Meet Genevieve Vincent: Composer

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

Hi Genevieve, what role has risk played in your life or career?
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” I try to navigate my career and live my life with that in mind. You need to take risks to grow, and growing can be uncomfortable. I feel like I take risks all the time, just in terms of trying new approaches to compose something that sounds fresh or different. I think trying new things is really important when you’re a creator. I consider the pros and cons of my decisions, whether that pertains to a musical choice like choosing a pallet of instrumentation for a film, taking on a new job, or a personal life decision like relocating, and then I just do my best.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a composer, songwriter, and music producer. Because I started out as a singer and a violin player when I was very little, writing songs and lyrics has always very felt natural to me. I initially learned piano to accompany my melodic ideas on voice and give them harmonic context. But now, as a film composer, I use piano more than any other instrument. I always want to try to get to the truth in my music. How can I tell this story in the most honest way? Whether that’s in scoring a film or writing a song. I really want to get to the essence of what the message is meant to be for each piece. One of the ways I’ve learned to do this is to stop and ask myself the hard questions during the writing process. Questions like, why is this melody or harmony or chord here? Is it serving the film or the song in some real way, or is it filler that sounds cool? If it’s the latter, I might save it for another idea down the line because I think (after all of the brainstorming and playing around that we initially do in the writing process) what ends up in the final product needs to have intention behind it.

The biggest highlights of my composing career so far have been scoring my first studio film – the Sony Tristar rom com “The Broken Hearts Gallery” written and directed by Natalie Krinsky and produced by Selena Gomez, scoring the “Hokkaido” episode of the Netflix show “Moving Art” directed by Louie Schwartzberg, having my concert music performed in The Echo Society Six: Family concert alongside artists I admire and look up to, and releasing my first full length album “Feel So Much” with my band darkDARK via Network Music Group in February of this year. I have found that the varied musical experiences I have help me create a well-rounded musical pallet that I bring to projects.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would start by taking that friend on a hike. My favorite things about Los Angeles are the ocean and the mountains, so you can get a taste of all of that hiking Sandstone Peak in the Santa Monica Mountains. After that, we’d stop at The Old Place for some old school cow boy food. At The Old Place everything is fantastic and huge, so sharing is recommended. Next I would suggest a day (or several days!) taking in the arts. Attend a concert at the iconic Disney Concert Hall and stop by The Broad on the way to check out their in house collection. The Hollywood Bowl is also a must, with all kinds of musical acts coming through, there is something for everyone. In addition to concerts at those bigger venues, I would check out a Sonic Open Orchestra show who play music by contemporary classical composers in cool spaces around the city. Another ensemble I love to see live, is The Hollywood Chamber Orchestra who often perform film scores live to picture and play music by classical composers, contemporary composers, and film composers. If you are downtown for any of the above, grab a drink at Birds & Bees with a speakeasy vibe. One of my favorite LA Food experiences is going to Grand Central Market – You can spend half a day just wandering around in there tasting things, taking in different food cultures. The Ace hotel is also nearby, and not only has a gorgeous theater which is historical and was recently rebuilt, but it also has a great restaurant. I would also recommend visiting the Dorthy Chandler Pavilion where I would try to catch a performance by the incredible LA Opera.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My family and friends first and foremost are deserving of a shoutout because they are the ones there through thick and thin. We all need a shoulder to cry on in the tough times someone to celebrate our victories with! The other people who deserve a huge shout out are my colleagues and collaborators. The aphorism, “a rising tide lifts all boats” couldn’t be more true in the music business. I really treasure my relationships with collaborators of all kinds -directors, musicians, producers, music supervisors, assistants, music editors, orchestrators, music execs, managers, agents, engineers, and mixers that I’ve worked with. The reality is that being a composer is a group activity. We don’t operate in a vacuum – we team up with a variety of other people to create our work and make it the best it can be. So I want to recognize my colleagues and collaborators in this dedication for their talents, trust, skills, passion, and abilities.

Website: www.genevievevincent.com

Instagram: @youarecanadian

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/genevieve-vincent-88649410/

Twitter: @darkdarkmusic

Facebook: @genevievevincentmusic

Youtube: darkDARK

Image Credits
Victoria Innocenzi