Howard Drossin

Raised in an industrial pocket of North Hollywood, Howard Drossin found an early refuge in music. Against a backdrop of upheaval, he immersed himself in the piano and guitar, drawing strength from his mother’s vast record collection, a tapestry of sounds spanning Rimsky-Korsakov to Miles Davis. This early connection to music became the foundation of a career defined by versatility.

By seventeen, Drossin was writing and performing original music on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip. While earning his degree in composition at the Southern California Conservatory of Music, he stayed active in the city’s live music scene, playing with a number of bands at clubs and venues across Los Angeles. After graduating, he joined the band Flies on Fire, touring extensively and releasing two albums, while also pursuing early opportunities to compose for visual media.

To support himself between tours, Drossin worked as a video game tester for Disney Interactive. That role became a pivotal bridge when a former colleague introduced his work to Sega, leading to his first major breakthrough as Music Director. At Sega, he composed for pioneering titles such as Sonic & Knuckles and Comix Zone, helping to define a new era of video game music with a bold fusion of rock, funk, and orchestral elements. He went on to score for Universal’s Islands of Adventure (Doctor Doom, Bruce Banner attractions) and collaborate with groundbreaking director Joseph Kahn on early music-driven projects.

In 2001, Drossin began a two-decade collaboration with Academy Award nominated composer Terence Blanchard, serving as orchestrator and arranger on films including Spike Lee’s 25th Hour. His work with Blanchard led to a lasting creative relationship with Lee, with Drossin contributing original scores and arrangements across a wide range of cinematic projects.

A meeting with RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan on Blade: Trinity (2003) sparked another enduring partnership, culminating in projects across film, television, albums, and live performance, including a storied Coachella set where Drossin’s orchestral arrangements were performed against the force of a desert sandstorm.

Drawing from a wide spectrum of influences, from the sweeping Americana of Aaron Copland to the rhythmic complexity of Quincy Jones and the raw emotional power of Miles Davis, Drossin has cultivated an expansive musical voice, bridging genres to serve the emotional architecture of any story he tells.

Howard Drossin lives in Burbank, California. When not composing, he enjoys life with his family, and remains a devoted fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Lakers.