We were lucky to catch up with Jeremy Chontow recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jeremy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

There is literally nothing else in this world I was put here to do. I say that from a place of passion but also because I’m quite literally incapable of doing anything else. I can’t tell you how many times I failed a math or science class. I tried baseball when I was younger but I got hit with the ball because I was staring at the grass. Music is the only thing that has consistently made sense. The love I have for what I do and all that exists under that umbrella of music and composition is massive. Being able to contribute my own musical perspective to jobs, collaborations, or conversations is one of the most gratifying parts of my life. Composition is who I am and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Jeremy Chontow and I write music for media. That can be film, TV, video games, really anything that moves on a screen. I’m currently working with a few music libraries that publish and distribute music for streaming in TV or film. Some recent collaborations include Hulu and Netflix. This is a new gig though so there will be more on the way! I’ve been freelance within media composition professionally for the last 3 years but I’ve been involved with music in some way or another as far back as I can remember. I started playing piano at a young age, maybe around 6 or 7 when I saw one for the first time. I was at a daycare and a large piano mat was brought out. I stepped on it and liked the sounds it made. As soon as I found out there were smaller versions, it was game on and I had my own keyboard a few weeks later. The music I write today can be described as “mood music”; lots of love or drama themes, maybe tension, action, or loud and bombastic for movie trailers– this is done without seeing any video so the music has to be easily editable to be placed on screen. While this is the bulk of what I’m currently up to with the libraries I work for, I do still love composing custom to video when I can and would like to eventually end up doing that full time.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Coming into media composition took some time and patience. I quit for awhile– After having spent four years learning about traditional concert practices in counterpoint, orchestration, and notation, I needed to reassess what role it all played in my life. I never considered myself a concert composer and had a hard time keeping up with my cohort who wanted that lifestyle.

In the time I “quit”, I was pursuing screen and playwriting. I wrote a few scripts and had a couple plays performed. I still loved film so this was me attempting to see story telling from a different angle. I was still playing piano and even making my own music again but I felt destined to become a screenwriter during that hiatus from music. I kept this up for about a year before composition became a more serious hobby again.

Fast forward moving across the country to Washington state in the small town of Bellingham, I started writing more music than screenplays, which caught the attention of a screenwriter who tasked me with composing an original theme for his script; my first freelance job in music! This got the snowball rolling to me eventually, one year later, getting accepted to NYU’s Master’s program in Screen Scoring with the portfolio I developed writing music for other filmmakers.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

You hear things like: this industry is competitive, this industry is unforgiving, the risk is high, get a day job, have a backup, etc. I’ve been told I won’t be successful. I’ve been told my progress was a disappointment. I’ve let down instructors and I’ve had to go my own way to get back on the path that is my love for what I do.

Why keep going? To quote myself earlier, there is literally nothing else in this world I was put here to do. I recognize that success isn’t guaranteed and it will take a lot of hard work but there is no one but myself that can stop me from trying. Sure, maybe I don’t realize the full weight of the risk or the consequences of failure but a life lived in fear is a life wasted. And I plan on looking back on what I’ve made of myself with a smile on my face :)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jeremychontow.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeremychontow/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeremy.chontow/
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremychontow
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/chontowj
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/29APOHsWT296ZdyIszSHiw?si=2J0aW6VARDq29CeT3e56GQ