We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tan Onwimon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tan, thanks for joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?
I never see myself as a musician or composer. I do not have a music background nor did I go to a conservatory school of music when I was young. When I ran into any confusing music conversation, my brain usually screamed “WHAT THE HELL?” However, I am here today, working full-time as a media music composer because I embrace this essence of “What the hell?” It makes me eager to learn new things, ask questions, tackle every obstacle, and be humble at the same time.
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?
I am a music composer and orchestrator based in Los Angeles. My work has been featured in the Hulu Original Series Wu-Tang: An American Saga Season 2-3 as I work closely with RZA of Wu-Tang Clan in orchestrating his hip-hop music into the orchestra version. I collaborated with the Colorado Symphony in their 2023-24 Season by arranging and orchestrating music for the sold-out concert of “Portugal The Man” which was performed at Red Rock Amphitheater, and their latest concert of “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx” featuring RZA and Raekwon in February 2024.
Moreover, you can also hear my music in the CNN Movie ‘Blue Carbon’(2024), the THAI Airways Inflight video, Duck Academy (Documentary), and many more.
My music score for the animation “My Number One” recently won Best Score at GeekFest Toronto, and was selected to screen at WonderCon 2024, Atlanta, and many more upcoming festivals.
Outside of media music, I also participate in the musical theatre where I am assisting the upcoming Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats (Off-Broadway). I also assist the Tony Award Winner Cast of ‘Some Like It Hot’ in producing their Christmas Music for Broadway’s Carols For A Cure 2023 Album.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Although my job is writing music, the lesson I learned after working 10 years in this industry is that we should listen to other people, not the music.
There was a time that RZA of Wu-Tang Clan told me at our concert rehearsal with Colorado Symphony “Hey Tan, I think you messed up this song you orchestrated. You have to come up with the new version tomorrow.” I remember that feeling when my body was frozen to the core. Back then, I did not know how to handle such
a situation. Out of anxiety, I tried to explain every micro-detail of the mistake I made. I quickly learned at that moment that I should “talk less, and do more.” I stopped talking and addressed his point with a promise to deliver the score by 9 am tomorrow. At that moment, I grew up. I worked all night to make sure that the orchestra would sound like what he wanted. Once again, I grew up.
LA is a place where most people talk about themselves. I have learned to do my best to be the opposite. Every director I talk to, every game developer I talk to, and everyone I talk to, I tend to make sure I listen to them. It is not just a part of my job, but it is the basic thing that humans should do if we care about others.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
2023 was not an easy year for artists in LA, especially for those who work in the film industry. I fell into the limbo of negative thoughts for a while. And then, I decided to return to my roots, embracing my non-music background. I finally have come to understand that having a non-music background does not mean that I will have limited options for my music journey, but it means many more doors of opportunity are waiting to be opened! The “What the hell?” attitude has come back in full force, pushing me to start asking more questions, dig more research, meet more people, and be curious about the world outside of California.
I packed my bag and flew to New York City, networked, and grabbed a coffee, networked, and grabbed a coffee, on repeat. It was the three weeks of insecurity, but I knew by heart that I had to be resilient to the world and go with the flow. I let my ego and my expectations go. However, I maintain the goal of becoming a successful music composer.
It was those three weeks that landed me my first Off-Broadway gig with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s newly reimagined version of Cats: The Jellicle Ball as their music assistant until today.
2023 was not easy. But after COVID-19, I have learned to be resilient, yet stubborn at the same time. I am proud of my different background. It is ok to be different. It is ok to not know everything. It is ok to ask “WHAT THE HELL?”, If you don’t know the answer, then you better find out.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tanonwimon.com
- Instagram: tanonwimon
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tan-onwimon-49b309127/
- Twitter: tanonwimon
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TanMusic
- Other: https://linktr.ee/tanonwimon