Staff and Faculty

Two-time Emmy-award winning composer/arranger Hummie Mann has collaborated with some of Hollywood's most celebrated directors in both theatrical and television films.  His motion pictures projects have ranged from Mel Brooks' “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and “Dracula, Dead and Loving It” to Peter Yates' “Year of the Comet”, the children’s film “Thomas and the Magic Railroad” to “Wooly Boys” starring Peter Fonda and Kris Kristofferson.  For television, he has scored projects for Simon Wincer (the miniseries “P.T. Barnum”), Jonathan Kaplan (the miniseries re-make of “In Cold Blood”), Norman Jewison (“Picture Windows – Soir Bleu”), Peter Bogdanovich (“The Rescuers: Tales of Courage - Two Women”), Joe Dante (“The Second Civil War” & “Masters of Horror: Homecoming”), Jim Abrahams (“First Do No Harm”) and Richard Friedenberg (“Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas”). Mann is the creator and lead instructor of the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program which in 2011 became the music department of the Seattle Film Institute. He has taught film scoring seminars in Edinburgh, Copenhagen & Shanghai and ran a film composition workshop at the Dakhla Film Festival in Morocco (2010).  Variety Magazine listed him as a “Leader in Learning” in its 2010 Education Impact Report.  Currently he serves on the board of the American Society of Music Arrangers and Composers (ASMAC) in Los Angeles.  He was awarded a full scholarship to pursue his DMA (Doctor of Music Arts) degree at the University of Salford in Manchester, England, which he completed in 2015.  His thesis “The Temporal and Rhythmic Effect of Musical Composition and Form when Scoring Dramatic Moving Picture” is being edited for inclusion in an educational textbook he is writing of film scoring techniques.

Sammy Applegate is an award winning filmmaker and accomplished composer originally from Lawrence, Kansas. She earned a BA degree in English with a minor in film from the University of Kansas in 2007. In 2012 she became the first woman to earn a Masters of Music in Film Composition degree from the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program at the Seattle Film Institute. In 2014 she joined the program as Assistant Director before becoming Director in 2023 and continues to help train and guide new generations of aspiring composers into the film, television, and video game industries. ​ In addition to working with the program, Sammy also works with the copying team of the late Robert Puff of RPM Seattle Music Preparation.

Todd Kovell is a composer, arranger, and teacher. His music has been performed in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Todd was the composer-in-residence for the 2023 Alabama All-State Orchestra. His “Suite for Tar and Chamber Orchestra” appeared on the 2013 album “Celebrate World Music”. His music has appeared on the Vox Novus 15-minutes of Fame series. As an arranger he has created hundreds of arrangements of pieces in all styles, for all levels of players, and for all sizes of ensemble. In addition to composing he teaches cello and is currently writing a music theory workbook for the PNWFS program. Todd received a BMus in composition and electronic music from the Oberlin Conservatory, an MMus in film composition from the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program, has studied composition at the Schoenberg House in Vienna, and has studied songwriting with Country Music Hall of Fame songwriter Hugh Prestwood.

Jake is the Music Director of the acclaimed Northwest Boychoir, and the former Artistic Director of the Seattle Girls Choir. With both groups, he has prepared and conducted concerts, recording sessions, and competitions all over the world, and collaborated with other local arts organizations including the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and Pacific Northwest Ballet. As a vocalist, Jake has appeared on countless film and video game soundtracks, including for major franchises such as Halo, Destiny, World of Warcraft, and Assassin’s Creed. Jake also works with the copying team of RPM Seattle Music Preparation, doing copying and proofing for major video game titles. He helped develop and maintain the JetStream Finale Controller, a popular productivity enhancer for MakeMusic’s Finale notation program. Jake holds a Master of Music in conducting from the University of Washington, where he studied with the late maestro Peter Erös.

Landon is a composer, orchestrator, and conductor based in Seattle, Washington. He has composed music for numerous short films and video games, as well as for various orchestras and rock orchestras across the country. He is also a composer and sound designer for the Seattle-based company Novel Effect, working on numerous children’s book titles including Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Strega Nona, and a newly created version of ’Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Ryan Ike is a two-time BAFTA nominated composer and sound designer, with work spanning games like West of Loathing, Gunpoint, and Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, as well as short film and advertising. When not working on audio, he is passionate about public speaking with a focus on helping audio professionals, and freelancers in general, further their careers in the game industry in a healthy and balanced manner.

Janice Findley produces and directs experimental narrative film and live stage work. She has had retrospective showings of her films at the Museum of Modern Art, NYC (where her work is part of the permanent collection), and screenings at the Guggenheim, NYC, Asia Society, NYC, and at The National Archives in Washington, D.C among others. Her work has been broadcast on Public Television throughout the U.S. and television in Canada. She has been awarded fellowships and grants for her films from the American Film Institute, National Endowment for the Arts, Art Matters, Artist Trust, Western States Arts and all local arts commissions. Findley’s live-theater productions have been awarded Seattle Times Footlight awards and nominations from Theatre of Puget Sound’s prestigious Gregory Awards. Findley was the co-founder/curator of the adventurous, long-running Seattle series, “New Film/New City” and curated film programs for the Seattle Art Museum, the Olympia Film Festival and The International Festival of Films By Women Directors (Seattle, WA) and most recently Beauty, Brains and Know-How: Screwball Comedy in the Glamour Agefor the Pickford Film Center (Bellingham, WA) and regularly introduces and provides context for the Paramount Theater’s Silent Movie Mondays in Seattle.

Green is an ISFMF nominated composer and multi-award-winning double bassist. She has created original soundtracks for international award-winning films, working with directors, producers, and game developers from the USA, UK, Canada and South Korea. After studying in Tchaikovsky Academic Music College at Moscow Conservatory, she earned her Masters degree in Film Composition in 2016 from the PNWFSP at Seattle Film Institute. In 2021, she started teaching at SFI, beginning with the Logic Pro X course. She has been Apple certified for Logic Pro X since 2014.

Devore's experiences include radio DJ, musician, recording engineer, and sound designer. He settled in Seattle in 1993 and began working in post-production as a dialog and sound effects editor. He has since worked on feature films and documentaries, radio and television commercials and a record or two, here and there. He has worked at several studios in the Seattle area, specializing in sound design and mixing for film, television, and various visual media.

Los Angeles-based composer, orchestrator, and conductor Jarryd Elias has worked on projects such as Deadpool 2, Pearl, Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw, Strays, and Guild Wars 2. His compositions have gained recognition on a global scale, spanning across various media and concert performances. Furthermore, Jarryd's expertise in orchestration and conducting has been utilized both in studio recordings and live-concert settings, collaborating with renowned composers such as Tyler Bates, Tim Phillips, Dara Taylor, Robert Duncan, Timothy Williams, Joanne Higginbottom, Maclaine Deimer, Greg Tripi, and the creator of this program, Dr. Hummie Mann. No matter the project, or what role he is in, Jarryd's main priority is to support and elevate, and brings both his extensive experience and passion for collaboration to every opportunity he's involved in.

James is a sound designer, audio engineer and educator based in Seattle, Washington.  He has worked in commercial post production, music mixing for live broadcast and sound design for video games.  James holds a degree in Music Production & Engineering from Berklee College of Music and is a certified Avid Protools Instructor.

Based in Seattle, WA, Akash Thakkar has been an audio designer for games like Hyper Light Drifter, Heat Signature, and Destiny. He is the author of Maximizing Game Feel Through Sound: A Composer/Sound Designer’s Approach to Upgrading your Game’s Impact, and is constantly looking for new ways to spread his knowledge within the game industry.

Sue is Seattle-based songwriter. She has co-written more than 70 songs for Heart, (30 million records sold and 2013 inductees in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame). Hits include “Dog & Butterfly,” “Straight On,” and “Even It Up.” She has co-written songs for feature films including The Golden Child starring Eddie Murphy and Thomas and The Magic Railroad, and her hobby band, The Lovemongers, appeared on the soundtrack of Singles. Sue scored and wrote the songs for “Art Dog,” a stage musical produced at The Seattle Children’s Theatre (2014). She teaches Music Business, Career Development and Songwriting at Shoreline Community College. She also teaches "Songwriting for Film" for the Seattle Film Institute.  Sue serves the PNW chapter as a national trustee on the board of the Recording Academy (“The Grammys”) and serves on the national Committee for Advocacy for the Recording Academy. Currently, she is developing a jukebox musical with a nationally known Broadway producer and Tony-winning director, for which she is writing the book.

Sam Sigman is a budding media composer with a unique blend of modern and orchestral flair. He studied Audio and Music Production at Western Connecticut State University, learned the arts of Mixing and Mastering, and furthered his Compositional work under the direction of Daniel Gray and Dr. Kevin Isaacs. He then graduated from the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program in Seattle, WA with his Master of Music in Film Composition. There he studied the techniques of Orchestration and Composition with Dr. Hummie Mann, and made his debut into the film world with films: “Secret Ingredient,” “Ronnie and Donnie’s Fantastic Food Blog,” and “Corporate Training.” Since, he has been freelancing in the New England/New York area, composing hybrid digital/acoustic scores.

Caleb (they/them) is a Seattle-based composer, arranger, and music collaborator. Since 2022 they have acted as music supervisor, editor, and additional music writer for nearly a dozen feature films for Reel One Entertainment, a Lifetime films production company. Caleb’s arrangements have been performed nationally by a large variety of ensembles including the Colorado and Baltimore symphonies, Brass Animals of New Orleans, and the President’s Own Army Band Wind Quintet. As a music collaborator, they have worked as a transcriber, orchestrator, and copyist for several prestigious ensembles, such as the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, as well as internationally-renowned artists and composers such as Steve Hackman and Mark Kilian. Caleb is also a seasoned brass musician, currently performing with several ensembles throughout the Seattle area including the Seattle Kraken Red Alert, OL Reign’s Riot, and the Rainbow City Concert Band.