Joel Corelitz



Joel Corelitz is an American composer based in Chicago, Illinois who co-composed the music of Halo Infinite, alongside Curtis Schweitzer and Gareth Coker. He is known for his work in commercials, short films, and video games.

Becoming a composer
Joel Corelitz stated that he has been into video games since the 8-bit era and has always loved the music and the sound of those old gaming systems. He also has noted that he has kept up with the Halo series from the very beginning. Growing up, Corelitz played piano and guitar, and experimented with recording. His enjoyment of these eventually led him to study music. The unique, electronic sounds of the old gaming systems of his childhood inspired him to learn about synthesizers, turning him into a "huge synth geek" and heavily influencing the sound of his music. After school, Corelitz composed for commercials, short films, and eventually, games, which he had always wanted to do.

Composing for Halo
During the development of Halo Infinite, 343 Industries' music supervisor, Joel Yarger, reached out to Corelitz, telling him that they were looking to add some different flavors to Halo Infinite's score and that his approach of fusing modern synthesizer sounds with orchestral music could fit the bill. Corelitz composed a few demos for Yarger, and then they revised them together over several rounds—discussing what tweaks were need so that the music would fit better into the Halo universe. After a few weeks of working together, Yarger told Corelitz that he would love for him to join the project.

As he worked on Halo Infinites score, Corelitz stated that figuring out where his own music sensibilities complement Halos established sensibilities was a long process; he had to learn Halo's musical rules so well that they became instinctive, letting the sound of the Halo universe flow naturally into his creative process. Joel Yarger told Coreltiz that he wanted to include the use of unexpected chord progressions in Halo Infinite's score—something that Yarger noted was a highlight of Coreltiz's previous work.

Trivia

 * Joel Corelitz's favorite Halo track is "A Walk in the Woods." He has stated that "it's the perfect mood for how it feels to move around in the world of Halo. It perfectly describes its incredible, majestic environments."