Megan Gillett is an award-winning film and media composer, specialising in original soundtracks with a distinctive Celtic influence. Known for her traditional, ethereal sound, her music takes inspiration from Celtic culture, ancient folklore and the beauty of the natural world. She mainly works between the classical, folk and electronic genres, though she is an extremely versatile composer with a talent for storytelling through music.
Megan’s devotion to music composition has already earned her international recognition and a number of awards, most notably the Composer Spotlight Award at the Production Music Awards 2026. As well as working on media projects specifically connected to Celtic culture or the natural world, Megan writes music for many different contexts. She is making a name for herself in the independent film scene, most recently for her work on the trailer for Dead Man’s Watch, a moody pirate film set in 1700s Cornwall. Her original soundtrack for the thriller short film Malevolent (2025) won her Best Score at multiple film festivals. As well as this, Megan has written the music for numerous short films, podcasts, commercial projects and even an online Dungeons and Dragons game.
Emotion and intuition is at the heart of Megan’s composition process. She is a classically-trained pianist and multi-instrumentalist, though she naturally plays by ear and composes most of her music through the process of improvisation. Described by Michael McGlynn of ANÚNA as having an “understanding of [Irish traditional] sonority beyond the norm”, Megan has studied Irish traditional music and the other Celtic folk traditions in great depth. Her undergraduate degree involved a year abroad in Ireland, where she was based at University College Cork. During her time there, she learnt how to play the uilleann pipes and even studied beagán Gaeilge (a little bit of Irish). She has been playing the tin whistle for considerably longer and often participates in sessions and céilithe.
Though she has been composing professionally since 2024, Megan is currently in her final year of BA Music at the University of Southampton, where her focus lies in composition and ethnomusicology. She has gained experience directly from Ivor-Novello nominated composer Chris Roe and has learnt her craft from years of dedication. In addition to this, she is a member of the Ivors Academy and the Alliance of Women Film Composers. When she’s not composing music, Megan can often be found up a mountain, in a country pub or generally going on an adventure.
