Théo Schmitt is a Swiss-born musician currently working as a composer and conductor in Los Angeles. After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education, he continued his studies at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne (HEMU), where he earned a Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting in 2018 under the mentorship of Aurélien Azan-Zielinski. Upon graduation, he was awarded the prestigious Fritz Bach Prize for the best Master’s thesis and the highest grade of the final exam.

From 2019 to 2021, Théo studied composition at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with Richard Danielpour, Ian Krouse, and Peter Golub. In 2022, he graduated from the highly selective Screen Scoring program at the University of Southern California (USC).

During his early career in Switzerland, Théo conducted numerous ensembles, including the Brass Band L’Avenir d’Aclens, the Wind Band La Jeune Garde de la Landwehr de Fribourg, and the Symphony Orchestra L’Orchestre QuiPasseParLà. On September 7, 2019, he won the 9th Swiss National Conducting Competition in Baden. He is frequently invited as a guest conductor both in Switzerland (notably with the Conservatory of Lausanne) and in Los Angeles (including the USC Graduate Brass Ensemble). He currently conducts the Wind Ensemble at Pepperdine University in Malibu and the string orchestra at Crossroads School in Santa Monica.

Théo has written numerous original works for brass band, wind band, choir, and symphonic orchestra. In 2018, he wrote, directed, scored, and conducted a film-in-concert project titled La Légende du Château du Chillon. The ensemble Micro-Harmonie commissioned him to compose a Passion of Christ for concert band, soloists, and female choir, which premiered at Lausanne Cathedral on April 22, 2022. During the summer of that same year, the Fine Arts Museum of Lausanne featured his piece Voyages Imaginaires for solo trumpet and unsynchronized tapes as part of its opening exhibition. In 2024, Stadtmusik Luzern performed his work La Danse des Titans Masqués at Carnegie Hall in New York. His other concert works include commissions from the Music Society of the State of Vaud (SCMV), the Swiss Music Association (ASM), and the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE).

Since establishing himself in Los Angeles, Théo has collaborated with numerous filmmakers and choreographers on a wide range of projects. In 2021, he was nominated for the Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards. In 2023, he received nominations from the Jerry Goldsmith Awards and the International Digital Music Festival of Shanghai. In 2024, he was a finalist in the Film Scoring Competition at the Zurich International Film Festival. That same year, he founded The Unprecedented Music Association (UMA), where he currently serves as Artistic Director.