while also playing a prominent role in several chamber music ensembles. As a permanent member of the Bern Symphony Orchestra, Graf is also a sought-after guest with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, and the Gstaad Festival Orchestra, as well as serving as principal cellist for the 21st Century Orchestra. Praised for his warm tone and expressive artistry, Graf has recorded for both CD and radio, and regularly contributes to film soundtrack productions.

BEN PALMER
Conductor

Ben Palmer is one of the world’s foremost film-with-orchestra and film music conductors, in demand in concert halls and recording studios across the globe. Acclaimed by Hans Zimmer as “a masterclass in conducting”, and personally authorised by John Williams to conduct his film scores live in concert, he has a repertoire of more than 60 films. He has conducted performances for composers such as Howard Shore and Michael Giacchino, and recorded for clients including Zimmer, Bleeding Fingers Music, the London Symphony Orchestra, Studiocanal and 20th Century Fox. He is Artistic Director of Covent Garden Sinfonia, and Chief Conductor of Babylon Orchester Berlin and the Orchestra da Camera di Pordenone. From 2017-24 he was Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Philharmonie Merck. As a guest conductor, he works regularly with the LSO, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, 21st Century Orchestra, and the five BBC Orchestras.

LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The London Symphony Orchestra believes that extraordinary music should be available to everyone, everywhere.

Established in 1904 as one of the first orchestras shaped by its musicians, the LSO has pioneered initiatives such as LSO Discovery – its education and community programme – and LSO Live – the first record label of its kind – bringing the transformative power of music to people of all ages across the world, both in person and online. Beyond the Barbican in the City of London, where it is the Resident Orchestra, the LSO undertakes much of this work in LSO St Luke’s on Old Street, showcasing one of the most versatile and sought after venues for live performance and studio recording.

While the LSO has been prolific in the studio since the infancy of orchestral recording, with over 2,800 projects to date across film, video games and bespoke audio collaborations, the Orchestra is able to extend its reach far beyond the concert hall through touring, digital partnerships and recorded collaborations with a genre-busting roster of world-class artists, continually connecting people everywhere to the power of great music.

hopealbum.com

REVIEWS

Shoot online

"[..] By combining cinematic storytelling with symphonic music, the album aims to demonstrate how music can communicate powerful emotions even without images, offering listeners a space for reflection, comfort, and connection." - March 2026

Kunst Melder

"[..] „HOPE – 12 Prayers for Cello and Orchestra“ ist ein Charity-Album, das vom Schweizer Cellisten Andreas Graf initiiert und produziert wurde. Es wurde als musikalische Sammlung von zwölf Gebeten für Cello und Orchester konzipiert, die von zwölf internationalen Filmkomponisten speziell für dieses Album komponiert wurden. Aufgenommen mit dem London Symphony Orchestra in den Abbey Road Studios unter der Leitung des britischen Dirigenten Ben Palmer, und vertrieben durch das Schweizer Label Claves Records, kommt der Erlös des Albums dem Notfallfonds von Save The Children zugute, um unmittelbar Kinder in Kriegs- und Krisengebieten zu unterstützen. [..]" - März 2026

Biff Bam Pop

"Interview of Andreas Graf - Buying a physical copy can actually help more than streaming. Streaming is fantastic. But as we all know in the music industry, the streaming shares for the artists and in our case for Save the Children, are very small per stream because the majority goes to the streaming platform." - Jeromme Graham, April 2026