Ramin Djawadi

Game of Thrones has been a megahit on television, and in the world of music, Ramin Djawadi's score for the show has earned accolades from critics. When Djawadi, a 1998 summa cum laude Berklee graduate, first came to the college, he concentrated on guitar and wanted to perform. But Berklee broadened his perspective. “The music I was writing lent itself to film,” he said in a Berklee interview. “Film music is a big passion of mine. Berklee showed me I could do both.”

Watch a video interview with Ramin Djawadi:

Djawadi was born in Germany to an Iranian father and German mother. After graduating with a degree in film scoring and guitar performance, he moved to Los Angeles and soon began working on such films as Iron Man, which earned a Grammy nomination, and Warcraft, among others. In addition to Game of Thrones, his television work includes Person of Interest and Westworld, and he has scored music for the Clash of the Titans video game. However, his work on Game of Thrones, which began in 2011, has resulted in the most fame. The 2016 season finale has a 10-minute piano sequence that Djawadi explained in a Vanity Fair interview: “The decay and the impact of that sound is just unique. You cannot imitate it with anything else.” The music was so exceptional that one critic wrote, "The real winner of those first 15 minutes is the music. The musical direction puts this episode up there with the best stuff Game of Thrones has ever done."

Dijawadi is clear about the impact Berklee has had on his career: “Attending Berklee was a fantastic experience. I showed up from Germany with just a guitar—no equipment or amps. Berklee’s top-quality technology allowed me to better my craft. Berklee does a great job of taking you all the way from theory to real-world application.”