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Screen Scoring

Alumni Highlights

Screen Scoring alumna Marsha Bowe

Marsha Bowe (MM 2012)

Serving as Music Score Supervisor for one of the longest running American animated programs "The Simpsons"(link is external) (2018-2023) as well as the critically acclaimed "Planet Earth III"(link is external) (2023). The Simpsons nabbed another Emmy Award with its win for Outstanding Animated Program at the 75th Emmy Awards this year for episode "Treehouse of Horror XXXIII(link is external)." 

Apple TV+'s "Prehistoric Planet"(link is external) Season 2, with showrunner Jon Favreau and narrated by Sir David Attenborough, was also nominated at the Primetime Emmys this year for Original Dramatic Score, where Marsha served as music Score Supervisor. This year also brought a collaboration with Bastille and Hans Zimmer on the piece "Pompeii MMXXIII(link is external)," which Marsha served as Orchestral Supervisor with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Most recently, Marsha served as Score Supervisor on Jeopardy!(link is external) (2024), “Nova”(link is external) (2020-2024), and “Sven”(link is external) (2024). 

Marsha is Senior Producer, Manager and music Score Supervisor for Bleeding Fingers Music. She mentors composers in composition, production, and mix for film and television music placements and collaborates with wonderful composers and musicians all over the world. 

Ariel Marx (MM 2015)

Ariel Marx is an Emmy-nominated composer and multi-instrumentalist, known for her eclectic and inventive scores for film and television. Some of her recent projects include National Geographic’s A Small Light(link is external) (2023) , Peacock’s A Friend of the Family(link is external) (2022), Hulu’s Candy(link is external) (2022) (ranked number 3 in Indiewire’s Best TV scores of 2022(link is external)), Netflix’s Black Mirror(link is external) (2023), and FX/Hulu’s  American Horror Stories(link is external) (2022). She is also known for her critically-acclaimed work in film, such as Neon’s Sanctuary(link is external) (2022), Utopia’s Shiva Baby(link is external) (2020), Shudder’s Birth/Rebirth(link is external) (2023), and HBO’s The Tale(link is external) (2018). Most recently, Ariel composed the scores for Lilly(link is external) (2024) and The White House Effect(link is external) (2024). 

As a solo artist, Ariel recently released her solo album Luthier(link is external) with Node Records(link is external). She is a member of the music branch of both the Television Academy and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and is a Sundance Film Music and Sound Design Lab alum. Ariel is currently an adjunct professor at NYU’s screen scoring program.

Herdís Stefánsdóttir

Herdís Stefánsdóttir (MM 2017)

Herdís Stefánsdóttir is a composer of music for multimedia, a songwriter, and an electronic musician. Her compositional endeavors — installations in museums, dance, theatre, and a successful electronic music duet she is a part of – are establishing her as an expansive artist.

Herdís graduated with an M.A. degree in film scoring from New York University in 2017. Since graduation she has scored two feature films, an HBO series and a few short films.

Her scoring work includes Ry Russo – Young’s MGM/Warner Bros. feature film, The Sun Is Also A Star(link is external) (2019) and the HBO series We’re Here(link is external) (2020). Herdís was nominated for The Icelandic Music Awards for her score in The Sun Is Also A Star(link is external). Herdis also composed the score for the hit series Y: The Last Man(link is external) (2021). Most recently, Herdis composed the orignal scores for M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin(link is external) (2023) and Trap(link is external) (2024).

Herdís interned for the Oscar nominated composer Jóhann Jóhannsson in Berlin while he was working on the film Arrival(link is external) (2016) and she has scored numerous short films that have premiered at top-tier festivals around the world like Berlinale, TIFF, Sundance and Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Herdís formed her electro-pop duo East of My Youth in 2015. East of My Youth’s music has been described as sensual and addictive as getting your tongue frozen to a glacier of pure honey (jajaja music). The duo has showcased at SxSW, Eurosonic Noorderslag, KEXP, Sonar Reykjavík and Iceland Airwaves.

Watch her discuss her score for Y: The Last Man(link is external) here: https://youtu.be/bQ29ZMrsZoI(link is external) 

Dara Taylor

Dara Taylor (MM 2011)

Dara Taylor has emerged as a fresh voice in the world of film music as the composer of The Tender Bar(link is external) (2021), directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker George Clooney. You can hear her music in the hit Charles Shyer Netflix feature The Noel Diary(link is external) (2022) starring Justin Hartley, Sony Screen Gem’s The Invitation(link is external) (2022) for director Jessica Thompson for which she received a 2023 SCL Award Nomination, the hit Lionsgate comedy Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar(link is external) (2021) starring Kristen Wiig and Jamie Dornan, as well as HBO Max’s Little Ellen(link is external) (2022), Blumhouse’s American Refugee(link is external) (2021), Universal’s Curious George: Cape Ahoy(link is external) (2021) and Amazon’s The Boys Presents: Diabolical(link is external) (2022) and  Universal’s comedy Strays(link is external) (2023) starring Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx. Most recently, Dara scored Dawn Porter’s documentary Power of the Dream(link is external) (2024).

Dara’s previous work includes the action crime drama Echo Boomers(link is external) starring Michael Shannon, the Netflix series Bookmarks(link is external), the Netflix docu-series Trial By Media(link is external), the FX series Pride(link is external), and the Karen Allen-starred film Colewell(link is external), for which she won a 2019 Hollywood Music in Media award.

man holding guitar

Gavin Brivik (MM 2018)

Forest Christenson is a mixer and composer of motion picture and television scores in Los Angeles. He has also worked extensively as an additional music composer with a filmography that includes The Last Of Us(link is external)Aquaman(link is external), and Abominable(link is external). Forest is also known for his work as a scoring mixer, mixing projects such as Kung Fu Panda 4(link is external) (2024), Damsel(link is external) (2024), The Perfect Couple(link is external) (2024),  Wonder Woman(link is external) (2017), The Crown(link is external) (2016-2017), and The Guilded Age(link is external) (2022). Forest’s credits as a composer include documentary film Grandpa Was An Emperor(link is external) (2021), Sri Lankan arthouse film House of my Fathers(link is external) (2018), and Korean sci-fi series Sisyphus(link is external) (2017).

Forest was a founding member and drummer in several bands - notable among them “chamber rock” trio Pretty Balanced, which toured multiple times in the US and UK. In 2009, Forest joined forces with fellow composer/musician John Also Bennett to form the experimental synth duo Seabat.

NYU screen scoring alum Forest Christenson

Forest Christenson 

Forest Christenson is a mixer and composer of motion picture and television scores in Los Angeles. He has also worked extensively as an additional music composer with a filmography that includes The Last Of Us(link is external)Aquaman(link is external), and Abominable(link is external). Forest is also known for his work as a scoring mixer, mixing projects such as Wonder Woman(link is external)The Crown(link is external), and Murder Mystery 2(link is external). Forest’s credits as a composer include documentary film Grandpa Was An Emperor(link is external), Sri Lankan arthouse film House of my Fathers(link is external), and Korean sci-fi series Sisyphus(link is external).

Forest was a founding member and drummer in several bands - notable among them “chamber rock” trio Pretty Balanced, which toured multiple times in the US and UK. In 2009, Forest joined forces with fellow composer/musician John Also Bennett to form the experimental synth duo Seabat.

Screen scoring alumna Jennifer Rowekamp

Jennifer Rowekamp (MM 2018)

Jennifer Rowekamp(link is external) is a composer and music editor based in San Francisco, CA and is currently working as a Music Editor at Pixar Animation Studios. Her music editing credits include Lightyear(link is external) (2022), Turning Red(link is external) (2022), and the short Nona(link is external) (2021).

Most recently, Rowekamp composed the song “Bloofy’s House Theme Song” for “Inside Out 2”(link is external) (2024). 

In addition to her music editing and songwriting, Jennifer has written music for the sample library company Cinesamples and the award-winning podcast production company Gen-Z Media, including the Peabody and Ambie-nominated Treasure Island 2020(link is external). She previously assisted media composer Jeff Russo.

Jacob Yoffee

Jacob Yoffee (MM 2011)

Currently the Resident Composer for the American Studio Orchestra, Jacob Yoffee(link is external) is an award winning saxophonist and concert and film composer based in Los Angeles. Yoffee composed the scores to a variety of tv shows and movies including Bel-Air(link is external) (2023-2024), Whitney Houston in Focus(link is external) (2023), Shark beach with Anthony Mackie(link is external) (2024), and  ABC’s The Wonder Years(link is external) (2021-2023).

In addition to scoring dozens of films and TV shows such as ABC’s The Wonder Years(link is external) (2021), Jacob composes trailer music for blockbuster films such as Aladdin (2019), Ready Player One, and Rogue One. His concert music has been performed in the US and Great Britain at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, the Royal Academy of Music and on BBC Radio.

man smiling outdoors

Gabriel Hays (MM 2011)

Gabriel Hays has an MFA in composition from NYU and a BM from Denver’s Lamont School of Music. He got his start in film scoring in Los Angeles working as an assistant and arranger at Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Productions.

Most recently, Hays scored the tv series The Smurfs(link is external) (2024), Chibi Tiny Tales(link is external) (2022-2024), and The Valley of Hearts Delight(link is external) (2024). He has also scored the Netflix original film: Secret Magic Control Agency(link is external) (2021) (which was number 1 in the world on Netflix upon its release in March 2021) as well as for numerous Disney projects such as the As Told By Emoji(link is external) (2015) series, Star Darlings(link is external) (2015-2016), and Whisker Haven(link is external) (2015-2018). He has also contributed music to numerous other animated movies and series, including Puppy Dog Pals(link is external) (2017-2020; Disney), Pickle and Peanut(link is external) (2017-2018; Disney), We Bare Bears(link is external) (2020; Cartoon Network), and Voltron(link is external) (2018; Dreamworks).

More Alumni

Diana Valero(link is external) (BM 2024) currently works as a composer and sound designer at Ant Food(link is external) in New York City.

Carlotta Romano(link is external) (MM 2024) currently works as a composer and media coordinator at Konsonant Music(link is external) in New York City.

Lindsay Dievert(link is external) (BM 2024) currently works as a junior composer with Duotone Audio Group(link is external) in New York City.

Noah Penkrat(link is external) (BM 2024) currently works as Director of Digital Marketing at Mpath Music(link is external) in Los Angeles. 

Gage Behnkendorf(link is external) (BM 2024) currently works as Gage Behnkendorf at Mpath Music(link is external) in Los Angeles.

Cassiel McEvoy(link is external) (BM 2023) composed additional music to the score for “Wild Wild Space”(link is external) (2024).

Aurelie Webb(link is external) (MM 2019) worked as assistant music editor on FX horror series “What We Do In the Shadows” (link is external)(2022-2024)

Jackie Andresen(link is external) (BM 2023) composed additional music to the score for “The Front Room”(link is external) (2024).

Gabriella Hirsch(link is external) (MM 2023) is currently assisting composer Christopher Lennertz in Los Angeles.

Cassiel McEvoy(link is external) (MM 2023) currently works as a Post-Production coordinator for Konsonant Music. 

Louis Stevens(link is external) (MM 2023) currently works as a member of the Joy Music House (orchestration and score preparation) team in Los Angeles.

Noah Horowitz(link is external) (BM 2022) is currently assisting composer James S. Levine at Remote Control. 

Jake Dieli(link is external) (BM 2022) and Brittany Harris(link is external) (MM 2022) are full time members of the 4 Elements Music team.

Shuhui Yao(link is external) (MM 2022) is a part time instructor at Columbia College Hollywood. 

Evan Foley(link is external) (MM 2021) is an assistant to composer Sherri Chung(link is external) in Los Angeles.

Silvio Buchmeier(link is external) (MM 2020) is an assistant to orchestrator David Krystal(link is external), working on projects with composers such as Benjamin Wallfisch(link is external) (Mortal Kombat(link is external)) and Trevor Gureckis(link is external) (Old).

Dallin Burns(link is external) (MM 2020) and Ching-Shan Chang(link is external) (MM 2019) are currently working as assistants to Tom Holkenberg(link is external) (aka Junkie XL) and have worked on such scores as the Justice League: The Snyder Cut(link is external)Godzilla vs Kong(link is external), and other blockbuster films.

Andrea Celeste(link is external) (MM 2020) is an assistant to composer Marty Beller(link is external) (They Might Be Giants, American Rust(link is external)) in Nashville, TN.

Juan Dussán(link is external) (MM 2020) composed the score for the trailer for “Lee”(link is external) (2023).

Hunter Hanson(link is external) Hunter Hanson(link is external) (MM 2020) assists and works as a music editor for composer Tamar-kali(link is external), and composed additional music to the score for “Blink”(link is external) (2024).

Peter Kohrman(link is external) (MM 2020) works as an assistant to composer Bear McCreary(link is external) at Sparks and Shadows. Kohrman previously assisted composer Danny Elfman on the Netflix series Wednesday(link is external) and Noah Baumbach’s White Noise(link is external) as well as composer Junkie XL on blockbusters Sonic the Hedgehog 2(link is external) and Zack Snyder’s Justice League(link is external).

Judith Moy(link is external) (MM 2020) currently works as a composer assistant at Hans Zimmer(link is external) and Sony/ATV's Bleeding Fingers Music(link is external).

Jacob Snider(link is external) (MM 2020) Jacob’s original music has been featured at South by Southwest and on the BBC and his scores have premiered in films at Sundance and Tribeca.
Recent projects include Common Ground(link is external) (winner of the 2023 Human/Nature Award at Tribeca Film Festival), Training Wheels(link is external) (2022 Sundance Film Festival selection), and #XMAS (Hallmark) (co-scored with Jim Fairchild).

John Baxter(link is external) (MM 2019) completed a DMA in Music Composition at the University of Miami Frost School of Music in 2022.

Mark Benis(link is external) (MM 2019) is co-director of the video game studio Moon Moon Moon(link is external) and has contributed to games like Wolfenstein: Youngblood and Lamplight City for which his score was nominated for a Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.) Award for “Best Original Choral Composition.”

Derek Zeoli(link is external) (BM 2019) is an assistant to composer Joseph Trapanese(link is external) (Shadow and Bone(link is external), Prisoners of the Ghostland).

Tanis Chalopin(link is external) (BM 2016) is a songwriter and composer whose song “Ce N’est Pas Moi” was featured in the film Thoroughbreds(link is external).

James Newberry(link is external) (MM 2016) and Jordi Nus(link is external) (MM 2016) work with Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans(link is external). They have written additional music and assisted on projects such as Netflix's Ozark(link is external), HBO’s The Outsider(link is external), and AMC's Fear the Walking Dead(link is external).

Trey Toy(link is external) (MM 2016) collaborates with composers such as Bear McCreary(link is external)Trevor Morris(link is external)Danny Bensi, and Saunder Jurriaans(link is external). He has assisted and provided additional music on series such as Foundation(link is external)Vikings(link is external), and Castlevania(link is external).

Shawn Choi(link is external) (MM 2014) is a composer in South Korea whose work includes over 40 feature film scores including Oldboy(link is external)Lady Vengeance(link is external), and Wide Awake(link is external).

Ian Chen(link is external) (MM 2013) is a composer in Los Angeles whose score for the game Fantastic Creatures(link is external) was nominated for “Music of The Year” at the 2020 Game Audio Network Guild Awards and won “Best Film/TV/Game Score” at the 18th Independent Music Awards. His work can be heard on the Netflix series Green Door(link is external) (2019 Golden Bell Award nominee) and film Futmalls.com(link is external).

André Miranda (MM 2013) is the founder and CEO of Musiversal(link is external), a revolutionary music production platform that allows film composers and music producers to record their music with world-class musicians around the world.

Tomàs Peire(link is external) (MM 2013) is a composer and orchestrator. He has orchestrated for composers such as Michael Abels(link is external) on projects such as Allen V. Farrow(link is external).

Jillian Abood (MM 2012) is an executive at Bleeding Fingers / EXTREME Music

Marsha Bowe(link is external) (MM 2012) is the Sr. Creative Manager and Score Supervisor at Bleeding Fingers Music.

Jessie Montgomery(link is external) (MM 2012) is a Graduate Fellow in Music Composition at Princeton University. She is Professor of violin and composition at The New School. In May 2021, she began her appointment as the Mead Composer-in-Residence with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Alexander Bornstein(link is external) (MM 2011) Alexander's recent credits include the 2023 thriller The Tutor(link is external), the popular Netflix animated series Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy(link is external)Edge of the Unknown with Jimmy Chin(link is external) (as co-composer with Marco Beltrami and Brandon Roberts) and the second season of Nickelodeon's Are You Afraid of the Dark(link is external) (as co-composer with Punch Brothers alum Gabe Witcher).
Alexander has also assisted composer Christopher Lennertz on several episodes of the series 'Lost in Space(link is external)' and 'Supernatural(link is external)’ and served as arranger on Sausage Party(link is external).

Gabriel Hays(link is external) (MM 2011)  is most well-known for writing music for the Netflix original film: Secret Magic Control Agency(link is external) (which was number 1 in the world on Netflix upon its release in March 2021) as well as for numerous Disney projects such as the As Told By Emoji(link is external) series, Star Darlings(link is external), and Whisker Haven(link is external). He has also contributed music to numerous other animated movies and series, including Puppy Dog Pals(link is external) (Disney), Pickle and Peanut(link is external) (Disney), We Bare Bears(link is external) (Cartoon Network), and Voltron(link is external) (Dreamworks) among others.

Agatha Kaspar(link is external) (MM 2011) Agatha’s film scores have played at festivals including Cannes, Tribeca, and the Toronto International Film Festival. Agatha recently provided the title music for Ginny & Georgia(link is external) (Netflix), and for Stuff The British Stole(link is external) (ABC/CBC), and an original score for the series Moonshine(link is external) (CBC/Entertainment One).

Shruti Kumar(link is external) (MM 2011) has collaborated with composer Daniel Hart on the scores for AMC’s Interview With The Vampire(link is external) and Disney’s Peter Pan & Wendy(link is external). She is currently composing for Disney Imagineering projects. She is a board member of the Composers Diversity Collective(link is external) and member of the AWFC(link is external)SCL(link is external), and The Recording Academy(link is external).

Jacob Yoffee(link is external) (MM 2011) is the Resident Composer for the American Studio Orchestra, Jacob Yoffee is an award winning saxophonist and concert and film composer based in Los Angeles. In addition to scoring dozens of films and T.V. shows such as ABC’s The Wonder Years(link is external) (2021), Jacob composes trailer music for blockbuster films such as Aladdin (2019), Ready Player One, and Rogue One. His concert music has been performed in the US and Great Britain at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, the Royal Academy of Music and on BBC Radio.

Lydia Ainsworth(link is external) (MM 2010) Ainsworth’s "Earth Song," her collaboration with Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, appeared in the last episode of Season 3 of Stranger Things(link is external).

Jonathan Hartman(link is external) (MM 2008) has scored TV shows and games, breaking into the scene with his contributions to the first season of Outlander(link is external). In 2020, his work on DARK/WEB(link is external) (Amazon Prime) was nominated for the Daytime Emmy awards for "Outstanding Music Direction & Composition for a Drama or Digital Drama Series.”

Alumni in the news 

Variety: Ariel Marx and Este Haim on How the Music of ‘A Small Light’ Brought Fresh Shadings to Heroic Holocaust Drama(link is external)

Screen Rant: Dara Taylor discusses her score for 'Strays'(link is external)

Variety: ‘The Wonder Years’ Rewinds to 1968: Behind the Reboot’s Music(link is external)

'Right On Cue' Podcast: Ariel Marx on the intimate tensions of A Small Light and Sanctuary(link is external)

Inspirational Women In Hollywood: How Julie Joohee Jeon Is Helping To Shake Up The Entertainment Industry(link is external)

Starburst Magazine: An Interview with Composer Dara Taylor(link is external)

Movie Culture: The Wonder Years Interview with Roahn Hylton and Jacob Yoffee(link is external)

Gavin Brivik discusses his score for Wild Indian(link is external)

MusicTech: Show Off Your Studio: Juan Dussán’s simple and stylish New York studio(link is external)

New York Times: Changing American Canon Sounds Like Jessie Montgomery(link is external)

Los Angeles Times: Yoko Ono, from pariah to paragon: Why 75 women are paying tribute to her legacy at Disney Hall (Shruti Kumar)(link is external)

Geek Tyrant: Alexander Bornstein Talks Composing TRANSFORMERS: WAR FOR CYBERTRON(link is external)

Pitchfork: Sparkles & Debris (Lydia Ainsworth)(link is external)

VENTS magazine: An Interview with Forest Christenson, Composer and Score Mixer(link is external)

DECLASSIFY Podcast: Shruti Kumar discusses eliminating genre and the future of the music industry(link is external)

OperaWire: Andrés Soto on Creating A Brand New Viking Opera(link is external)

Alumni News

Screen Scoring Alum André Miranda Raises €1.3M in Funding for Musiversal

Musiversal provides a platform to connect composers and producers with performers.

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Jacob Yoffee (MM '11) Scores ABC's "The Wonder Years"

Screen Scoring alum Jacob Yoffee will be the composer for the ABC reboot of the popular 1980s series.

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Screen Scoring Alum Named Composer-in-Residence with Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Jessie Montgomery has been appointed by Music Director Riccardo Muti.

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Screen Scoring Alumni at SXSW 2021

Eric Smith and Mike Brun scored films that premiered at this year's festival.

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Screen Scoring Alumni Scores at Sundance Film Festival

The music of Ariel Marx and Gavin Brivik was featured in two films that premiered at this year's festival.

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Alum Lands Job at Pixar

Jennifer Rowekamp, a recent graduate of the Screen Scoring master’s program, became Pixar’s newest Associate Music Editor.

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