Hi, I’m Mateo Nossa, a Chicago-based film, TV, and video game composer and sound designer. I blend classic orchestral textures with modern synthesis and distinctive cultural instrumentation, and my work has drawn comparisons to suspense-driven film scores like Bernard Herrmann. I’ve collaborated with ensembles such as Cuarteto Latinoamericano and hold an orchestration background from NYU Steinhardt, along with teaching experience as a guest lecturer at NYU Tisch.
I design bespoke sonic architectures from the earliest script phase through picture lock, ensuring each project leaves a unique narrative footprint. I scale across intimate acoustic textures, chamber ensembles, and large-scale hybrid productions, and I’m actively booking late-2026 feature and episodic projects. For spotting sessions or reel requests, reach out via mateonossa.com or contact me directly.
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Industry Experience
Industry Standing: Official Selection, U.S. Dramatic Competition (2026 Sundance Film Festival)
Project Synopsis
Composed the original score for The Musical (Dir. Giselle Bonilla), a feature film premiering in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. The score was designed to bridge the gap between classic suspense-driven orchestration and the requirements of modern cringe-comedy, receiving critical recognition from SlashFilm and FilmHounds for its calculated tension and cinematic weight.
Creative Scope & Workflow
Narrative Architecture: Collaborated with the director from the initial spotting phase to develop a thematic framework that functions as a structural element of the storytelling.
Hybrid Composition: Managed a full-spectrum production pipeline, blending traditional orchestral arrangements with contemporary synthesis to create a bespoke sonic identity.
Technical Delivery: Oversaw the end-to-end music production, including instrumentation strategy, live tracking, and the delivery of final M&E-compliant stems for the theatrical dub stage under aggressive festival timelines.Director: Giselle Bonilla (AFI Conservatory)
Industry Standing & Accolades:
Winner: Student Directors Guild of America (DGA) Grand Prize Award
Winner: AFI Richard P. Rogers Spirit of Excellence Award
Special Mention: Best Comedy Short – Palm Springs International ShortFest
Official Selection: AFI Fest, Camerimage, RiverRun International Film Festival
Project Synopsis
Composed the original score for The Bullfighter, a 17-minute farcical comedy centering on Felipe Fernando de la Fernand, a legendary ex-bullfighter reduced to working as a mundane parking lot attendant who attempts to stage one final, spectacular bullfight. The score acts as the comedic and emotional engine of the film, operating on a sharp stylistic contrast: inflating the protagonist’s delusions with grand, hyper-dramatic traditional brass and classical orchestration.
Creative Scope & Workflow
Stylistic Pastiche & Irony: Developed a dual-layered musical palette that seamlessly shifted between sweeping, classic Spanish bullfight motifs and minimalist, contemporary rhythms to accent the film's farcical tone.
Micro-Timed Comedic Scoring: Hit complex, precise physical comedy cues maintaining structural musical integrity while elevating the picture’s physical humor and editorial pacing.
Acoustic & Hybrid Tracking: Arranged and produced live instrumental elements to provide the necessary acoustic warmth and cinematic weight required for a premium festival-tier mix.Director: Kenz Benmosbah (AFI Conservatory)
Industry Standing: Official Selection, AFI FEST (Conservatory Showcase)
Project Synopsis
Composed the original score for Dead Girl, a 9-minute supernatural drama centering on a woman who returns from the dead on Halloween night to confront the profound, lingering grief of the fiancée she left behind. Rejecting traditional dramatic underscore, the film is driven by a heavy electronic palette that fuses underground club and leftfield EDM elements with chilling paranormal horror synthesis. The music serves as the visceral engine of the film, transforming dark electronic sub-genres into an expression of sincere emotional longing and unresolved trauma.
Creative Scope & Workflow
Sub-Heavy Electronic Architecture: Developed a distinct sonic identity rooted in underground electronic sub-genres, utilizing aggressive bass design, analog synthesis, and hypnotic, driving rhythms to anchor the film's contemporary, stylized tension.
Juxtaposition of Horror and Grief: Engineered a shifting harmonic landscape where abrasive, paranormal soundscapes and horror-infused textures seamlessly dissolve into lush, drifting synth pads and resonant, vulnerable motifs to track the core themes of human loss.
Dialogue-Safe Frequency Management: Executed a high density of thematic and stylistic pivots within a tight 9-minute runtime, meticulously carving out frequency space to ensure sub-bass content and harsh electronic transients never conflicted with critical dialogue or low-frequency sound design.
Theatrical Tech Delivery: Spearheaded the end-to-end electronic music pipeline under strict AFI submission guidelines, delivering phase-aligned, multi-channel stems optimized for specialized low-frequency translation on the festival dub stage.Hire a Composer
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