We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sofia Coyle a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sofia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
My parents let me be who I wanted to be. Ever since I was little I was very musically inclined. Instead of absently calling it a hobby, they chose to see how that talent could flourish. When I’ve heard of other parents trying to force their child in a different direction away from music, mine said “if you love it and want it, go work really hard for it”. They have supported my dreams my whole life, and I never realized how rare that was until I talked to other people my age and mentioned how hard it was to convince their parents to let them pursue music as a career. Even on my worst days, my parents have taught me that I can do it if I put my mind to it, and to believe in myself. It’s so important to be told as a child that “you can do it.” Everyone’s brains learn and absorb a multitude of information as young children. The “I can do whatever I set my heart to” mindset was instilled in me young and has stuck with me all these years. My optimistic mindset I owe to them. I am very grateful for my parents.
One memory that sticks with me is when I received a commission from my alma mater, The Crane School of Music. It was 2021, a year after I graduated from there and I with one other guest of my choosing could come up to this concert. I chose my mom. She and I traveled six hours up there to watch the premiere of my piece. It was my first orchestra piece to ever be performed and I was ecstatic. While the performance was happening, I looked at my mom and the look on her face was filled with such emotion, and she was smiling. This meant a lot to her to hear my music live, because during my undergrad, I did have performances of my pieces, but my parents are six hours away from there. It was hard for them to find time to drive all the way up to watch, so they usually live streamed. So when I received that commission, and my mom was finally able to experience one of my creations in person. It meant so much that she came to support, and the look on her face is something I’ll never forget.
Sofia, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Sofia Galadriel Coyle, I am a composer for multimedia. I create music for film with a wide range of conceptual design through musical soundscapes. Whatever the narrative may be, I am always dedicated to the story, and am passionate to aid in the telling through my music. Along with being a composer, I am well versed in percussion and vocals.
I was born and raised in upstate New York. I come from a big family. I am one of five siblings. My parents like to tell me all the time that they used to play Thomas Newman’s Shawshank Redemption soundtrack when I was a baby. When the CD would stop, I’d cry, and they’d press play again and immediately I was back asleep. I really can say music has resonated with me since I was a baby. Being one of the youngest, I would say I was more of an observer than a talker as a child. I liked to analyze my environment. One of my observations was everyone’s taste in music. My dad was into any genre of rock and jazz, my mom listened to a lot of meditation, my two older sisters a mix of boy bands, rock, folk, my middle sister was country and R&B, and my younger brother and I kind of listened to the mix of them all. I love all genres of music, and growing up with lots of people, I can say the music they listened to is definitely an influence in my music. When I’m with my family members I observed that they all have different likes, dislikes, favorite foods, tv shows, etc. I got to learn at a young age that there are so many different types of people in the world, and how interesting their individuality is. I think my strength lies in being genuinely interested in people.
As a composer, I think that connecting with others is important. Not passively, but genuinely. In our society today, we quickly pass each other by because everyone is in such a rush to do the next thing. When I look at an artist, artists want to express, to say something, to connect with others. Whenever I meet those artists, the goal is how can I help them convey the story they are trying to tell?, who are they? what are they passionate about, and why? As a composer, I am so emotionally driven. There is no particular genre that off puts me. If a filmmaker needs me to connect to their message, I connect. I whole heartedly want to discover their artistic brain, and try to learn from anyone I encounter. Usually any filmmakers I’ve spoken to do not know what music they want yet, so when we meet I like to ask them the emotions they’re feeling when they think of their story, and what they want the audience to feel. Any of the adjectives that they give me paints a picture of the mood I have to grasp.
My musical style naturally gravitates toward ambient, meditative, with percussive undertones, lush harmony, and is melodically driven. Although that is where my music takes me naturally, I am particularly interested in exploring different ways to broaden my style.
Currently, I am in New York City finishing up my Masters Degree in Screen Scoring at NYU. The opportunities that this program has brought me is paramount to my growth and I’ll forever be grateful. I have learned a great deal about musical professionalism, and it’s preparation for when I step out into the world and discover various aspects of my profession. Looking forward, I aim to discover where my musical passions lead me. No one truly knows where life will take them. All I know is to work hard, believe in myself, and to be passionate about what I want to do. I aim to be impactful with my music in any capacity I can.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
When I was readying myself to apply for my Master’s Degree, was a very demanding and rewarding time. It was always wishful thinking that I could get into NYU. I would dream about learning from the best teachers, dream about walking around Manhattan, sharing my music and growing. I graduated my under grad in 2020 when the pandemic was upon us. After I graduated and life was slowly coming back to normalcy, there were still a lot of limitations with regards to in person learning vs online learning. Because of that reason, I decided to take a year off from school before going off to pursue a masters. Being a musical studies major during my final year in undergrad was a nightmare, so I wanted my learning experience to be as close to normal when I finally went back. I always knew I wanted to be a composer for film, so that end goal never changed, but the challenge laid solely in my motivation to stay committed to music during that gap year. I worked at the front desk of a gym for 4 years during my summers home from undergrad and I decided to go back during my gap year. I decided upon putting together my portfolio during my gap year. I worked crazy hours at my job so free time was limited. I was working the front desk and simultaneously composing and compiling my music together to get it ready. Even when I had the free time, I was composing or revising to make my portfolio look perfect. As nervous as I was, I decided to actually apply to NYU. NYU was my reach school at the time, I was not sure if I could get in, but I worked incredibly hard to at least try. NYU ended up being the only school I applied to. When I saw I was accepted, it did not feel real. I cried at the hard work paying off. I could not believe that my life was about to change for the better, and one step closer to my dream.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
It’s a lesson that is always in need of constant unteaching among anyone, and that’s the fear of trying and failing. I have held back from many opportunities in my life because of fear of not being good enough or failing. I would be told, “if it’s not your best then don’t bother, “They are not going to go for that idea.”, “You sure you’re ready for that?” I thought that maybe as an adult, those influences would fade, but the truth is that we only unlearn something if we dedicate to breaking that pattern we are stuck in. There’s no particular time when I realized I had to unlearn that. I just get tired of either people trying to put me down, or putting myself down. I am an optimist usually, and I think that helps me out a lot. I know that people will downplay my profession because they think a job in music is unattainable. You get people telling you to give up all of the time, but I know myself more than anyone . I decided “hell no” to their view of me, and be the best I can be. When you think about it, no one knows what’s going to happen, so I might as well embrace the outcome of whatever life has in store for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sofiagaladrielmusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sofiagaladriel/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofia-coyle-951179165/