Gary Koftinoff is an award winning composer of music for film and television.
He recently received a Canadian Screen Award Nomination (2022) for Best Original Music, Fiction along with co-composer Phillip Bennett, for their score on the series “Hudson & Rex” (CITY TV/ION). In 2018 he won an ASCAP Screen Award ‘Top CableTelevision Series’ and a Socan Award ‘Domestic Television Music – Fiction’ for his work on the medical drama “Saving Hope” (CTV/ION TV). He also received a Canadian Screen Award Nomination (2014) for Best Score in a Dramatic Series for “Saving Hope”. In 2005, he won a Gemini Award for Best Original Score for a Dramatic Series for “DarkOracle” (YTV), and in 2007 he won a Film & TV Music Award for Best Score for a Non-Animated Children’s TV Program for the 70 episode Disney Channel series “Life With Derik” (Disney/Family Channel)
Additionally, Gary has had three other Gemini nominations for his work on over 30 films and over 350 series episodes, all composed for a client list that includes NBC, Disney, CTV, CITY TV, ICF, CMT, Lifetime/Sony, Chesler/Perlmutter Ent., Shaftesbury Films, Screendoor, Cloud Ten Productions and Peace Arch Entertainment.
Other work includes his scores for “Salem Falls” (Lifetime Network), “Life With Derek” (Disney) and “Valemont” (MTV). He is currently scoring the 5th season of “Hudson & Rex”.
Gary is comfortable creating big orchestral scores with both live musicians and contemporary music technology, as well as intimate song-based music. For the film “Spirit Bear: The Simon Jackson Story” (CBC) Gary created the large-scale sound of the original score which earned him a Gemini nomination for Best Original Music Score for a Program or Mini-Series in 2007. Some of his more traditional, “big Hollywood-type” scores such as for the feature films “Left Behind II” and “Judgment”, were written for live orchestral performance, using between 45 and 60 musicians. Gary is also capable of writing, recording and performing vocals for the productions he works on.
From his early studies of piano and guitar, Gary moved on to advanced studies under the tutelage of Roman Toi at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Having also picked up a Recording Engineer Certificate at the Trebas Institute for the Recording Arts, Gary provides the complete range of services required to produce a top quality score.
With a penchant for strong, identifiable themes and poignant symphonic arrangements, Gary has become an in demand composer for discerning producers of filmed entertainment.