Elmer Castillo is a composer who creates music for Film, video games, television, and interactive media. He began his musical journey at 19, studying piano while pursuing a degree in Conducting. In 2013, he moved to Japan to further his studies in piano with an emphasis on Jazz.

His unique compositional style blends the sonorities of various cultures, including those of North, Central, and South America, Asia, and Europe.

 

Elmer has served in the US Army for over a decade, applying his expertise as a composer, arranger, pianist, and conductor to enrich communities across Asia, the United States, and Europe. Enlisting in 2010, he has performed with distinguished US Army bands, including the United States Army Japan Band in Zama-Shi, Kanagawa, Japan; the 4th Infantry Division Band in Colorado; and the Army Materiel Command Band in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. He also served as a piano instructor for soldiers undergoing Advanced Individual Training at the Army School of Music in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Currently, he is the pianist and arranger for the NATO International Band in Belgium.

 

Elmer holds a Bachelor's degree in Band Conducting from the National University of Colombia, and a Master's degree in Composition for Film and TV from Berklee College of Music, both earned with distinction.

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In 2025, Elmer was awarded second prize in the U.S. Armed Forces Composition Competition by the National Federation of Music Clubs for American Music. His talents as a composer and arranger have also been recognized in the annual US Army Bands competition, where his arrangements contributed to winning the Best Ceremonial Band Performance category in 2015 and 2017.

In 2015, Elmer received the Finley R. Hamilton Outstanding Military Musician Award, recognizing his exceptional leadership, musical talent, and significant contributions as an arranger and conductor.