Steffen Schmidt has been making music since he was a child, but it was his time at the University of Oregon’s School of Music and Dance that helped him develop a clear vision for his future and find community through music.
Schmidt transferred to the UO from Portland Community College and spent just one year in Eugene. However, the Lake Oswego native said that year was transformational.
“The University of Oregon’s School of Music and Dance was a really nurturing place to tell me what my next steps should be as a musician and furthermore, as a composer. The year I spent in Eugene was probably one of the most meaningful of my life because it took me outside of the little bubble that I knew as Portland, Oregon, and I met a whole group of people I'd never met before,” he said.
That openness to new connections is what helped him find a place in the entertainment industry. In 2014, Schmidt met Korean film director Chuck Chae, who works on virtual reality (VR) film experiences. He partnered with Chae, scoring music for projects including “Buddy VR,” an animated, interactive short, where the viewer becomes friends with a mouse living in a concession stand in a 1962 theme park. The project won the Best VR Experience Award at the 2018 Venice International Film Festival. Another project with Chae, “In the Realm of Ripley,” was selected to premiere during the 2024 Venice Film Festival. The interactive thriller film invites the audience into the fractured memories of a brain-dead boy seeking the truth of a decades-old murder.
Steffen Schmidt and Chuck Chae at the 81st Venice Film Festival.
Schmidt’s work on VR experiences served as a launch pad into the video game world. Thanks to an introduction by a friend, Schmidt landed at Singularity 6, where he worked to develop the sound and score for Palia, a fantasy life simulation massive multiplayer online game.
The world of Palia is one of comfort and community that brings people together. Players can cook, throw parties, and hang out with in-game characters or friends across the world in a virtual setting. Users are able to build their own little lives, all to the soundtrack that Schmidt created. Through collaboration with the Singularity 6 team and the opportunity to record with a live orchestra on the Vienna Synchron Stage, he brought the world of Palia to life.
While most of Schmidt’s career is centered on scoring for media, he’s made time to pay homage to the University of Oregon and its impact on his life. In 2025, he collaborated with UO Track and Field and University of Oregon Athletics to release “Runnin’ it.” The track is an ode to the legacy of innovation and momentum at Hayward Field, inspired by Phil Knight’s book Shoe Dog and legendary UO Track and Field Coach Bill Bowerman. Schmidt said that while reading Knight’s book, he wondered how he could contribute to the legacy of the university musically.
A journey to greatness
Schmidt got his start in music at a young age, joining the Metropolitan Youth Symphony in Portland, where he played viola for nearly ten years. It was through the symphonic band that he met conductor Dr. John Keil Richards, who would become a guiding mentor.
“He gave me that first opportunity. [He asked me] ‘Hey, you want to conduct a piece at the concert?’” Schmidt recounted. “I had an ambition to conduct, but no one would have given me that chance [at that age], but he was like ‘Here's the baton, just go.’”
At the same time, he connected with a fellow student, Justin Ralls, who was composing as teenager.
“He was composing for the band before we went on an international tour to Europe, and I was just so amazed by the piece that he wrote . . . He gave me this inkling that someone my age could write something this cool and gave me the inspiration to do it.”
Schmidt said it feels significant to thank the people who inspired him and gave him his start in music. He also reflected on the unique role his position as a viola player has played in his development as a musician and composer.
“I love the viola because it nurtures the perspective of the orchestra . . . As a viola, you're surrounded by everyone.”
Steffen Schmidt oversees the recording of the Palia soundtrack at the Vienna Synchron Stage.
As a member of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Schmidt was immersed in an international community, with many of his teachers and peers representing backgrounds different from his own. As the child of German immigrants, this multicultural community felt particularly meaningful.
When Schmidt started school at Portland Community College, he got involved with the International Student Organization and met his wife, who is from South Korea. When he transferred to the UO, he got involved with the Korean Student Association and even studied abroad at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea.
In 2011, when Japan was devastated by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Schmidt contributed to a concert honoring the victims of the tragedy and paying tribute to the Japanese students who mourned for their country, thousands of miles from home.
Schmidt said community support was a defining aspect of his experience at the UO—a value he’s taken from just one year at Oregon into the rest of his life. Whether presenting his work on an international stage or developing music for video games, it’s all about creating something others can connect with.
“I've been so touched by how people have been touched by the music.”
—By Sarah Bathke, BA ’25 (journalism), UO Alumni Association communications generalist