A proud native of the San Gabriel Valley, Eric Huang is a film composer based in Arcadia who recently graduated from USC’s Thornton School of Music for a Master's in Screen Scoring. He has written music for 74 short films and recorded 57 soundtracks in spaces such as the John Williams Scoring Stage at USC, the UCLA scoring stage, EastWest Studios (Studio One and Two), and with Budapest Scoring. In September 2023, he was the composer in residence for the Jackson Symphony in Tennessee, during which he gave a presentation, worked with the orchestra, did a Q&A session and had his 16-minute orchestra piece The Odyssey premiered. Eric loves working with filmmakers and musicians since the collaborative aspect is what draws him to film scoring. While Eric loves writing for standard ensembles like orchestra and string quartet, he also enjoys incorporating unconventional instrument combinations and sounds. For example, in Lady Scout Cookies, Eric combined marching percussion, opera vocals, and punk band instruments, while Chowmein Holiday blended hip-hop beats with traditional Chinese and Mongolian instruments alongside a Wild West vibe. Eric seeks to find creative ways to realize his scores. During his time at UCSB, for a Great Depression-era film, he found a free upright piano on Facebook Marketplace, moved it to the director’s apartment, and modified it with nails and screws from a hardware store to create percussive effects. At USC, to record taiko drums, he contacted a student ensemble, drummed with them for inspiration, and recruited players for the session. For a musical theater score, he and the student director booked the cheapest plane tickets and flew for 30 hours just to record a one-hour session with an orchestra in Budapest, which felt extra special to him since they were two college students traveling across the world trying to make their vision come to life. Eric is excited to continue writing music and exploring new sounds and stories. He is a proud alum from Arcadia High School.