ELIJA KAUFMANN

FILM COMPOSER

Music

Videos

Projects

Films:

DAS ERBE (2022/23) feature length documentary produced by the University Gießen

Theater:

DAS KALTE HERZ (2022) Stadttheater Gießen, directed by Mathilde Lehmann (Photo by Jan Bosch)

CHARLIE (2019) Animation Short, directed by Chan Kuang Jun nominated at ITFS (Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film)

BANDWAGON (2020) Animation Short, directed by Claudia Tan

Concert work:

WEST COAST ADVENTURE (2023) A piece for Solo Horn dedicated to Manuel Moser

Biography

Elija is a film composer based in Germany. He composed and produced the music for the short films BANDWAGON directed by Claudia Tan and CHARLIE directed by Kuang Jun Chan, which was nominated at the International Festival for Animated Film Stuttgart (ITFS2020) in the category “Young Animation”, as well as several commercial projects and work for theater.

As a story-driven writer, Elija’s music is characterized by catchy melodies, energetic drive, and playfulness, blending the traditional orchestral sound palette with modern sounds and production.

He studied classical music at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Trossingen and performes as a percussionist and timpanist in professional orchestras for 10 years. He is also active in professional theater productions as composer, musical director, percussionist/drummer and keyboarder.

Testimonial

"Elija's music and sound design was an absolute perfect fit for the project 'Charlie'. He was able to masterfully balance between the originality of the music with the 'rag-time' music genre that was integral to the theme of the story. Perhaps the most important quality of his work, however, was his commitment towards the story. Every part of the music and sound design was carefully considered with the characters and story in mind, always matching the emotional beats of the different parts of the story. This allowed a harmonization between the visuals and the sound which allowed the immersion necessary to bring the story to life. For the team, it was an unanimous agreement that the music played the largest role in the story, which will not be possible if not for Elija."

Chan Kuang Jun, Director