Nicholas Britell , one of the leading film and TV composers of his generation, gave more than 1,000 attendees of the Virginia Film Festival a night to remember when, after accepting the fest’s Achievement in Film Composition Award last month, he sat down in front of them to discuss his life and work — and occasionally jumped over to a nearby piano to play excerpts of his compositions — as part of a live recording of The Hollywood Reporter ’s Awards Chatter podcast .

Britell is only 45, but few composers of any age have a resumé that can compare with his, in more ways that one. He attended Juilliard’s pre-college division then graduated from Harvard and worked as a currency trader on Wall Street. Following the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 and a sense of melancholy about no

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