Jonathan Goldsmith

The Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC) is proud to announce that acclaimed composer Jonathan Goldsmith is the recipient of the SCGC Lifetime Achievement Award. Goldsmith will be honoured at the 5th Annual Canadian Screen Music Awards (CASMAs) on September 14 at Toronto’s historic El Mocambo.

The SCGC Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual screen composer—or a team of composer collaborators—whose exceptional body of work has made an enduring contribution to the art of screen composition in Canada. The award celebrates outstanding artistic achievement, lasting impact on Canadian culture and the screen industry, and the respect and recognition earned from peers and audiences alike.

“Jonathan Goldsmith’s music has left an enduring mark on Canadian film and television, but his impact extends well beyond the screen. As a composer, collaborator, and mentor, he has inspired generations through his creativity, generosity, and dedication to musical excellence. We are honoured to recognize him with the SCGC Lifetime Achievement Award.” — John Rowley, President, Screen Composers Guild of Canada.

Jonathan Goldsmith has spent more than four decades shaping the emotional landscape of film and television through music. Since the early 1980’s, he has composed and produced scores for upwards of 150 screen productions, bringing a distinctive musical voice to acclaimed feature films including the Oscar-nominated To Kill a Tiger, Away From Her, Take This Waltz, Burn Your Maps, Dreamland, Act One, All My Puny Sorrows, Forsaken, Dreamland, Casino Jack, Tenderness, The Returned, Cell 213, Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe, and Sharkwater: Extinction, as well as television series including Titanic, Sex Traffic, Anna Pigeon, The Porter, The Trades, The Nativity, Pure, Sensitive Skin, and Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays.

Known for scores that reveal rather than announce themselves, Goldsmith’s music is woven into the emotional fabric of the stories it serves. Whether writing for intimate dramas, expansive documentaries, comedy, science fiction or fantasy, his work is marked by subtlety, imagination and a deep sensitivity to character and atmosphere. His compositions have earned numerous Canadian Screen, Genie, Gemini and BAFTA awards and nominations.

Beyond film, Goldsmith is a founding member of Toronto’s Art of Time Ensemble and a member of the intergalactic cabaret orchestra Nick Buzz, where composition, improvisation and collaboration intersect. As a producer, he has worked with artists including Bruce Cockburn, Sarah Slean, Jane Siberry, Gregory Hoskins and Bob & Doug McKenzie, receiving three Juno nominations for Producer of the Year.

The Screen Composers Guild of Canada is honoured to celebrate Jonathan Goldsmith’s extraordinary career and enduring contribution to Canadian screen music at the 2026 CASMAs.