For Tenzing's Composer, Mount Everest Is the Main Character
Composer Rebekka Karijord says Mount Everest is the main character in her score for Tenzing. She made the case at Deadline's Sound & Screen event, as Deadline reported.
Tenzing is a biographical drama directed by Jennifer Peedom. It tells the story of Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary and their 1953 ascent of the mountain. The film is an Apple Original Film.
Karijord built the music around the place itself. Her score carries elements of the Nepali setting, and she used Nepali instruments and a local choir, according to Deadline.
The sound work went beyond the orchestra. Karijord worked with the film's sound recordist and on-set collaborators to collect everyday sounds from the shoot. They gathered yak bells, prayer wheels, prayer flags, streams, footsteps and breath. Those recordings became part of the film's sonic palette, the full mix of sounds a film draws on beyond its dialogue and music.
The human voices in the score come from people connected to the production. Dawa Sonam plays Tenzing's wife in the film. She is also a Tibetan opera singer, and her singing runs through the score. Ani Choying Drolma, a nun and singer, also contributed to the music.
The soundtrack album reached listeners on October 12, 2026. Milan Records released the album, which Karijord composed.
Her account gives a clear picture of how the film's sound was made. The score, the field recordings and the voices all point back to one place, and to the mountain at the centre of the story.
