Jonah Chaffin (b. 1996) is a composer of classical music who is heavily inspired by absolute music and forms of the classical period. He composes music for solo piano, chamber ensembles as well as orchestral music. Chaffin's music is often not tied to a program, as he wishes for the listener to envision their own story and let the music speak for itself. His music reaches a wide array of genres, including electronic music as well as rock/pop. Chaffin is a multi-instrumentalist, specializing in playing guitar, electric bass, drums, singing and the trumpet, though he primarily focuses on playing the piano. He also has an interest in conducting, and has conducted his university's orchestra as well as their chamber singers. He has also conducted his own compositions with their chamber ensemble.

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Chaffin holds a degree in Music Composition from the University of California, Riverside (B.M.) and is currently working on his Master's degree at the University of Redlands. He has studied with composers Byron Adams, Ian Dicke, Anthony Suter, and Andre Myers. He has received awards such as the Marius De Brabant Performance Scholarship in 2018 and the C. Bruce Tomlinson Memorial Award in 2019. Chaffin has had his pieces played by the Mojave Trio, the Eclipse Quartet, Room to Spare, ~Nois, and Keith Kirchoff. In 2018, Chaffin composed the score for the UCR Department film ​Muse. In 2021, he composed a piece for notable director Christopher Coppola's film Sammy & Quinn, for which he also created visuals for. 

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Other than music, Chaffin is a filmmaker and poet, and often ties his music with original poetry and visuals. He is currently working on a full-length rock & roll album.

 

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