Jordan Dykstra


Jordan Dykstra is an American film music and chamber music composer and violist from Sioux City, Iowa.
Academically, Dykstra studied composition at CalArts with Michael Pisaro, Wolfgang von Schweinitz, and Ulrich Krieger; privately with Daníel Bjarnason, Chiyoko Szlavnics, and at Wesleyan University with Alvin Lucier. Dykstra contributed to the score of the 2017 psychological thriller/horror film It Comes At Night, which received the NYT Critic's Pick from A.O. Scott, film critic at the New York Times. He has also worked as a composer on film music for Gus Van Sant's 2011 film Restless, Penny Lane's 2019 documentary Hail Satan?, and the 2019 narrative film Blow the Man Down which was directed by Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy. His composition work with Frontline documentaries includes Mstyslav Chernov's 20 Days in Mariupol and Plot to Overturn The Election, while his work as a music consultant includes the 2023 Peabody Award Winning Michael Flynn's Holy War, American Insurrection, and the Documenting Hate series. Dykstra was a session violist and string director for Dirty Projectors' 2009 album Bitte Orca and has performed at venues worldwide including MOCA, Los Angeles, CA, the Rhode Island [School of Design Museum|RISD Museum] in Providence, RI, the Portland Art Museum in Portland, OR, Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland, and at the Syros Institute in Ano Syros, Greece. In 2024 Dykstra received a BMI [Film & TV Awards|BMI Award] for his score for 20 Days in Mariupol. In 2025 he scored the documentary Holding Liat, which won the Berlinale Documentary Award at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival.
While in Val Verde, CA in 2015, Jordan Dykstra founded Editions Verde, which publishes art and musical objects.

Discography

as Jordan Dykstra (film composer, performer, audio recording engineer, music consultant)

*Digital EPs

with The Righteous and Harmonious Fists

  • Fangs, But No Fanks – Split 7-inch EP with White Fang

    Composing Credits

Film Credits

  • Holding Liat — directed by Brandon Kramer — composer
  • Hurricane Helene's Deadly Warning — directed by Jonathan Schienberg — composer
  • Ovid, New York — directed by Vito A. Rowlands — composer
  • Inside the Uvalde Response — directed by Juanita Ceballos — composer
  • Shaken — directed by Asher Levinthal — co-composer, viola, synthesizer, percussion, keyboards
  • Fair Play — directed by Chloe Dumont — score conductor, viola
  • 20 Days in Mariupol — directed by Mstyslav Chernov — composer
  • Michael Flynn's Holy War — directed by Rick Rowley — music consultant
  • Plot to Overturn the Election — directed by Sam Black — composer, viola, piano, percussion
  • Globes — directed by Nina de Vroome — piano, viola, percussion, programming
  • Magic Hour — directed by Che Grayson — synth, viola, percussion, programming - premiered at Tribeca Film Festival on June 18, 2020
  • Blow the Man Down — directed by Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy — co-composed with Brian McOmber, string arranger, viola, prepared piano, percussion, film soundtrack
  • It Comes At Night — directed by Trey Shults — assistant composer with Brian McOmber, string arranger, viola, percussion, musical collaborator, synthesizer and electronics, additional music preparation, recording engineer, film soundtrack
  • Annabel's Wake — written by Jordan Dykstra and Danny Elfman — composer and mellotron, Restless (2011 film) directed by Gus Van Sant, film soundtrack

    Album Credits

  • Identify — by Caspar Sonnet — composer and viola, LP
  • Belfast Sessions — by Davis Hooker — string trio director, composer, and viola, LP
  • Bitte Orca — by Dirty Projectors — string quartet director and viola, LP
  • Stillness Is The Move — by Dirty Projectors —string quartet director and viola, LP
  • False Face Society — by Valet — composer and viola, LP
  • Malaikat Dan Singa ''— by Arrington de Dionyso —'' composer and viola, LP and CD
  • Caffeine, Alcohol, Sunshine, Money ''— by Jared Mees and the Grown Children —'' composer, string director, and viola, CD

    Dance Credits

  • Like a Sun that Pours Forth Light but Never Warmth — by Allie Hankins — composer, string quintet director, and viola, dance performance

    Other projects

  • Rob Walmart - an improvised electronic music collective