About Sterling Tilley

Sterling D. Tilley, III, a native of Springfield, Virginia, began his musical journey as a preschooler, quickly playing tunes by ear. At seven years old he began formally studying the piano and later began studying the pipe organ in middle school. Within the initial few weeks of taking piano lessons, he composed his first piece. From that moment on, Sterling knew that he wanted to be a composer. Sterling is an accomplished pianist and organist who has performed in numerous competitions, theater productions, and religious services since 2013. One of his most recognized compositions, "The Rise of Black Diamond," was featured during the awards ceremony for the 2020 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) national Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) Competition. Sterling's "Afterdark" won a competition sponsored by the Watson Brass, which premiered the piece in April 2022. And, in 2024, his piece “Lost” won the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) Sherwood Shaffer Prize, which placed this original score in their Music Library. Additionally, Sterling has scored to picture for many scenes, short films, and two popular feature-length films since 2020- namely, ‘Spider-Man: Hunted’ (fan film) and ‘Spider-Man: Hunted – Ultimatum' (fan film). He is currently a Music Composition for Film and Visual Media graduate student at UNCSA studying with Dr. Chris Heckman.