Chris LaRosa
Chris LaRosa is a concert music and screen composer. He combines his extensive orchestral music training with a modern approach to synthesizers and commercial music production. Chris' compositions have been performed by orchestras across the world including the SeattleSymphony Orchestra and Suzhou Symphony Orchestra and have been recorded by the Budapest Scoring Orchestra and the European Recording Orchestra. He has received commissions from premier organizations such as the American Guild of Organists, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and the Ottawa Choral Society. Chris composed the heartfelt piano/synth score for the drama When I Loved Her, which won awards at ninefestivals including the Variety International Film Festival. For the science-fiction thriller Level 23, Chris created an uncanny and propulsive score, blending edgy orchestral arrangements with innovative piano techniques and large percussion. Chris composed additional music for the TIFF award-winning feature film Kanaval, alongside BAFTA award-winning composer Brian D'Oliveira and Noah Sherrin, creating an imaginative orchestral underscore for the film's magical realism.
Chris served as a staff arranger for The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own," where his music and arrangements were regularly performed for sitting U.S. Presidents and world leaders at The White House, Arlington National Cemetery, and The Pentagon. Chris is an official writer for Hal Leonard, contributing to their John Williams Signature Series and arrangements of the music of popular icons like Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, and Jimmy Webb. He regularly arranges music for ensembles such as the National Arts Center Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Chris recently collaborated with beloved Québécois storyteller, Fred Pellerin, for a live music-storytelling concert, and created custom arrangements for the 2024 World Figure Skating ChampionshipFinal Gala and Expo 2025 in Osaka.
Growing up in Pennsylvania, Chris began his musical journey as a pianist and composed his first pieces at the age of eight. He completed a Doctorate of Music Composition at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, a Master of Music Theory at the Boston UniversityCollege of Fine Arts, and a Bachelor of Music at the Ithaca College School of Music. Additionally, he studied classical music at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna, electronic music in Paris at IRCAM, and film music at the Berklee College of Music. Chris is also the co-founder and CEO of CG Music Academy, which provides in-home and virtual lessons to over one hundred music lovers worldwide.
