Meet Christopher White: Composer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christopher White and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christopher, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think I have always been a believer in just saying yes, and then gone with the flow of what follows. I try to take onboard the advice of Seth Godin who so wisely states that one should ‘dance with the fear’. There have always been points during my career when I have had to say to myself, just breathe and you’ll get through it. More often than not, these moments have been whilst being on stage with Van Morrison who would frequently put us in a position that could be described as edgy. But I have never regretted being in the room at those times. The bottom line is, I feel risk is a defining factor in shaping where one’s career is going, and so can’t be avoided. It’s hard to not feel that safety is perhaps thousands of miles away in my home country of New Zealand – the point at which I started this journey – so perhaps now more than ever, low risk and safety are not an option.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I compose music for film and television. I spent the first part of my career as a performer and that included touring and recording with Van Morrison for 5 years as saxophonist and arranger. In 2005 I enrolled at the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in the UK for their masters degree in composition for film and TV. There followed a complete immersion in film. The college had at the time a very small intake of students so we were thrown together as a small group of filmmakers. It was a very fertile environment for learning to tell stories through the medium of film. All day every day for over 2 years. That sort of experience stays with you. I think that to really excel as a filmmaker, one needs to be able to collaborate effectively and efficiently. My time at the NFTS taught me a lot about what to do and what not to do to get the most out of a collaborative working relationship. I think I bring that forward into the professional realm now. To speak the vocabulary of film and to think in terms of where your place is in the broader scheme of the director’s vision is essential to serve the ultimate of goal of creating a work of art bigger than the sum of its parts. We’re all sculpting in time, to paraphrase Tarkovsky.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My friend and collaborator Aaron Nevezie from Bunker Studios Brooklyn. Always an inspiration!

Website: www.christopherwhite.online

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christopher.white_/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chriswhitemusic

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/c/ChrisWhite_HQ