Kristin Simpson is a composer, orchestrator, arranger, conductor, sound designer and violinist. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Commercial and Media Composition from California State University, Northridge, where she studied under composer and conductor Elizabeth Sellers.
Simpson's scores have been recognized for possessing dynamic musical themes, interwoven throughout what listeners note as feeling like "a journey". Her music has traveled as far as Budapest, Hungary for professional recordings on multiple occasions, and her orchestrations and arrangements have appeared in various performances around the world. Simpson's film scores have reached audiences at film festivals, recitals, movie theaters, and the United States Capitol Building. Her sound design work ranges from that of short films to Doctor Who audio dramas.
The impactful, storytelling role of music in audiovisual media compelled Simpson at a young age to the gripping techniques employed by composers for media. Participation in symphony orchestras — as well as her impressions of music from such renowned films as Star Wars and such television series as Downton Abbey — have inspired her arrangements and compositions, each one with an orchestration in mind from conception.
Simpson is Music Director of two youth string orchestras and Assistant Director of two full youth orchestras, all of which have performed her arrangements and compositions. In January of 2023, she received the honor of guest-lecturing in the very Film Music History classroom at the University of California, Irvine from which her interest in pursuing media composition blossomed.
In addition to ensemble leadership, Simpson teaches a composition workshop and private lessons in the areas of composition, music theory, and violin.
