Michael Van Bodegom Smith Email & Phone Number

From composing for Netflix children's television shows to working on Universal and Sony’s rated R blockbusters, Michael has worked professionally within visual media for the past six years. After making the leap from Chicago to Los Angeles, Michael’s career shifted from scoring short-indie films and recording bands in his Chicago basement to working on studio-backed projects and recording on iconic scoring stages. In 2021 Michael began working under the multi-award-winning composer Dara Taylor and emmy-award winning composer JP Rende, writing additional music for their various movies and TV series. Under the wing of these two influential composers, Michael displayed an immense amount of range by writing music for horror, comedy, drama, and animated films, as well as music for children’s TV, much of which was recorded live. Animation has become a specialty for Michael, having scored five animated films as well as over twenty episodes of animation for Savannah Guthrie and Drew Barrymore’s new hit series Princess Power. In 2022, Michael flew to Europe to record a 60-piece symphonic orchestra for the upcoming animated project, Kenya’s Symphony. Romantic comedies have become familiar territory for Michael as well, having worked on seven TV-movies for the Hallmark Channel. In addition to his work with large networks and studios, Michael remains an avid participant in the indie-filmmaking and the musical theater scene in Los Angeles. Over the past three years Michael has music directed four full-length stage musicals, three of which were original pieces with casts over fifteen people in size. Michael has also had the honor to provide additional orchestration to the iconic Pokémon series, most notably the 2023 series Pokémon Horizons.Outside of his work in visual media, Michael is an avid participant in the Los Angeles music scene as a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His original music spans between instrumental compositions for the concert hall and Pop-RnB fusions. As a performer, Michael frequently gigs for independent artists around Los Angeles, and works as a session musician for film and TV. His credits as an instrumentalist include The Ghost of Molly McGee, Lego Stars Wars, and Model America. Michael is a proud voting member of the Television Academy and the Recording Academy. He is also affiliated with the Society of Composers and Lyrcists, Composers Diversity Collective, and The Alliance for Women Film Composers.

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  Columbia College Chicago

  3.9