Biography

A composer and drummer who navigates the classical, jazz, theater, and soundtrack spheres, Kristofer Maddigan made his Billboard debut with his score to the 2017 video game Cuphead. A resident of Toronto, he was already tied to numerous classical organizations, having joined the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra in 2010, and worked with the Canadian Opera Company, Toronto Concert Orchestra, and rock crossover outfit Dévah Quartet, among other groups. Maddigan earned a spot in the national ballet orchestra soon after graduating from the Glenn Gould School at the Royal Conservatory of Music as a percussion major. During his time there, he studied not only with members of the Toronto Symphony, but jazz drummers such as Jim Blackley and Terry Clarke. Maddigan contributed his own compositions to My Virtual Dream, an immersive multimedia project that premiered in Toronto in 2013. His most high-profile work to that point came in September 2017 with the release of the video game Cuphead. Complementing an animation design based on the Fleischer Studios output of the 1930s, Maddigan's playful, jazz age-inspired game score followed a month later on Iam8bit and debuted at number nine on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi