Born and raised in Takoma Park, Gabriel Koempel is a professional composer, arranger, performer, recording artist, and teacher. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, bass, piano, and percussion. Koempel has several years of experience as a teacher, and has taught people of all ages. He has worked as an independent instructor, at independent studios, at corporate studios, as a counselor at music camps, and as a peer tutor through high school and college. Koempel graduated in 2017 from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies: Composition. He received The Joshua D. Atkin Jazz Composition Scholarship for Composition and The Thomas Battenberg Jazz Scholarship for Performance during his time as an undergraduate. He is currently working on his premier album comprising his own original compositions. It is a multi-genre album, including jazz, classical, folk, traditional, film, neo-soul, and R&B genres, and is performed by soloists and various ensembles (ranging from duets and trios to a full-sized symphony orchestra). He has written and arranged music for a wide variety of performance groups as well as for visual media, including film and dance. He regularly collaborates with Los Angeles-based group Booty&theKidd and Columbus-based artist Sarob.

Koempel has more than 15 years of experience as a performer. He has performed as a soloist and as a member of many different ensembles, ranging from small jazz groups to large orchestras. He has performed a wide variety of music genres throughout his career, including jazz, classical, pop, hip-hop, country, rock, funk, folk, musical theater, gospel, Christian contemporary, European styles, and Mediterranean styles. He has performed and toured across the U.S., and has played at a variety of different venues, including small clubs, large concert halls, and outdoor festivals. Additionally, Koempel has performed and recorded in a multitude of studio settings, and appears on numerous recordings and music videos. He has also given live and recorded radio performances and video streaming performances. He has worked in pre- and post-production as a coordinator, recording engineer, sound engineer, mixing engineer, and producer.