Chris Casillas is a composer for film, video games, and other media. An experienced arranger, songwriter, and performer of many genres of music, Chris comes from a multitude of backgrounds. Starting out as a self-taught keyboardist who loved to play along to various metal songs from the 80s, he expanded his horizons when he learned the saxophone, immersing himself in classical music and jazz. Chris, at the same time, befriended fellow musicians and performed in many rock bands, playing lead keyboard and saxophone. It was during this time where he began to write and arrange music for the bands he was in, and for his own pleasure. Chris, after meeting other accomplished film composers from New Orleans, found himself being called into the world of film composing as well. As a composer, Chris takes all the experience he has gained along his musical journey and merges it together into a style that is uniquely his. He loves mashing together multiple genres of music to form new ones, and especially loves working with less common instruments. As a multi-instrumentalist, Chris tries to learn how to play any instrument he can so that he can familiarize himself with it and write for it more easily. He is especially passionate about instruments from other cultures, and loves to represent them in his music any time he can. Since immersing himself in the world of film composing, Chris has come to love the art of film, and his wish is to bring his clients’ creative visions to life and provide them with music that gives their artwork its own unique sound.

ChrisCasillas25

Chris Casillas is a composer for film, video games, and other media. An experienced arranger, songwriter, and performer of many genres of music, Chris comes from a multitude of backgrounds. Starting out as a self-taught keyboardist who loved to play along to various metal songs from the 80s, he expanded his horizons when he learned the saxophone, immersing himself in classical music and jazz. Chris, at the same time, befriended fellow musicians and performed in many rock bands, playing lead keyboard and saxophone. It was during this time where he began to write and arrange music for the bands he was in, and for his own pleasure. Chris, after meeting other accomplished film composers from New Orleans, found himself being called into the world of film composing as well. As a composer, Chris takes all the experience he has gained along his musical journey and merges it together into a style that is uniquely his. He loves mashing together multiple genres of music to form new ones, and especially loves working with less common instruments. As a multi-instrumentalist, Chris tries to learn how to play any instrument he can so that he can familiarize himself with it and write for it more easily. He is especially passionate about instruments from other cultures, and loves to represent them in his music any time he can. Since immersing himself in the world of film composing, Chris has come to love the art of film, and his wish is to bring his clients’ creative visions to life and provide them with music that gives their artwork its own unique sound.

Available to hire

Chris Casillas is a composer for film, video games, and other media. An experienced arranger, songwriter, and performer of many genres of music, Chris comes from a multitude of backgrounds. Starting out as a self-taught keyboardist who loved to play along to various metal songs from the 80s, he expanded his horizons when he learned the saxophone, immersing himself in classical music and jazz. Chris, at the same time, befriended fellow musicians and performed in many rock bands, playing lead keyboard and saxophone. It was during this time where he began to write and arrange music for the bands he was in, and for his own pleasure. Chris, after meeting other accomplished film composers from New Orleans, found himself being called into the world of film composing as well.

As a composer, Chris takes all the experience he has gained along his musical journey and merges it together into a style that is uniquely his. He loves mashing together multiple genres of music to form new ones, and especially loves working with less common instruments. As a multi-instrumentalist, Chris tries to learn how to play any instrument he can so that he can familiarize himself with it and write for it more easily. He is especially passionate about instruments from other cultures, and loves to represent them in his music any time he can. Since immersing himself in the world of film composing, Chris has come to love the art of film, and his wish is to bring his clients’ creative visions to life and provide them with music that gives their artwork its own unique sound.

See more

Skills

Co
Composition
In
Instrumental
Logic Pro
So
Soundtrack
Th
Theme Tune
See more

Experience Level

Composition
Expert
Instrumental
Expert
Logic Pro
Expert
Soundtrack
Expert
Theme Tune
Expert
Track
Expert
Finale
Expert
Mix
Expert
Freelance Gig
Expert
Master
Expert
Pro Tools
Expert
Jingle
Expert
Hook
Expert
See more

Education

Bachelor of Music in Music Industry Studies at Loyola University New Orleans
August 20, 2018 - May 18, 2022
Master of Music in Screen Scoring at New York University
September 1, 2022 - May 15, 2024

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Gaming, Education
    uniE603 We've Got a Job to Do
    This piece was written for the opening of a spooky comedy animation. I wanted to set the tone for the film by writing music that sounded spooky but still kind of lighthearted. Think Luigi's Mansion.
    uniE603 Spooktacular Scrolls
    This piece was used for the end credits for a halloween-y animation. I wanted the piece to sound spooky but cutesy sort of like Luigi's Mansion or Ghost Busters
    uniE603 Escape the Jungle
    Written for a car commercial, this piece of music exemplifies the danger and chaos of escaping a jungle with treasure after being chased by a giant boulder and shot at with poison arrows. This music lets you know you are in hands with the car you are using to escape.
    uniE603 Adventure Calls
    Originally Written for a car commercial, this piece captures the essence of traveling through the vast wilderness and the desire to drive the longest highways.
    uniE603 Highland Hilltops
    Inspired by some of my favorite movies such as How to Train Your Dragon and Lord of the Rings, I composed Highland Hilltops as an epic melodic based piece. I have always loved celtic folk music and bagpipes and I love featuring instruments from that genre in my scores
    uniE603 Beast Yourengen
    This is the score to a student anime animation project. The animation was an epic battle sequence between the protagonist and the physical embodiment of evil.
    uniE603 Ended but not Over
    This is the credit music for Beast Yourengen. The forces of evil may have been subdued, but not entirely defeated.
    uniE603 One With The Ocean
    Originally written for a short narrative film, this piece outlines one's first time trying surfing. From the excitement leading up to it, to the trial and error of trying to catch a wave, to finally surfing and feeling the success and joy of physical accomplishment.
    uniE603 The Ark
    This piece was originally a re-score of the opening sequence of the movie Noah. My music accompanied this very elaborate stop-motion depiction of the story of creation and downfall of humanity.
    uniE603 Paragon
    A piece of trailer music of mine in which I challenged myself to not use any orchestral instruments besides percussion and choirs.