
Person
Joel Pickard
Sound
Biography
Composer of music and sound for film and episodic series. His work includes scoring three seasons of Art in the Twenty-First Century (PBS), as well as the title sequence and episodic music for The Weekly and The New York Times Presents. His music has premiered at Sundance, the San Francisco International Film Festival, and RiverRun, among others. He has created music for projects with The New York Times and the Smithsonian Institution, and developed sonic identities for Sundance, BritBox, and HBO. As a multi-instrumentalist with formal training in classical guitar and cello, he favors recording with real instruments, focusing on natural performance, texture, and nuance. As a curious sonic explorer, he also creates sound with analog synthesizers and modern digital production techniques. He holds an M.A. in Composition from Mills College, where he studied with Fred Frith, Alvin Curran, and Pauline Oliveros, and served as a teaching assistant to Pauline Oliveros (Deep Listening). He earned a B.A. in Music from Bethel University. Based in Portland, Oregon
Known for

art21
Original Music Composer

The New York Times Presents
Main Title Theme Composer

The Weekly
Main Title Theme Composer

Deidra & Laney Rob a Train
Original Music Composer

Strong Grandma
Original Music Composer

Touch
Music

Drunktown's Finest
Original Music Composer

Oh Whale
Original Music Composer

Who Gets To Be an Influencer?
Main Title Theme Composer

Of Minor Prophets
Music
Filmography
- 2026Oh WhaleOriginal Music Composer
- 2023Strong GrandmaOriginal Music Composer
- 2021Who Gets To Be an Influencer?Main Title Theme Composer
- 2020The New York Times PresentsMain Title Theme Composer
- 2019The WeeklyMain Title Theme Composer
- 2018TouchMusic
- 2017Of Minor ProphetsMusic
- 2017Deidra & Laney Rob a TrainOriginal Music Composer
- 2014Drunktown's FinestOriginal Music Composer
- 2001art21Original Music Composer
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