Composer Joshua Rutkowski

“Josh” grew up in rural Illinois, about 2 1/2 hours southwest of Chicago.  After teaching himself how to play the piano his freshmen year at Ottawa High School, he discovered a love for composing his own songs.  By the time he graduated from OTHS, he had completed a private study in composition under the supervision of Roger Amm and Sarah Reckmeyer (the forces behind OTHS’s currently 17 consecutive state music titles) and began work on his first album, which would be released the following year.  Josh went on to continue his education in music at the highly esteemed Millikin University in Decatur, IL, where he released 3 individual albums and composed numerous additional works.

A few years after completing his undergrad, he decided to apply to Columbia University in Chicago and was accepted into their extremely selective “MFA: Music Composition for the Screen” program.  While there, he learned from some of the top names in the industry and upon graduation, went on to work alongside the likes of John Powell (the “Bourne” Series, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, How to Train Your Dragon), Heitor Pereiera (Despicable Me, It’s Complicated) and Reinhold Heil (Cloud Atlas, I Frankenstein); as well as creating scores for numerous independent projects.  In his spare time, he enjoys watching films, playing video games, reading, and hanging out with his cat, Fancy.

Click here to play a short multi-genre collection of work from our composer, Joshua J. Rutkowski.