Stephen Akina (born November 10, 1971 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is an American film score composer known for combing contemporary classical music with electro-acoustic music. Notable film scores include horror cult film Demon's Rising,[1][2] neo-film noir Reverie Blvd.[3] as well as best selling casual game Caribbean Hideaway.[4]
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Born Stephen Kinilau Akina, he is a Native Hawaiian from the island of O'ahu[5] where he graduated in 1988 from Radford High School in Honolulu.
Akina grew up pursuing a career in music as a classical pianist and eventually studied at the University of Hawaii.[6] As a pianist he has performed recitals throughout North America & Oceania. He collaborated with former first generation Martha Graham Dance Company performer and noted Modern Dance pioneer choreographer Jean Erdman in premiering an unpublished work of composer John Cage. The score was written by Cage for a solo modern dance work set to Erdman's choreography during the 1950s but finally made its debut forty years later in 1992.[7]
By the mid 1990s Akina left music and pursued other endeavors including service in the Army. Eventually he returned to the music industry and began his graduate work at San Diego State University[8] where he eventually was appointed as an Adjunct faculty member in music.[9] In addition to teaching piano, he collaborated on new works with faculty members including Professor of Dance, Patricia Sandback.[10]
In 2006, Akina was commissioned to compose a piece for the Pasadena Pops Orchestra in Los Angeles as part of a fundraising event for the orchestra. Soon after, Akina focused his efforts on music composition and began scoring for films and video Games. Akina founded Special Blend Music, a production company providing a variety of music services for the film and television industry.[11] In addition to his film scores, Akina's music is licensed with major production music libraries where his cues are used for television network, cable and PBS shows worldwide.[12] Akina currently resides in La Jolla, California.
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2007 | Pirate Tales |
| 2008 | Reverie Blvd |
| 2008 | Code Black |
| 2008 | Caribbean Hideaway |
| 2008 | Demons Rising |
| 2008 | Shot Up, Shot Down |
| 2008 | Bel Sonno (short) |
| 2008 | River Runs Red (short) |
| 2008 | Brush of Darkness (short) |
| 2009 | Modele |