Hi! My name is Matthew Robert Proft and I’m a composer based in Los Angeles, California
I have always had a deep passion for creating things. Whether shooting a home movie on an iPhone, sketching in a notebook or building something with my hands, I find fulfillment in bringing ideas to life. Yet above all other mediums, I find that music moves me in such a way that I am compelled to study and engage it for the rest of my life.
My first musical opportunities came through school. I was fortunate enough to attend schools that offered several different ensembles for students to perform. Though my love for rock music sent me down a road of learning guitar and electric bass, during the day I was classically trained on tuba. Fortunately, I was able to find opportunities to perform in both of my musical worlds thanks to the several garage-bands I found myself in. It wasn’t until high school that I realized I did not have to always play someone else’s music. I could write my own.
Through my high school marching band, I was given ample opportunity to arrange and even write my own tunes to be performed under the stadium lights on Friday nights. There, as we paced and turned to each beat, I learned two truths about music. First, that music should be fun. Second, while music can be a beautiful work of art on its own, it is one part of an even larger experience. By accompanying something visual, together music and the visual, are able to achieve heights greater than either could achieve on their own. Whether that be a high school marching band moving in time as they play, or seeing an explosion of color on the screen in a movie theater as a soaring melody echoes from the orchestra, together they create the experience.
After studying music at college, I knew that I wanted to be part of creating an experience. So I began working as a freelance composer for animation, film and video games.
Outside of my work, I enjoy anime, Dungeons and Dragons and serving as a music director at my church.