Aaron Soltis is a film composer and pianist from Massillon, Ohio. He completed his undergraduate degree in Music Composition at the Nazareth University School of Music (NY) under the guidance of Octavio Vazquez and Haralabos [Harry] Stafylakis and plans to pursue a master’s degree in Music Theory and Composition: Screen Scoring at NYU Steinhardt. His passion and eagerness to explore his love for composing through the lens of film, TV, and games has led to multiple collaborations with the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) as well as multiple competitions and festivals. Aaron is excited to announce that he has received a paid internship this summer with an LA-based composer and orchestrator.

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Aaron has received performances of his works in educational institutes, festivals, and conferences alike. He has had world premieres such as his brass quintet work Nighttime Veil, performed by the Atlantic Brass Quintet at the Mostly Modern Festival Summer Institute 2024, as well as his choral work Mirage, which was written and performed at the Choral Chameleon Summer Institute concert on June 26, 2023.

 

Aaron was announced the winner of the 2024 Zicato Music Call for Scores, which featured a recording of his work, The Odyssey of a Seafarer, by a European scoring orchestra. The score is currently available for purchase on J.W. Pepper and Zicato Music. He is also excited to announce that the Dodgen Middle School Chamber Orchestra performed Seafarer at the 2025 American String Teachers Association National Orchestra Festival in Atlanta, GA. 

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Aaron has been announced the winner of the Nazareth University 2024 Composition Competition, where he had his work for chorus, The Old Year, premiered by the Nazareth University Chamber Singers on March 7th, 2025, and additionally performed at the Eastern NAFME Conference in April 2025. He has been named the 2025 Presser Scholar by The Presser Foundation, has received the Music Composition and Piano Performance awards, and has been recognized as the recipient of the Pi Kappa Lambda David S. Boe Award at Nazareth University. Aaron has also received Honorable Mention in the “Young Composers Category” for the Ember Ablaze Composer Lab Competition hosted in 2023. His musical theater collaboration with librettist Devin Landis, Lucidity: A New Musical, debuted in 2023 at the SETC Fringe Festival in Kentucky and was selected as the runner-up in the 'Best of Fringe Award' ceremony. 

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Upcoming performances include the world premiere of the choral work “Hope” is the thing with feathers written for the Gates Chili Middle School Chorus, the world premiere of his choral work The Old Year by the Nazareth University Chamber Singers, and the world premiere of his string quartet Deadly Pursuit at his Senior Composition Recital.