Composer & Sound Designer

Creating original music for concert performances, film scores and video games.

Producer & Performer

Recording and producing sessions for film, large ensembles, and pop music.

Film Composer Tim Corpus writing in his studio

Engraving & Copyist

Preparing, orchestrating, and arranging music for artists of all genres.

Arts Adminisrator

Consulting for arts organizations to help with fundraising, marketing, strategic planning, and more.

About

Filipino-American composer and arts manager Tim Corpus is recognized for his compositions across concert music, film, and interactive media. His works have been performed at Carnegie Hall, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia Festival, the Kennedy Center, NYC MoMA, and the Auditorium Theatre, with features on BBC Radio 3, CNN Money, Illinois Public Media, 98.7 WFMT, and Classical King FM. As a film and media composer, he has scored over 30 films and episodic projects, earning industry recognition from national festivals. His album “MMXX”, a 2022 GRAMMY-selected release, was praised by critic Robert Hugill as “a striking disc.”

Recent highlights include a nearly hour-long score to “The Little Dancer”, a dance-theater show directed and choreographed by Rachel Molinaro, and a critically acclaimed performance of “Where the Rivers Meet”, commissioned by the Danville Symphony Orchestra for the 200th anniversary of Vermilion County, IL. He made his Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut at Ravinia Festival led by Marin Alsop conducting his double percussion concerto, “The Great Lake Concerto”.

An accomplished orchestrator and arranger, he often prepares music for esteemed performers worldwide, including Renée Fleming, Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Third Coast Percussion, Opera Festival of Chicago, and others.

Beyond his artistic pursuits, he has led several organizations as Executive Director, including the Hyde Park Youth Symphony, Ear Taxi Festival, Lake Forest Symphony, and also co-founder of the Chicago Chapter of the Society of Composers & Lyricists, Governor of the Recording Academy’s Chicago Chapter and Board President for the Illinois Council of Orchestras from 2019-2024.

As an entrepreneur in the arts, he founded the publishing company Attacca Publishing, LLC in 2012 and its recent branch Chicago Scoring, a division providing composition and copyist services for film and media composers. His work with music technology has made him an in-demand resource with his acclaimed YouTube channel bringing tutorials and resources for TouchOSC, Dorico, music notation and recording software.

With degrees from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University and The Hartt School at the University of Hartford, Tim Corpus has received accolades from 3Arts, ASCAP, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, The American Prize, and the Illinois Arts Council. His commitment to his Filipino heritage is evident in his research of Filipino composer Lucio D. San Pedro, presented at institutions including Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History and the University of Hartford.

Tim Corpus, an ASCAP member, publishes his compositions through the American Composers Alliance and Attacca Publishing, LLC.

Press Kit

Production Setup

Tim Corpus with the Illinois Council of Orchestras

Tim Corpus is a composer with a genuine lyric impulse. He writes music that is at the same time challenging and appealing - which should be the ideal of any composer. He has a wonderful ear for sound and for shape. This is a composer with a real and important voice.

Henry Fogel Retired Dean - Chicago College of Performing Arts, CEO/President - Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Corpus’s writing is consistently inventive: It’s never quite clear whether the soloists are teasing one another or casually trying to one-up each other, and you’ll never hear a xylophone sound more mournful than it does at the middle of the movement. It's always a high endorsement, to both performer and composer, when people start hooting in the middle of a classical music piece like they’re at a stadium show.

Hannah Edgar Chicago Tribune

The melodic gestures in Tim Corpus' masterful piece for strings, Breath, are paced so that a listener’s respiration pattern aligns itself instinctively with the slow and even pulse of the piece. Breath creates a powerful performer/listener symbiosis, a remarkable accomplishment on the part of the composer.

Steve Gryc Composer

Tim Corpus is a wonderfully skilled composer who has important things to say with his music. His debut album, Breath, is extremely impressive. Beautiful and exciting music to be sure!

(about MMXX) Tim Corpus has created a powerful and evocative album that expertly combines electronic and acoustic sounds. The music is meaningful, fresh, and extremely beautiful.

Larry Alan Smith Composer& Dean and Professor of Composition (retired), The Hartt School of the University of Hartford

Breath is very professionally produced, and the overall impression is of a lyrical and rhapsodic voice. I think Breath is a great starter, very ample and serene, even ecstatic. The second quartet is lively and engaging throughout.

Dr. Robert Carl Composer

I've had the pleasure of knowing Tim for years now, and I learned very quickly that his passion and talent as a performer and composer are unquestioned. Everything he does is handled with a rare combination of intensity and care, and his works display such attributes. His lyricism in particular, along with his rich, beautiful harmonies and intricate polyphony set him apart from many of his colleagues. In a world littered with simple, non-intellectual music, Tim is breaking through and creating a new, exciting, accessible, and, most importantly, intelligent style of music that is imperative to the future of our art form.

Matt Bronstein Axiom Brass Quintet

I have worked with Tim Corpus as a performer, composer and teacher. He brings passion and energy to his craft. He is a young lion who is making his mark on the Chicago music scene.

Kevin Miller Retired Band Director, Schaumburg High School

Tim Corpus’s music is beautifully lyrical, nicely voiced and technically well-realized. In person, he is a pleasure to work with. We very much enjoyed recording his first two string quartets and hope to see more from him in the future.

Jen Leckie Violinist, Grant Street String Quartet

I recently had the pleasure of conducting the premiere of First Flight. It is artfully written, fresh, unique, and best of all – a beautiful piece of music! Tim is a major talent with big things in store for his future. My students loved rehearsing and playing it, and the audience went crazy for it. It clearly deserves a permanent place in the repertoire of any serious wind ensemble. I can't wait to program it again!

Stephen Squires Conductor, Chicago College of Performing Arts Wind Ensemble

...`{`Three Pieces for Five Timpani`}` is an outstanding addition to the literature for timpani and great for advanced recital programs.

George Frock Professor Emeritus, The University of Texas

MMXX really takes you there. It is so clearly an experience, and a deeper layer of conversation

John Van Geem Composer

Awards

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Composer

I compose music for live performances of all styles. I have music available for solo, chamber, band, and orchestral ensembles. Recent concert works include the Great Lake Concerto most recently performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Marin Alsop at Ravinia Festival. Recent concert band words include Horizon’s First Light, premiered at the ILMEA conference in 2025, and Moonshot.

Additional upcoming commissions include a new show for the Evanston Dance Ensemble2 in 2026, an orchestral commission by the Danville Symphony Orchestra for the 200th anniversary of Vermilion county, and music for pianist Alyssa Arrigo at the upcoming 2025 Ear Taxi Festival.

My orchestral work Breath has been performed around the United States including performances at Carnegie Hall, the James Lumber Center, and St. Catherine University. The piece was recorded by Carlock Records for my debut album and is available on multiple platforms.

As a composer for visual media, I have written soundtracks for film, commercials, and video games. Recent soundtrack releases include the full soundtrack to Ending the War on my Body, released in 2023. You can also hear my original music for Strange Creatures in the Adult Wilderness and the Jordan Black’s comedy series.

The original soundtrack for Cheesecake & Rainbow Tights, directed by T.C. DeWitt, received numerous awards including winning Best Original Score (Artists’ Choice Awards) and nominated for Best Original Music at the Motion Club Indie Film Awards. My soundtracks to LIFE and the Hipster & the Cat have also been performed live multiple times, including at the Thirsty Ears Festival and the Sound of Silent Film Festival. Other recent work can be heard here.

My work as a video games composer and sound designer includes work in Unity and Unreal Engine where I last served as the Lead Audio Designer for Ira, Act I: Pilgrimage.

In addition to writing original music, I do a lot of arrangements and orchestrations for other artists. Previous clients and performing ensembles include Renée Fleming Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Ryan Opera Center, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Third Coast Percussion, Chinese Fine Arts Society, Charlotte New Music, John Van Geem, Austin Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony, RTS Symphony, Racine Symphony Orchestra and many more.

I have been honored to have been a recipient of awards and commissions including a 3Arts Project Award (2014) and numerous awards from ASCAP, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and the Illinois Arts Council. I also received funding for my research on Filipino composer Lucio D. San Pedro and presented at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History and the University of Hartford.

Arts Manager

For over a decade, I have been dedicated to building and supporting vibrant arts organizations across Chicago and beyond. As both an arts administrator and performer, I’ve worked to bridge the gap between artists and institutions. In addition to supporting well-established organizations, I co-founded both the Opera Festival of Chicago and the Chicago chapter of the Society of Composers & Lyricists—initiatives rooted in my commitment to creating sustainable, artist-centered communities.

Today, I serve on the Board of Governors with the Recording Academy Chicago Chapter, Vice-Chairman of the Society of Composers & Lyricists Chicago Chapter, and board member with the Illinois Council of Orchestras (Board President 2018-2024).

Previous appointments include:

Executive Director, Hyde Park Youth Symphony (2015-2017 & 2021-2026)
- Youth orchestra serving Chicago’s youth from the south and west side. Established the first ever major partnerships with UChicago Medicine.
Executive Director, Ear Taxi Festival (2023-2026)
- The Midwest’s largest contemporary classical music festival—set to return in October 2025. This year’s festival will feature over 500 Illinois musicians and mark the largest commissioning effort in Illinois history, with 28 composers premiering new works.
Co-Founder, Director of Marketing & Operations, Opera Festival of Chicago (2019-2025)
Executive Director, Lake Forest Symphony (2017-2020)
- Led the organization to its first financially profitable season in nearly a decade. During my tenure, we celebrated the Symphony’s 60th anniversary, secured its first full-season sponsorship from Lake Forest Bank & Trust (a Wintrust Bank), released the GRAMMY-nominated album Liquid Melancholy, and negotiated a three-year contract with the Chicago Federation of Musicians (CFM 10-208).
Education Coordinator, Northwest Indiana Symphony (2015-2017)
- Launched new initiatives including a composition competition, a music educator award, and a community drumming event in East Chicago.
Additional work includes with the Percussive Arts Society’s Composition Committee, Charlotte New Music Festival, Orchestra Enigmatic.

My career began with the Chinese Fine Arts Society as Production Manager, where I produced performances at Millennium Park’s Pritzker Pavilion, the Field Museum, and Navy Pier, while coordinating Chinese New Year celebrations across the city.

Educator

I am an advocate for arts education and have taught clinics, college courses, and private lessons since 2005. In 2012, I began teaching at the collegiate level at Richard J. Daley College and Loyola University Chicago. I’ve also been a guest speaker at University of Texas-Austin, Illinois State University, Kansas State University, and Elmhurst College. Previously I’ve served on the Composition Committee of the Percussive Arts Society and the Vic Firth Education Team. I am a proud member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and my compositions are published by Attacca Publishing.