Meet Ishaan Tyagi | Film and Media Composer

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

Hi Ishaan, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?

I chose an artistic and creative career as a film composer because of my profound passion for storytelling through music. Even during my early days as a performing artist in India, I found myself deeply captivated by the magic of film music. I dedicated myself to studying film music and orchestral compositions, preparing diligently for my studies at the prestigious institution USC Thornton School of Music where I gained my masters in Screen Scoring. Now, as a film composer and music producer, I relish the opportunity to craft emotionally resonant scores that enhance narratives and evoke powerful responses from audiences. My journey in this creative field has been driven by a love for films and a desire to contribute meaningfully to storytelling, always striving to make the film better and serve the story above all else.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
In simple words, I’m a film composer and a music producer. Which essentially means I write music for films, shows and other media – Video Games, advertisements, etc. I personally love working on films that allow me to write emotionally strong and bold music. Action, thriller, and animation are some of the genres I dearly enjoy working on. I’m a huge fan of the work done by John Powell, Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard and take a lot of inspiration from their music.

I started out as a performing artist working as a keyboardist and pianist with a number of live acts in India. Along with that, I was also pursuing a certification in Audio Engineering and Music Production from Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication, Delhi which really helped me lay the foundation for my studies and experiences in the film music. I was always fascinated by film music and always had the desire to work as a film composer more than anything else.
I started working as an additional writer in Mumbai on some highly acclaimed shows and feature films. After working for a few months, I realized I needed to go for further studies in film scoring and shape my craft by learning from the top industry professionals.

So I completed my studies from USC in 2023 and since then I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to stay in LA and work. Currently I’m writing music for various independent films along with writing trailer music and music for labels that provide material to Warner Brothers Discovery on their reality tv shows such as Homestead Rescue, United States of Gold etc.

And speaking of hurdles, we hear about these incredibly inspiring stories of how people get where they are through some really rough patches, but my road hasn’t been one with overwhelming struggles. There have been some hurdles of course, a major one being trying to convince my family that this is a viable path for me to take and while it’ll have its own bumps, it’s what I want to do and it’s not a thoughtless endeavor but a meaningful pursuit. Safe to say now that they have gained a lot more faith in me than they had when I first started and I’m sure it’ll continue to grow.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m a huge fan of finding some great places to eat so will probably go to some of my favourites – Maccheroni Republic, Bacari, Sugarfish by Sushi Noazawa and of course In-n-out at 12am. Drive up to Malibu, Take a hike to the Hollywood Sign via the Griffith Park trailhead, The Getty Center, Universal Studios, Disneyland and so much more.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’ve been so lucky to have such inspiring and supporting people throughout my journey. I received the most inspiring mentoring from my teachers when I was pursuing Audio Engineering and Music Production. Gaurav Chintamani, Chayan Adhikari, Krishna Rao and more who showed me not only their craft but what drives them to do better every single day and how to stay creative. Once you step into the real world you look for people to lend you a helping hand and take you under their wing. I was fortunate to have come across such people who included me in their projects and mentored me not just in the context of my career but with anything I needed support with. During my days in Mumbai I learned so much from assisting Ishaan Chhabra and learning from Tanuj Tiku. Still cherish those learnings and those relationships.
And most recently when I got to pursue my dream career in film music and came to Los Angeles, I got to know such wonderful teachers and fellow composers who have been a great source of inspiration and really pushed me to do the best I can. Lolita Ritmanis, Peter Golub, Allegra de Souza, Pete Anthony, Gary Schyman and so many more who introduced me to new and exciting ways of looking at music, films and being a composer. A sense of community created by all the people I came to know in LA has really been deeply encouraging and fuelled me to keep creating and sharing my art with the world.

Website: https://ishaantyagimusic.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ishaan_tgi/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ishan.tyagi.56/