About
Across his work as a composer, performer, and teacher, Jim Trompeter is first and foremost a storyteller. He leverages an innate lyrical capacity and his deep musical knowledge to create sounds that take you on a journey and ultimately find resolution.
An early adapter to new ways of making music, Jim has been defining a growing frontier for music and sound design throughout his career.
He has served as a pioneer in the world of composing for gaming for nearly two decades as Senior Principal Composer and Sound Designer at Light & Wonder, Inc. In addition, as Principal for Earthborne Music, Jim’s musicality is imprinted through an impressive array of clients, designing signature music for wide-ranging and wildly popular programming—composing and arranging original music for television shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Sopranos, and NBC Nightly News, while also developing key jingles we all recognize for dozens of brands, including McDonald’s, Coca Cola, and Disney. Jim also composed the music score for the prestigious Kartemquin Films documentary, Prisoner of Her Past.
In addition to writing music, Jim has established himself as a performing artist around the world. Early in his career, as keyboardist and arranger for Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine, he performed in three world tours and more than 350 live and televised concerts. Jim went on to perform with dozens of talented artists, including Whitney Houston, Art Garfunkel, Randy Brecker, and Freddie Hubbard, in addition to touring with Kurt Elling’s band in 2014. Among his many performing awards, Down Beat Magazine awarded Jim the top honor of Best Instrumental Jazz Performer in 1981.
Locally in Chicago, Jim can be found performing in premier venues, such as the Green Mill, Jazz Showcase, the Chicago Cultural Center and the Art Institute of Chicago.
As Jim finessed his composing and performing skills, he also developed a keen passion for teaching students with similar passions for music performance, composition and arranging, and new technology in the field. In 2016, Jim joined the faculty at DePaul University in Chicago, and in 2021, he received the inaugural Monsignor Kenneth J. Velo Endowed Distinguished Professorship for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Jim received a full scholarship to earn his bachelors of arts degree from University of Miami in jazz instrumental performance, and then went on to earn his masters of arts degree from the University of Miami in studio arranging and orchestration.