Stefan Maria Schneider

Composer for film and television

Watch the reel Productions

Productions

Cinema, television, series

Selected work since 2006; the complete list, including short films, stage and audio drama, is on the Works page.

Rapunzel and the Return of the Falcons

ZDF | Provobis Film

Dir. Christoph Heimer

with Luke Matt Röntgen, Tom Böttcher

What the Finn?!

hr | Lieblingsfilm

Dir. Stefan Westerwelle

with Eko Fresh, Leslie Malton

Original score, with Ilja Coric

Dragon Rider

Constantin Film

Dir. Tomer Eshed

with Patrick Stewart, Felicity Jones

Mich hat keiner gefragt

ZDF | Caligari Film

Dir. Nico Sommer

with Meike Droste, Elena Uhlig

Solness

arte | Schiwago Film

Dir. Michael Klette

with Thomas Sarbacher, Robert Stadlober

Original score, with Hector Marroquin

Rübezahls Schatz

ZDF | Provobis Film

Dir. Stefan Bühling

with Sabin Tambrea, Henriette Confurius

Stenzels Bescherung

ARD Degeto | Provobis Film

Dir. Marc-Andreas Bochert

with Herbert Knaup, Anna Fischer

How to Train Your Dragon

Dreamworks Animation

Score: John Powell

Orchestrator

The Krüger films

ARD Degeto | Provobis Film

Dir. Marc-Andreas Bochert

with Horst Krause

Coconut the Little Dragon (TV series)

ZDF | Caligari Film

104 episodes

Capt’n Sharky

Caligari Film

Dir. Hubert Weiland

with Axel Prahl

Coconut the Little Dragon 2: Into the Jungle

Caligari Film

Dir. Hubert Weiland

with Caroline Kebekus, Dustin Semmelrogge

Coconut the Little Dragon

Caligari Film

Dir. Hubert Weiland

with Carolin Kebekus, Dustin Semmelrogge

Co-composition and music production

The Cold Heart

ZDF | Provobis Film

Dir. Marc-Andreas Bochert

with Thomas Thieme

Digging for Belladonna

X Filme

Dir. Franka Potente

Knight Rusty (TV series)

ZDF | Caligari Film

52 episodes

Hotel Desire

Von Fiessbach Film

Dir. Sergej Moya

with Clemens Schick, Saralisa Volm

The White Snake

ZDF | Provobis Film

Dir. Stefan Bühling

with Tim Oliver Schultz

Beauty and the Beast

ZDF | Provobis Film

Dir. Marc-Andreas Bochert

Our Wonderful Nature

Dir. Tomer Eshed

Student Academy Awards finalist 2009 · Jerry Goldsmith Award 2009

Cocoon Child

Animation, 5 Min.

Dir. Sonja Rohleder

Produced with Nils Frahm

Full list of works

Reel

100 seconds of animation

Dragon Rider, Coconut, Capt’n Sharky, Knight Rusty and Our Wonderful Nature in one run.

The video loads from Vimeo only after you click.

Listen

Eight moods

Excerpts from series, feature and television films.

The Secret of the Dragon RiderDragon Rider · orchestra
2:20
Castle ChaseAction · orchestra
1:23
Die alte FrauDrama · accordion, tuba, clarinet
2:46
Taxi nach TroufakiComedy
1:06
Zum AltarRomance
1:41
GebrochenSuspense
1:24
SternennachtAnimation
1:27
MuhpiduPreschool · Toggolino
0:31

Awards

Awards and placements

wonnominated

Preis der deutschen Filmkritik 2023German Film Critics Award, Best Children’s Film, What the Finn?! (score with Ilja Coric)

Jerry Goldsmith Award 2014 · 2012 · 2011Finalist: Knight Rusty, Hotel Desire, Flamingo Pride

Jerry Goldsmith Award 2009Best Original Score for Animated Short, Our Wonderful Nature, Film Music Festival Úbeda

Student Academy Awards 2009Finalist, Honorary Foreign Film, Our Wonderful Nature

Franz-Grothe-Preis 2006Franz Grothe Foundation award for young film composers

Berliner Opernpreis 1997First prize of the Neuköllner Oper for the short opera icht. eine ödie

About

Composer, orchestrator, mentor

Born in 1980 in Uerdingen. In 1997 the short opera “icht. eine ödie” won the first Berlin Opera Award of the Neuköllner Oper.

From 2001, studies in composition/media music at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin with Maria Baptist and Bernd Wefelmeyer, from 2002 to 2004 composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, then film scoring at the Konrad Wolf Film University Babelsberg in the programme’s first cohort, with Martin Todsharow and Ulrich Reuter. Graduated in 2008 with a diploma in film composition.

After an assistantship with John Powell in Los Angeles came work as an orchestrator on his Academy Award–nominated score to DreamWorks’ “How to Train Your Dragon” (2010). In 2026, founding of the scoring studio Fat Dragon.

Education

Assistant and orchestratorJohn Powell, Los Angeles, 2009–2010
Diploma in film compositionKonrad Wolf Film University Babelsberg, 2004–2008
CompositionUniversity of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, 2002–2004
Composition/media musicHanns Eisler School of Music Berlin, 2001–2006

Orchestras

Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg
Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt
City of Prague Philharmonic
Budapest Scoring Orchestra
Musicians of the London Symphony Orchestra, AIR Lyndhurst

Mentoring, talks, committees

Passing it on is part of the work

To assistants, interns and orchestrators in the studio, on panels and in examination committees.

Mentoring in productions since 2013Assistants, mock-up and orchestration on “Dragon Rider”, “Coconut” and “Knight Rusty”;
since 2026 within the Fat Dragon studio
Entrance examination committee, composition/media musicHanns Eisler School of Music Berlin
GEMA, Wertungsausschuss Uassessment committee, 2008–2020
Panel “Music and Series”, Serienale Berlin30 September 2016, with Reinhold Heil, Moritz Denis and Hans Hafner