Team – Game Audio Institute

Steve Horowitz

Critically acclaimed as one of the foremost figures in the field, Composer Steven Horowitz is the current chair of the IASIG. He is the founder of the Game Audio Institute and teaches music composition at San Francisco State University. Horowitz is also a long standing Audio Director at Nickelodeon/Paramount games where he has worked on scoring hundreds of beloved video games as well as garnering him Webby, Kid Screen and BDA awards. Steve is well known for his original score to the Academy Award nominated film Super Size Me. His compositions have also appeared in television series like I Bet you Will and Casino Cinema for MTV Networks. Horowitz was honored with a GRAMMY award in 1996 for his engineering work on the album True Life Blues, the Songs of Bill Monroe. In addition to his work in dance, film, television, cartoons and video games, Horowitz also has a robust catalog of chamber and concert music. In addition, Horowitz is also the author of two books, The Essential Guide to Game Audio: The Theory and Practice of Sound for Games on Focal press, and The Theory And Practice Of Music For Games, published January 2024.

Scott Looney

Founder / CTO
Game Audio Institute

Scott Looney is a passionate artist, soundsmith, educator, and curriculum developer who has been helping students understand the basic concepts and practices behind the creation of content for interactive media and games for over fifteen years. He pioneered interactive online audio courses for the Academy Of Art University, and has also taught at Ex’pression College, Cogswell College, Pyramind Training, UC Santa Cruz, City College SF, and SF State University. He has created compelling sounds for audiences, game developers and ad agencies alike across a broad spectrum of genres and styles, from contemporary music to experimental noise. In addition to his work in game audio and education, he is currently researching procedural and generative sound applications in games, and mastering the art of code.

Austin Smith

Program Manager
Game Audio Institute

Austin James Smith is an audio designer and editor with a focus on game audio implementation. A self-described generalist, Austin’s interests in art spread far and wide, and the work speaks for itself. As a freelancer, Austin has contributed to various media projects, such as audio design and mixing for the documentary film Shadow of Dumont (2020), and game audio design for Wild Sky TD (2019), Initial II: New Stage (2018), and more. In 2020, Austin graduated with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from Academy of Art University, and currently works with Game Audio Institute as Program Director and Content Manager, providing media generation, content management, and social media support. Austin lives with his wife in Orinda, California, and is a rabid fan of metal music, skateboarding, and coffee.

Brendan Wolf

Head Of Professional Development
Game Audio Institute

Brendan Wolf is an Emmy and MPSE Golden Reel award-winning Sound Designer for games and immersive media known for his work as Audio Implementer and Sound Editor on the interactive VR animated short, Baba Yaga (2021). Since earning his MFA from Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2018, he has worked on behalf of Pollen Music Group as an onboarded Audio Engineer at Meta’s Menlo Park campus assisting the Portal R&D Tech Engineering team with Audio UX Prototyping and most recently with Baobab Studios handling all the audio implementation for two shipped VR titles: Invasion: Anniversary Edition, and Baba Yaga. Through his Game Audio Career Coaching project, Brendan helps emerging sound designers refine their portfolios, identify what hiring managers and audio directors look for, and position themselves for real opportunities in today’s competitive industry. Drawing from his own journey and years of mentorship success, he provides focused, actionable career guidance to help you stand out and land the roles you’re aiming for.

Our Advisory Committee

Brennan ANderson

Audio Designer / Game Designer
Whatnot Games

Brennan Anderson is a composer, sound designer, and game developer dedicated to crafting immersive storytelling experiences through audio. Originally from Austin, Texas, he grew up surrounded by music and creativity, shaping his path into game audio and interactive design. Brennan is the founder and game designer at Whatnot Games (est. May 2025) and formerly served as Senior Sound Designer at Riot Games in Santa Monica, where he led audio design for multiple high-profile projects. Prior to that, he worked as an Audio Designer at Crystal Dynamics and as an Audio Producer at Disney Interactive, where he composed music, created sound effects, and implemented audio for mobile and console titles.

George Peterson

Professor
Geo Productions

George Peterson is a professor at multiple universities instructing various audio production classes including: Sound Design for Film, Pro Tools Editing, Pro Tools Mixing, Pro Tools Certifications, Beginning & Intermediate Sound Recording, Game Audio, & Audio Production. Experienced in audio post-production for film, games, television, and audio production for music, George has worked on over 200 films at Skywalker Sound including: Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, The Incredibles, The Polar Express, Twisted, Mystic River, Minority Report, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Hart’s War, Panic Room, Bandits, and Monsters, Inc.

Mark pearson

Legal Counsel
ARC Law Group

Mark A. Pearson’s primary practice involves advising creative, talent, and entrepreneurial clients on entertainment and technology contract matters, trademark and copyright issues and business entity formation. His list of clients includes musicians, actors, film & television producers, recording studios, social media influencers, live entertainment companies, video game developers, online content providers, managers, agents and host of artists and performers. Mark has negotiated deals with Disney, HBO, Lucasfilm (Skywalker Sound) and the Golden State Warriors and worked with LL Cool J (Rock The Bells), Twitch, Caffeine and MTV Networks.

Gardenia Zuniga

Publicist
GZ Publicity

With a robust background in public relations, media communications, and events management, Gardenia has successfully developed strategic partnerships, executed impactful PR campaigns, and strengthened community connections. Additionally, as a freelance publicist and media communications strategist, Gardenia has collaborated with artists, nonprofit organizations, and businesses to develop tailored publicity campaigns, secure media placements, and execute high-profile events. Her experience spans working with major film festivals, cultural initiatives, and entertainment clients, ensuring maximum visibility and audience engagement through innovative storytelling and targeted marketing.

MENTORS

Alexander Brandon

Audio Director / Composer
Funky Rustic

Alexander Brandon has been a digital composer, sound designer, and voice actor for over 30 years, producing scores for some of the most well known game titles such as “Deus Ex”, “Unreal” and “Unreal Tournament”. Alex served as Audio Director for Frost Giant Studios and runs an audio production group “Funky Rustic”, in Texas. He wishes his music to be heard by as many as possible.

Chase Bethea

Composer
Chase Bethea

Chase Bethea is a multi-award-winning video game composer known in the industry as the “Swiss army knife of video game composition.” With over a decade of experience, Chase’s music has enhanced the player’s experience across a diverse range of games. His work, celebrated for its unique fusion of orchestral, electronic, and world music elements and has been performed by ensembles like the Helix Collective, New York Gamer Symphony and other orchestras worldwide. Notable projects include the critically acclaimed soundtracks for I Can’t Escape: Darkness (Nominated for Artist of the Year), Aground (NYX Award Best Original Soundtrack), Aground Zero (NYX Award Gold and International Architecture & Design Platinum Award Best Original Soundtrack ) and On the Peril of Parrots (NYX Award Gold Best Original Soundtrack). Chase is also a dynamic guest speaker and live performer, showcasing his talents at prestigious game conferences such as MAGWest/MAGFest. Over the past two years, he has given more than 60 talks at conferences and colleges, including Global Game Jam Keynote Speaker, GDC, PAX, Berklee College of Music, Game Devs of Colour, IGDA, BIGFest, Xsolla, and Pocket Gamer and MGS at The Strat in Las Vegas. His contributions to the industry have been recognized with exhibitions in the NAMM Museum and the British Library, and he has shared his insights through articles published in multiple global magazines and books such as Recording Magazine Fearzine, ROM, GB Studio, Global Histories of Video Game Music Technology. Chase’s passion for innovation in game music has earned him numerous accolades and solidified his reputation as a leading voice in the industry.

Dafna Naphtali

Composer / Improviser
Dafna Naphtali

Dafna Naphtali, an electronic musician, vocalist, composer/performer and improviser, who creates experimental, interactive, music/sound-art, and develops custom programming for projects in live sound-processing (instruments/voice), field recordings, multichannel audio, audio-augmented-reality soundwalks, musical robots. Drawing on her eclectic musical background (jazz, contemporary classical, rock, near-east music), she collaborates with well-regarded musicians/video-artists internationally 25+ years. Multichannel “Audio Chandelier” performances/installations include “Polyélaios” sound-sculpture w/metalsmith Ayala Naphtali and “Passeri” generative multichannel audio/video installation created/exhibited (APO-33 residency in Nantes, France 2023). She’s received support, commissions including NYFA, NYSCA, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Brooklyn Arts Council. Residencies/Fellowships include MacDowell, M3 Mutual Mentorship for Musicians, and a Guggenheim Fellowship (Music Composition 2023). Dafna teaches for many years at New York University (Music Technology), and New School – courses in Max, Electronic Music Performance, composition and Soundwalking/Field-Recording. Dafna is a 2026 LABA Fellow, and is writing a book “Live Sound Processing and Improvisation” for Taylor and Francis.

Ed Lima

Audio Director / Composer
Unlock Audio

Ed Lima is a Los Angeles based CLIO winning and BAFTA nominated composer who has enjoyed twenty-six years in the film and videogame industries. After attending the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Ed went on to work on such videogame projects as Borderlands, Titanfall, Wolfenstein, Brother’s in Arms: Hell’s Highway, Doom3, 007 Nightfire and Empire Earth, among others. His film scores include The Black String, Is You Is, Downward Hiro, Lafayette (winner of Best Music at the 2018 Albuquerque Film Festival), Reservations for Three, The Betty, The Dread Factory and DIN. Ed’s most recent feature film project, The Black String, starring Frankie Muniz and Oded Fehr, was released on DVD and digital by Lionsgate late 2019. Ed enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience of the craft of film and game scoring with young minds as a featured speaker at schools such as USC, University of North Texas, DeVry University, and at professional industry events such as the Game Developers Conference and at meetings of the International Game Developers Association and the Game Audio Diversity Alliance.