About
Austin Keck is an American composer and percussionist based in Los Angeles, CA, whose work spans film, television, visual media, and contemporary concert music. Drawing from his background as a percussionist and contemporary media composer, Keck creates evocative, texturally rich music that explores the intersection of sound, image, atmosphere, and storytelling.
Keck’s compositional voice is rooted in a fascination with texture, timbre, and evolving sonic landscapes. His music often blends acoustic and electronic sound worlds, incorporating orchestral color, percussion, extended techniques, and sound design to create immersive, cinematic environments.
As a composer for visual media, Keck’s music can be heard in Eastman at 100: A Centennial Celebration (WXXI), the indie feature film Where the Rich Won’t Go, and the award-winning indie documentary A Life in Boxes, which received the Best Student Documentary Award from the Directors Guild of America (DGA).
Keck’s concert music has been performed internationally by leading percussion ensembles and duos. His works include Passage to an Uncharted World, premiered by the Eastman Percussion Ensemble at the 2022 Percussive Arts Society International Convention; Evanescence, commissioned by 3D Percussion and premiered at the IPEA International Percussion Competition in Shanghai, China; Confero, commissioned by the World Percussion Group and premiered at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, Sweden; and Perenniality, commissioned and premiered by Escape X Duo at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention.
His experience as a performer continues to inform his compositional process. Keck has performed with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and Buffalo Philharmonic, and internationally with the World Percussion Group and Eastman Percussion Ensemble. He has also collaborated with renowned composers and premiered works including Joseph Schwantner’s FAST FORWARD. His performance career has taken him to venues including Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, UK, and the Royal Academy of Music.
Keck is also an active educator and clinician. In 2024, he presented Texture Over Melody: Creating Sonic Landscapes at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Indianapolis. He has also presented clinics, masterclasses, and coaching at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Sibelius Academy, University of North Texas, Texas Christian University, and the University of California, Los Angeles.
He holds a Bachelor of Music with a minor in Audio and Music Engineering and a Master of Music in Contemporary Media and Film Composition from the Eastman School of Music, where he was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate. His work seeks to bridge the worlds of concert music and visual media through evocative, texturally rich compositions.
