composers supporting composers
in all aspects of score production
Joy Music House is a woman-lead business working towards innovating the world of score production with a commitment to community, diversity and equality. We are composers supporting composers through all areas of score production while uplifting the community and providing a spotlight for emerging and diverse creators. We have teams in LA, New York, and London.
Composers can find the resources they need at JMH, whether it is an assistant for three days or a score production team for a month.
Think of us as an elite force of musical operatives, ready to come on board at a moment’s notice.
what We provide:
Composition
Additional Music
Music Editing
Arranging
Synthestration/Mockup (Any DAW)
Orchestration
Copying (Sibelius, Finale)
Music Preparation
ProTools Session Setup
As composers, we’re lucky when we have the opportunity and budget to record live musicians, whether it be chamber ensembles or full orchestras. Producing these recording sessions is a skill that doesn’t come naturally.
When score producing you need to run the session, direct both the musicians and the engineer, keep an eye on the time, mentally process the takes as they are happening, problem shoot and strategize how to get the sound you need in that moment. Every second that ticks by is money spent. It is a lot of pressure!
The JMH Score Production Workshop will equip you with those skills and then provide you the chance to use them, just like in real life. You will then receive feedback and do it all again the next day!
credits
Meet the team
Catherine Joy
Catherine Joy is a composer for film, media, and live performance, known for her award-winning work on the documentary Gold Balls and the Hulu documentary Naughty Books, which earned her an ASCAP Composers Choice Award nomination. Her latest feature, Potato Dreams Of America, premiered at SXSW 2021. She was also the score producer and lead orchestra for the Oscar-nominated score of Minari. Catherine is the founder and CEO of Joy Music House and former President of the Alliance for Women Film Composers.
robinton hobbs
Robinton Hobbs is a Los Angeles-based musical artist, composer, music editor, and producer. He studied music production at Berklee College of Music and transitioned from rock bands to media composing. As the COO and Co-Founder of Joy Music House, he has produced scores including Emile Mosseri’s Oscar-nominated score for Minari and served as the music editor for the Netflix docuseries Untold. His recent works include the soundtracks for the podcast The Witch and Other Tales of the American Gothic. In his free time, he enjoys language creation, medieval history, and Dungeons & Dragons.
joseph carrillo
Joseph Carrillo is a Los Angeles-based composer specializing in film music. Initially inspired by cinematic music, he composed incidental music for plays in high school and college before earning a degree in oboe performance from Boise State University. His work spans features, commercials, web series, and short films. He has also prepared scores, served as orchestrator and arranger for notable composers, and performed various musical roles. Additionally, Joseph has experience in sound design, editorial, and re-recording mixing, and enjoys writing poetry, painting, cooking, and Halloween.
H.B. THAL
Hope Bartimioli Thal (H.B. Thal) is a Los Angeles-based composer, songwriter, and vocalist. She recently scored Plan C from the 2022 horror anthology Give Me an A and the 2023 American Girl Doll animated series Kavi: Girl of the Year. As a composer and orchestrator for Joy Music House, she has worked on acclaimed film scores like Minari and The Woman King, as well as the Hulu series Death and Other Details. Her music has been featured on the CW, ESPN, Netflix, and various Mattel and MGA programs. A UCLA Film Scoring Program graduate, her debut album Bloom was released in January 2023, followed by her Pop EP Hooked in October 2023.
ZOë lustri
Zoë Lustri is a composer and songwriter from Austin, Texas, who studied film scoring at Berklee College of Music. Now based in Los Angeles, she interned at Bear McCreary’s studio, contributing to shows like The Walking Dead and Outlander. Zoë has worked on a variety of films, including Close Range, Boyka: Undisputed, and the documentary RBG. She continues to write original music for indie shorts and web series while working on her first EP.
ariel marx
Ariel Marx is an Emmy-nominated composer and multi-instrumentalist known for her inventive scores for film and television. Her recent projects include A Small Light (National Geographic), A Friend of the Family (Peacock), Candy (Hulu), Black Mirror (Netflix), and American Horror Stories (FX/Hulu). She is also acclaimed for her work on films like Sanctuary, Shiva Baby, Birth/Rebirth, and The Tale. Ariel recently released her solo album Luthier with Node Records and is a member of both the Television Academy and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
nikhil koparkar
Nikhil Koparkar is an award-winning composer and performing artist who creates scores and songs for film, television, and gaming. In 2023, he wrote the main theme for Riot Games’ League of Legends Lunar New Year Campaign. He works as an additional writer for Lorne Balfe at 14th Street Music, contributing to shows like The Wheel of Time and His Dark Materials. Nikhil collaborates with Joy Music House on projects like the Oscar-nominated score for Minari. His trailer music for Riot Games' League of Legends: Wild Rift and the theme for Cusco Futbol Club are notable highlights. He also combines cultural instruments with modern cinematic elements, earning a Hollywood Music in Media Awards nomination in 2018.
Edith mudge
Edith Mudge is a Los Angeles-based composer/producer whose music has been placed in 1025 episodes of 277 series. Trained at Hans Zimmer's Remote Control Productions and Bleeding Fingers, and with experience at Jingle Punks, she has worked on Step Up: High Water, Saturday Night Live, and The Circus, as well as reality TV series like Queer Eye and Project Runway. Edith also composes for TV, film, podcasts, and live theater, specializing in electronic drama, synth-pop, and choral music.
Dabney Morris
Dabney Morris is a Los Angeles-based composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist who has scored films including the Oscar short-listed Procession and Sundance 2023’s Sometimes I Think About Dying. He is co-composing the score for an upcoming documentary about the band Pavement and served as music director for the off-Broadway workshop Slanted! Enchanted! A Pavement Musical. Morris has contributed to projects like Kevin Can F** Himself*, Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults, and I Love My Dad. He has also worked as a producer and arranger for various artists and is co-founder of Chamber House, a series of modern chamber music concerts in Los Angeles.
bobak lotfipour
Bobak Lotfipour, a second-generation Iranian/Mexican American from Denton, Texas, is a composer and performance artist based in Los Angeles. His career began assisting on The Exorcist TV series, leading to contributions in films like A Ghost Story and The Green Knight, and series such as The Society and Interview with the Vampire. Known for his handmade percussive sounds and experimental compositions, Bobak also creates ambient and electronic solo work and leads sound bath meditations in LA.
ray d. kim
Ray is a versatile film composer known for his hybrid style, blending traditional and contemporary elements. His credits include AppleTV's "Lessons in Chemistry," HBO Max's "Hacks," and Netflix's "Griselda," showcasing his diverse musical range. Ray is also an accomplished orchestrator, contributing to projects like Universal's "The Exorcist: Believer" and Hulu's "Death and Other Details." Currently, he is composing for Netflix's "Heals" and "Department Q" series, and teaches scoring at the University of Miami.
brian taylor
Brian is an expert recording engineer and producer specializing in mixing, recording, and mastering scores and songs. With 15+ years of experience working in film, television, advertising, and the music industry, his work can be heard in Academy Award winning films (Zootopia), Emmy winning shows (Dexter, Arrested Development), the Emmy Nominated score for A Small Light and many other titles including: The Walking Dead, Black Mirror, The Exorcist: Believer and video game Final Fantasy XV. He has also worked extensively in trailer and advertising music with songs and cues for (Castlevania, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Netflix, Facebook, and American Girl).
Clients
The Dilemma of Desire, 'Til Kingdom Come, Love Gilda, Dark Money, RBG, Finding Kukan, The Hunting Ground, Flannery
Score Production, Orchestration, Music Preparation, In-Studio Assistance
Minari, Homecoming Season 2, The Last Black Man in San Francisco
Score Production, Orchestration, Music Preparation, In-Studio Assistance
Cobweb, Rosaline, Plus/Minus, Rejoice, At The Heart Of Gold
Score Production, Orchestration, Music Preparation, In-Studio Assistance
Rosaline, Plus/Minus, Lost At Sea, Little, At The Heart Of Gold
Score Production, Orchestration, Music Preparation, In-Studio Assistance
Untold, Wild Wild Country (Emmy for Best Documentary Series)
Music Editing, Arranging, Orchestration, Music Preparation, In-Studio Assistance
CHANDA DANCY
Pigeon Kings
Score Production, Orchestration, Music Preparation, In-Studio Assistance
EVAN DUFFY
Mad Apple by Cirque du Soleil
Score Production, Orchestration, Music Preparation
SULTANA ISHAM
The Neutral Ground, Making Black America
Score Production, Orchestration, Music Preparation, In-Studio Assistance
JOHN DRAGONETTI
Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror
Score Production, Orchestration, Music Preparation, In-Studio Assistance
Score Production, Orchestration, Music Preparation
Son of the South, High Guardian Spice, Abe & Phil's Last Poker Game, Kyra, Who Got Away
Orchestration, Music Preparation, Pro-Tools Session Setup, In-Studio Assistance
KEEGAN DEWITT, arr. DABNEY MORRIS
Text for You, All The Bright Places
Score Production, Orchestration, Music Preparation, In-Studio Assistance
Primrose Lane, Blue, Life Link, Fitsy
Additional Music, Arranging, Synthestration
Joan Jett: Bad Reputation, King of Beers
Score Production, Arranging, Music Editing, Orchestration, Music Preparation, Pro-Tools Session Setup, In-Studio Assistance
MICHAEL McCUISTION, LOLITA RITMANIS and KRISTOPHER CARTER
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, Batman Virtual Reality Game
Orchestration, Copying
Orchestration, Music Preparation, ProTools Session Setup
Score Production, Orchestration, Music Preparation, In-Studio Assistance
Our Hospitality - Live Score Performance with the Dallas Chamber Symphony
Music Preparation
THE ALBUM LEAF
Music Preparation
testimonials
"Catherine and her associates have been with me through some of the craziest deadlines, difficult situations, and challenging budgets. If you are looking for professional support with the best attitude and go for it mentality, who truly love being part of the scoring process, no matter what role they play, offering flexibility to expand and contract the team as needed, you have come to the right place. Now I can't imagine my process without them" - Miriam Cutler
"There is a small miracle that Joy Music House performs, and that is instantaneous scalability for any composer’s operation. Aside from her own personal talents, Catherine Joy has a large network of trusted employees and associates who have come to my aid on a project by project basis, and sometimes a day to day basis. You can even call up Catherine the night before a big session and say, “The guy who we hired to do all of our notation has had a medical emergency and we can’t retrieve our sheet music.” And eight hours later, at East West Studios, she will hand you a stack of beautifully notated orchestrations, and stick around to make sure the session goes well." - Brocker Way
“Working with Catherine is a Joy (pun intended). She is a consummate professional, and adds value to every situation. Most importantly, I have complete trust in her taste and her ability to handle all aspects of the scoring process.” - Jacques Brautbar
"Working with Joy Music House was an absolute pleasure. We found ourselves in a tight situation with both time and budget working against us, but their dedicated team made everything run so smoothly and efficiently. Working with a team like their's allows you to rest assured that your music will be great hands every step of the way. We can't wait to work with them again!"
- Drum & Lace and Ian Hultquist
"Projects can be chaotic: dates changing, budgets shifting and revisions up until the last minute. JMH made it possible for me to focus on the music, and when our recording day finally arrived, everything was air tight and ready to go. Catherine and her team made the session run seamlessly and allowed me to speak to producers, focus on the musicians and leave the stress of the logistics out of my mind. On the day, Catherine knew the music as well (or better) than I did, and commanded the room to make sure we stayed on schedule and focused and leaving with something we were all proud of." - Keegan Dewitt
Professional affiliations
ALLIANCE FOR WOMEN FILM COMPOSERS
COMPOSERS DIVERSITY COLLECTIVE
SOCIETY OF COMPOSERS AND LYRICISTS