Steve Horowitz, American Composer
A creator of odd but highly accessible sounds and a prolific, genre-spanning musician, Steve is perhaps best known for his original score to the Academy Award–nominated documentary Super Size Me. A Grammy-winning engineer, Webby and Kidscreen award–winning audio director, and accomplished composer, Steve has released thirty-six albums of original, boundary-pushing music.
Steve studied composition at the California Institute of the Arts with distinguished mentors Mel Powell, Morton Subotnick, Michael Jon Fink, and Stephen “Lucky” Mosko. His work has been supported by numerous commissions and grants, including; Meet the Composer, The Kitchen (NYC), Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, Fund for the Interactive Sound Arts (Netherlands), Gravy Train Dance Company, Alternate Currents Ensemble, MATA (executive producer Philip Glass), Astoria Symphony, Flux String Quartet, Guerrilla Composers Collective, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Red Desert Ensemble, Friction String Quartet, and The Lab (San Francisco).
Touring internationally has shaped Steve’s distinctive musical voice. His works have been performed at venues such as the Great American Music Hall (San Francisco), Bimhuis (Amsterdam), REDCAT Theater (Los Angeles), The Kitchen and Miller Theatre (New York City). He has collaborated with a diverse array of artists, including guitarists Fred Frith, Elliott Sharp, and Henry Kaiser; saxophonists Lenny Pickett, Ralph Carney, Dan Plonsey, and Steve Adams; Clubfoot Orchestra; Glen Spearman; bassist Tatsu Aoki; and the Balkan ensemble Zhaba.
In addition to his chamber and concert music, Steve composes extensively for dance, film, television, cartoons, and video games. As Audio Director at Nickelodeon Digital / Paramount Games, he has contributed to hundreds of interactive projects. His work has earned a Grammy Award (for engineering True Life Blues: The Songs of Bill Monroe), a Webby, two Broadcast Design Awards, and three Kidscreen Awards. Steve has been featured in Bass Player magazine and is the author of two books: The Essential Guide to Game Audio: The Theory and Practice of Sound for Games and The Theory and Practice of Writing Music for Games, both published by Routledge/CRC Press.
"Brilliantly Eclectic, Eclectically Brilliant" -Derk Richardson (KPFA Radio)
“A bent variety of music sneaking out the back door of the conservatory to arm wrestle in the alley with Captain Beefheart” - SF Weekly
"Sit back and enjoy great performances played by excellent musicians under the direction of a composer with a vision."-Andrew Barbera, Sensitive Skin Magazine
"Very compelling. Don't listen unless you can set aside an hour to absorb its beauties." -Charles Amirkhanian (Other Minds)
"...long, deep helpings of electric bass combined with drums, sound design, theremin, and more to forge an entirely new adventure in low end...takes the listener on a fascinating journey where sonic surprises are constantly unwinding. A bold reminder that Horowitz is a world-class bassist in addition to being a top composer." - David Weiss (SonicScoop)
"the beauty and miracle of independent film-making is the resourcefulness of the personalities of the people involved, like Steve, who have the guts, determination and skill to pull it off, regardless of the obstacles they face in the process. Steve's music is what the picture needed." -Morgan Spurlock, Director