Biography

Los Angeles-based film, television, and video game composer Michael Macapagal has long been known as one of the city’s great under-the-radar composers. Macapagal’s stellar reputation as a composer started in Los Angeles’ independent music scene, writing and playing guitar in acclaimed post-rock band Young Lovers, where he developed his thoughtful, harmonically-rich compositional signature. He then honed this style, studying Jazz Guitar and Jazz Composition at Pasadena City College under the guidance of luminaries such as Dan Cole, Ron Berman, and Steven Gates. He took his studies further into media composition proper, studying Commercial Media Writing at California State University Northridge, where he studied under Elizabeth Sellers, scoring numerous student films and serving as the head of the university’s student-run Gamer Symphony Orchestra. Macapagal graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Commercial Media Writing, and is currently active as a commercial media composer.

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Photo by Josh Solomon

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