Outstanding
WSU Music Alumni
1999

Steve Hampton
B.M., 1980

“I love composing music of all styles and recording in great studios, working with incredible musicians.”

You may have heard Steve Hampton’s music without knowing it. As part-owner of Emotomusic in Santa Monica, California and Chicago, Illinois, he has composed and produced music for countless TV commercials, including Adidas World Cup, Altoids, Toyota, Sherwin Williams, Cingular, Sierra Mist, Burger King, and Dodge. He also scored the music for TV shows such as Just Shoot Me (NBC), Greg the Bunny (FOX), and Last Comic Standing (NBC).

“The best thing I came away with from Wright State was the ability to learn and learn fast,” Hampton says. “There are a lot of different music styles out there and I have to be able to emulate them in a very convincing way, very quickly. Developing my listening skills in college has been extremely useful.”

Favorite WSU Memory:  Me and my two classical guitar buddies wearing bright white Chuck Taylors with our black tuxes during a recital of our guitar trio in the concert hall. Our guitar instructor was not amused!