Biography
Scoring Emotions
Composer Marco Di Stefano builds entire worlds with music, merging the timeless emotion of classical orchestration with the narrative precision of modern scoring. His work is a journey into storytelling, guided by a lifelong passion for giving a project its unique sonic identity.
His path began not in a conservatory, but on stage as a lead guitarist in a metal band—a genre he still passionately composes for. This led to five years of formal piano study, establishing the piano as his principal instrument. To this day, every composition begins at the keyboard before being brought to life through detailed orchestration. He then spent a decade of intensive study with contemporary masters like Giovanni D’Aquila, Adriano Guarnieri, and the renowned Belgian composer Luc Brewaeys, with whom he explored music that extends beyond traditional tonality.
This dual foundation shapes a style that echoes the narrative spirit of Morricone and Stravinsky, and his innate ability to score compelling drama was proven when his 2019 album, L’estate del 78, became the foundation for a successful theatrical show in Italy.
Uniquely, Marco brings 20 years of experience as an IT developer and architect to his composition. He applies an architect’s mindset to his music, structuring every piece to serve the project’s core needs and deliver the highest narrative value. This technical prowess is backed by an expert command of composer tools like Cubase, Vienna Ensemble Pro, and Kontakt, as well as experience with Unity and Unreal Engine. His deep knowledge has led to collaborations with composers worldwide in creating dedicated orchestral templates, constantly refining a workflow built for efficiency and quality.
To sharpen his craft for the screen, Marco graduated from the European Academy of Fine Arts‘ media scoring program. His subsequent study with celebrated game composer Jason Graves culminated in a remarkable achievement: a personal recommendation letter from Graves himself, who noted Marco was among the top 3% of his students and emphatically stated he is “ready to score a game.” His talent was further recognized when he was selected as one of just 12 composers for the prestigious Fusion Film Scoring Workshop in Thessaloniki (October 2025), where he will score a short film for a live ensemble recording.
Having commanded orchestras for his own recordings—including a powerful new live orchestral album slated for release next month—Marco offers a complete, end-to-end production capability. With dedicated training in audio engineering, he can expertly guide a project from the first sketch and orchestration—a craft meticulously honed at the film scoring academy and through his studies with renowned orchestrator Dr. Norman Ludwin—through to the final mix and master. This comprehensive skill set, combining artistic vision with deep technical craft, ensures he can bring any director’s world to life.
He is currently seeking bold new cinematic and game projects to score.