JOHN KAEFER | composer
JOHN KAEFER is a composer for film, television, and media. A trusted collaborator, he is known for his distinctive musical voice and nuanced, imaginative scores. His work ranges from artful electronic soundscapes to bold, propulsive orchestral music. A doctoral graduate of The Juilliard School, he embraces all aspects of the creative process and relishes crafting a score from the script to final mix.
Films include ONLY starring Leslie Odom Jr. and A SCORE TO SETTLE starring Nicolas Cage. Of the score for ONLY, Film Music Magazine wrote "in a world increasingly in need of tenderness as it deals with growing madness, the elegiac quality of ONLY strikes a powerfully tragic, yet entrancingly melodic chord." Other films include HOW TO BE ALONE starring Maika Monroe/Joe Kerry, PARTY BOAT starring Jay Mohr/Sung Kang (Sony Pictures), MEATS starring Ashley Williams, and the documentary COURAGE RISING.
In television, John teamed with composer Cliff Martinez on the Amazon series THE WILDS. Other projects include the drama series SEQUESTERED (Sony Pictures Television/Crackle), SPIRIT & SOUL (Nat Geo doc), the Emmy Award winning docuseries COULD YOU SURVIVE THE MOVIES (Ample/YouTube Originals), as well as the Main Theme and Thematic Music packages for ABC's flagship programs GOOD MORNING AMERICA and 20/20, and the ABC primetime hit show WOULD YOU FALL FOR THAT. He contributed music to the mega hit three-part docuseries SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE (Amazon) and GOLD & GREED: THE HUNT FOR FENN’S TREASURE (Netflix). Additionally, he scored the popular fiction podcast series DARK WOODS from Wolf Entertainment.
Working in interactive media, John scored the live-action series QUANTUM BREAK (Microsoft Studios/Remedy), developed exclusively for Xbox One. Hailed as a "masterpiece" by Gaming Trend, the revolutionary game blurs the line between episodic television and cinematic gameplay, integrating the two into one seamless, uniquely immersive experience. John also collaborated with Netflix and Formosa Interactive on the game series NETFLIX STORIES, letting viewers experience the worlds and characters from hit Netflix films and series, including LOVE IS BLIND and SELLING SUNSET.
As a composer of contemporary classical music, John's work is performed worldwide by leading musicians and ensembles at prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, The Montalbán Theatre in Los Angeles, Wigmore Hall in London, and La Schola Cantorum in Paris. John has received awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, BMI, ASCAP, and the Barlow Endowment, among others. He serves on the Board of Advisors for Composers Now and is Director of the BMI Foundation Pete Carpenter Fellowship.
In addition to a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Juilliard School (C.V. Starr Fellow), John also holds degrees in music composition from Yale University (MM) and the Eastman School of Music (BM). He studied with Pulitzer Prize-winning composers Christopher Rouse, Joseph Schwantner, and David Del Tredici. He is currently a member of the Screen Scoring faculty at New York University.
John is represented by Soundtrack Music Associates.
Email: info@johnkaefer.com
Representation: Soundtrack Music Associates
Music Reel: https://play.reelcrafter.com/JohnKaefer/Music