BIOGRAPHY

Dónal Rafferty was born in Dublin Ireland and has been obsessed with music ever since hearing Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony on his grandfather’s stereo when he was 6 years old! His earliest formal musical education was singing with The Palestrina Choir from age 7, at which time he also commenced studying piano, clarinet, and music theory.

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Dónal first completed a Mechanical Engineering Degree at Trinity College Dublin (graduated '04) before pursuing a Music Degree at the National University of Ireland Maynooth (graduated '07), where he quickly uncovered his passion for composition that led him on to pursue a Master's Degree at King’s College London (graduated '09). He is an alumnus of the IMRO Irish Composition Summer School (2007) and holds diplomas in piano performance and music theory from London College of Music and Trinity College London respectively.

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Dónal composes music for all kinds of musical ensembles - including symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, and choir - and his music demonstrates clear command of a range of idioms. His string + wind quintet ​Aquastrata (2005) was awarded the 2010 IMRO Award for Chamber Ensemble composition. His music has been performed by ensembles such as Lontano, Concorde, The Penbridge Trio, the Taylor Festival Choir, and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra.  His music has been performed in Europe and the USA and used in commercial content by Google. Dónal has also composed for theatre, for the amateur production The Queen Who Cancelled Christmas​, which premiéred at the Whale Theatre in Greystones, Ireland in December 2018.  Dónal's musical style is well-informed by his classical training, and enhanced by an awareness and understanding of contemporary musical styles.  He has been funded by Culture Ireland and The Arts Council of Ireland.

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As a film music composer, Dónal constantly seeks to explore new artistic territory.  His score for I Am (2022) explored darker themes in a story influence by isolation and self-doubt. His score for The Merger (2022) channeled primal and primitive influences to support the film’s humorous look at toxic masculinity. His score for the upcoming Room 107 (2023) encapsulates the fragility and vulnerability of a youth suffering through depression and unable to connect with family.

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Dónal currently resides in Los Angeles, California. He has been a featured composer at Film Independent and SAGIndie's IndieLink: Composers workshop. He is a prize-winner of the 2020 Indie Film Music Contest and a Fellow of the Los Angeles Film Conducting Intensive (2021-22) where he trained with Angel Velez, Conrad Pope, Leonard Slatkin, and William Ross. He was part of the prestigious Society of Composers & Lyricists Los Angeles Mentor Program during 2022-23. Dónal currently assists award-winning composer Edward Shearmur.

Dónal is a member of ASCAP and The SCL.  He is a dual citizen of Ireland and the USA and a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.

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Read more about Dónal in VoyageLA Magazine's interview