"A good score is not just generic aural wallpaper, it captures the essence of the drama and visuals with sound."

Combining his lifelong passions for music and movies, Rocky Kitamura brings a unique set of skills and dedication to his work as a composer of scores for films, television, and commercials.

Kitamura got his start in music at just six-years-old when he learned to play classical piano. As he grew up, he increasingly fell in love with music of all forms, and set out to gain expertise in a variety of musical genres. He has studied at several leading music institutions including the Berklee School of Music in Boston, Loyola Marymount University (where he studied classical piano and composition), and UCLA (where he studied Film Scoring).

An avid ethnomusicologist, Kitamura has written and performed in a variety of styles ranging from classical, to rock, to pop, and is also trained in such specialized world music genres as Balinese Gamelan, African Drumming and Japanese classical drumming.

Over the course of his training, Kitamura has had the opportunity to learn first-hand from a number of master composers including Thom Sharp (The Little Mermaid, When Harry Met Sally), Robert Drasnin (Lost In Space, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.), Lee Sanders (The Amazing Race), Craig Stuart Garfinkle (Walt Disney TV animation), and Jeffrey Schindler (March of the Penguins, How Stella Got Her Groove Back).

Kitamura's flexibility as an artist allows him to vary his compositions to suit the needs of a particular project, but he cites a wide-ranging group of composers who inspire and influence his work. Most notably, his music takes inspiration from the edgy mix of traditional and non-traditional instrumentation used by Thomas Newman, the ability of John Williams to write music which perfectly compliments a film, the quirky humor and dark elements of Danny Elfman's work, and the impressionistic harmony of Bill Evans' compositions. Kitamura also says his work has been influenced by such musical legends as Miles Davis, Igor Stravinsky, and Ludwig van Beethoven.