David Kowal

Award-Winning Composer • Songwriter • Producer • Music Publisher

"Creating music that helps tell unforgettable stories."

🎼 A Lifetime of Music. A Career Built on Storytelling.

David Kowal is an award-winning composer, songwriter, producer, recording engineer, educator, and music publisher whose career spans more than five decades. His music has been featured in hundreds of television shows, feature and independent films, commercials, and multimedia productions.

From cinematic scores and heartfelt songs to vintage recordings and custom music production, David creates music that helps filmmakers, producers, advertising agencies, music supervisors, and artists bring their stories to life.

Recognized in The Hollywood Reporter's Who's Who in Music and among today's contemporary film composers, David combines musical creativity with decades of professional production experience.

Since 1995, he has operated a one-stop music publishing company, making licensing simple by offering both master and publishing rights under one roof.

His catalog includes original songs, underscore, orchestral scores, production music, and a unique collection of professionally produced 1980s recordings featuring members of the Boston Pops Orchestra alongside renowned session musicians including Jimmy Earl, Peter Calo, Scott Breadman, Barry Brown, Tiger Okoshi, Robbie Gonzalez, Bruce Bartlett, and many others.

Working from his Genelec-certified studio in New Hampshire, David continues creating music for clients throughout North America.

The Story Behind the Music

One day, when I was six years old, I heard my older sister making the most beautiful sounds on our family's Winter Practice piano. I climbed onto the bench beside her and began picking out notes of my own. She smiled, encouraged me, and patiently tolerated my attempts to push her off the piano bench.

That moment sparked a lifelong passion for music.

By age twelve, I was already earning money as a professional musician. My five-piece band was paid $2.50 each—plus all the food we could eat—to perform at a Polish festival in Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania. It wasn't much money, but it marked the beginning of a career that has now lasted more than fifty years.

Throughout high school, music became my life. I played three nights a week with my band, performed alto sax in the marching band, and played with the jazz ensemble. In 1972, our band toured internationally and won Best High School Jazz Band at the Anglo-International Festival of Music in England.

Around that same time, I discovered another fascination—sound itself.

I built homemade speaker systems, modified my Hammond organ with a custom Leslie speaker, and at fifteen earned an internship in a four-track recording studio. Those experiences taught me that creating great music was only half the craft. Making it sound exceptional was equally important.

My bands stayed busy throughout western Pennsylvania under legendary promoter Rich Engler, performing everywhere from fraternity houses to clubs and concert venues.

After two years on the road, I enrolled at Berklee College of Music, where I studied with James Williams, Tom Anastos, and Ted Pease.

When the disco era dramatically reduced opportunities for live bands, I shifted toward recording and audio production. At Bose Corporation, I eventually became Recording Engineer, producing music, narration, and sound effects in more than fifteen languages. It was an extraordinary experience—but I knew my future was in building something of my own.

In 1985, I opened my recording studio on Boston's Newbury Street. Before long, we were producing projects around the clock for advertising agencies, corporate clients, and Boston's thriving music scene.

After marrying the love of my life in 1989, we moved to London for what we thought would be a brief adventure. Instead, it became another unforgettable chapter filled with BBC soundtrack sessions, British singer-songwriters, and late-night hip-hop productions throughout central London.

In 1990, we returned to Pittsburgh so I could help care for my father—a Battle of the Bulge veteran whose unwavering encouragement made my musical career possible.

While there, I composed music for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Alcoa, and Westinghouse. Three years later, my wife and I packed our Chevy Caprice and headed west to Los Angeles.

It proved to be the right decision.

Over the next twenty-eight years, I composed and produced music for television, film, advertising, and multimedia. My work appeared on HBO, CBS, NBC, FOX, independent films, and countless television productions, eventually leading to placements in hundreds of television shows.

One of the most rewarding chapters of my career has been teaching. Every teacher knows we receive as much as we give, and few things have been more meaningful than hearing from former students who tell me that lessons from years ago continue to inspire their own musical journeys.

Today, from my New Hampshire studio, I continue composing, producing, restoring, and licensing music for clients across the country.

More than fifty years after I first sat beside my sister at that little piano, I still wake up excited to create.

Let's Create Something Extraordinary

Whether you need an original score, a memorable song, custom music production, vintage recordings, or music that's ready to license with one-stop clearance, I'd love to help bring your project to life.

Every great project has a story. I'd be honored to help tell yours through music.