Joel Hoo

Joel Y. Hoo (符永敬) boasts a multifaceted career as a composer, improviser, producer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist, distinguished by expertise in crafting music across diverse musical genres, tailored for online media, theater productions, and short films.

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His music stands at the convergence of orchestral and electronic music and treads the balance between post-minimalism and new complexities. Through his music, Joel seeks to stir the depths of human emotion by exploring profound and evocative themes such as nature, time, and the human journey of life.

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In addition to his notable discography featuring three albums, “Journey Home,” “Our Future Memories,” and “Fireflies,” Joel Hoo has scored music for films such as “Wuxing Warriors: An Asian American Epic” and “Wind Walker.” His works and improvisations have been performed and premiered at numerous venues across the United States, including captivating performances with One Found Sound in San Francisco’s Heron Arts and with the Midwest Chamber Orchestra in Disneyland and the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

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Joel has also received awards and accolades within the music industry, including receiving the Theodore Presser Foundation Scholarship in Music in 2024, the One Found Sound Emerging Composers Award in 2021, the Indie Film Music Contest (Young Division) in 2021, and the Illinois Music Association Scholarship in 2020.

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Joel Hoo was born in Chicago, Illinois and after early training as a pianist and improviser, he studied Music Composition & Theory and Music Technology at the University of Illinois, studying under mentors Reynold Tharp, Stephen Andrew Taylor, Eli Fieldsteel, and Kerrith Livengood. Currently he is pursuing his Masters of Music in Contemporary Media & Film Composition at the Eastman School of Music, studying under Jeff Beal, Mark Watters, and Dave Rivello.