We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nathania Pasila a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nathania, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I was first introduced to music when I was three years old. My mom, who’s a piano teacher, taught me how to play piano. I still remember how proud and happy I looked when I managed to play C major scale for the first time. I knew at that moment that music is going to be my career because I fell in love with it. I thought that dream was going to change considering how most of us found something we love more later in our life. However, in my case, I couldn’t find something that excites and moves me more than music. This solidifies my dream and finally, I told my parents that I want to pursue music and go to a music school when I was in seventh grade.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a music composer, producer, and pianist based in Los Angeles, CA. The piano was my gateway to music. I grew up surrounded by different kinds of music (classical, jazz, and pop) which allows me to become versatile in many different music styles. Throughout the years, I keep developing my skills in classical piano performance as well as composing my own music. I was even fortunate enough to perform my own composition in Ginza, Japan through Yamaha International Junior Original Concert back in 2017. Then, in Spring 2020, I entered Berklee College of Music as an undergraduate student. During my time at Berklee, I feel really proud and grateful to have been chosen as the president and music director for Berklee Indonesian Ensemble. Through this student-led organization, I was able to work with many talented musicians to spread music and culture from Indonesia, my home country. I was also fortunate to receive two awards last spring for my composition, Immanuel. After three and a half years, I graduated with a double major in Contemporary Writing and Production and Composition with a minor in Writing for Television and New Media.

As a composer, I usually compose and arrange music for orchestra because I grew up to lots of Disney movies. However, I also do smaller ensemble, chamber, and solo works. As a producer, I’ve been producing K-pop-inspired tracks lately. Since it’s my main goal to be able to produce for the K-pop music industry, I’ve been trying to learn more about the sonic qualities that differentiate K-pop from other genres while adding my own color to it.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My creative journey has always been driven by my own emotions, thoughts, and beliefs. For me, I always view music as a blank canvas where I can truly be honest with myself. As for goals, I want to write and release more of my music. I have several works that I’ve been keeping to myself because I wasn’t confident about them. Therefore, my other goal is to be more brave and confident about my work.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is to be able to share my music with other people. This might sound cliche, but seeing people enjoying my music brings me so much joy. Sometimes, I get conscious and nervous, wondering if people will enjoy the music that I write and relate to the story behind it. So when I see that people like my work, I feel very touched and happy because I know that my hard work is being appreciated.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nathaniajpmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathaniajp/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathania-pasila/
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@nathaniajp
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4uuiJBWFjcKWiDOyJg3vMe?si=O46chojuSCe7sugGowAmRA

Image Credits
Joan Andrea, Jessica A. Liora