Michael Johnson

Handcrafted scores for stage, screen, and games.

Scores that make your story unforgettable.

Film & Game Music

Professional Credits

What clients are saying

  • "Michael Johnson has an incredible ear for cinematic scores. Channeling greats like Ramin Djawadi, Erich Korngold, Ludwig Goransson, and John Williams, Michael creates music that ebbs and flows with drama, while driving and sustaining emotion. There are plenty of great composers out there, but few who have the narrative intuition that Michael has. I would trust him with any of my projects, no matter the genre.”

    -Mychal Sargent, Emmy Award-Winning Filmmaker and creator of Story-Beats.com

  • "Not only did Michael Johnson as a Composer deliver beautiful music to my very complicated specifications within record time, I also found his vision of music to be fascinating. His scope of knowledge, his sense of the sweep of history and how it applies to music intrigued and inspired me.”

    -Jocelyn Wright: performing writer, and former executive drama supervisor for TNT’s THE CLOSER.  

  • "I am so impressed with Michael's ability and skills to deliver beyond my expectations.  I highly recommend Michael to compose your music for your projects and films.  I look forward to collaborating with Michael in the near future.”

    -Bobby Duncan, Filmmaker and CEO of Lights!Camera!Action Films.

  • "Working with Michael was a treat. He not only provided more tracks than expected but he was timely and accessible throughout the whole process. Not to mention he kept up communication throughout.”

    -Nneka Ne, Filmmaker, Actress 

  • “I feel confident in saying you would be in good hands with Michael Johnson as your Composer. What he delivered was wonderful, but in interacting with him, I could tell that what he was capable of was infinite.”

    -Jocelyn Wright: performing writer, and former executive drama supervisor for TNT’s THE CLOSER.  

  • "Michael delivered several top-notch fantasy tracks to us under an incredibly tight deadline. He was completely engaged and an absolute pleasure to work with. I wouldn’t hesitate to hire him again for my next project.”

    -David Scott, Supervising Producer 

  • "Working with Michael Johnson on our short film 'Lost and Found,' which deals with mental health, was an absolute pleasure. He quickly grasped the vision of the project and composed beautiful instrumental music that perfectly captured the tone and emotions of each character at the right moments. His professionalism and prompt communication made the entire process smooth and enjoyable. I look forward to our next project together."

    Dawn Church - Producer "Lost and Found"

  • Working with Michael Johnson has been an absolute gift. I’m so grateful to have found him—he’s helped bring my projects to life with original scores and carefully crafted musical pieces. Michael is not only incredibly talented, but also a joy to collaborate with: professional, intuitive, and always open to ideas. His ability to understand the emotional tone I’m aiming for and translate it into music is truly remarkable. I would recommend him to anyone looking for a composer who’s both creatively brilliant and genuinely easy to work with.

    - Erika Apelgren, actor, filmmaker

About

Most filmmakers, librettists, and game developers want their stories to come alive. Too often, stock music falls flat, shrinking their vision and drifting out of sync with the story. Michael partners with creators to dive deep into their story and craft custom scores and songs that bring out its soul, making their work cinematic, emotionally alive, and unforgettable long after the audience leaves the theater or powers down the console.

Michael Johnson is a film, TV, and video game composer living and working near Los Angeles, known for his melodic, lush, and colorful orchestral scores.  Michael provided haunting, and intimate soundtracks for the short films “My Girl, Ava” starring Grant Gunderson and Chauncey Trask, “Protected” directed by Nika Khitrova and written by Jocelyn Wright, “Candy & Firecrackers” directed by Bobby Duncan, “Lost and Found” directed by Reigh Casimir and produced by Dawn Church, “Two People” directed by Nneka, and “The Dice of Destiny” starring Devid Scott and Erika Apelgren. He composed and conducted melodic orchestral arrangements for Grammy-nominated prog rock darlings the Decemberists’ iconic album Her Majesty as well as for his own bands Reclinerland and Parks & Recreation.

Michael earned a Master’s Degree in Music Education from Portland State University and studied alongside Andy Hill, former vice-president of music production at Disney, and Norman Ludwin, Hollywood orchestrator for Michael Giacchino, at the Film Scoring Academy of Europe, where he conducted a 52-piece orchestra and earned a post-graduate degree in Film Scoring. His playful rescore of the short animation Wing It! was a finalist in the 2024 ScoreRelief competition. His plaintive and sentimental folk song “Every Road I Travel” found pride of place among the top 36 finalists out of 5,000 entries in the 2024 Talent is Timeless songwriting competition. Michael has written and orchestrated two full-length musical plays, one of which he turned into a musical graphic novel, Success!

He brings over twenty years of experience writing, performing, and recording music to his collaborations with filmmakers around the world.

Links to score-to-picture samples available upon request.

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