Meet Joe Cahill | Composer and Director

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

Hi Joe, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
For me, my success has been how I connect with people. I grew up thinking that the way to network was to cold email composers and directors, pitch myself as the guy, and ask for a job. I realized it is not that complicated, just focus on the basics, and make a new friend!
My favorite projects to work on have been those where I know my collaborators on a personal level. These were relationships that developed over time. They did not start on Zoom, over email, or even a phone call. They started in-person with a coffee, a scenic walk in Central Park, or once even a run along Battery Park. Through these shared experiences I can learn someone’s communication style, get to know them on a personal level, and see who they are beyond their art. In turn, they see who I am outside of files for their project.
But, consistency is the key.
These relationships cannot just fall off after one interaction. Just as I have to be consistent in keeping up my skills as a pianist, I also work to consistently nurture relationships with others. Not every interaction has to be about a project. Checking in on someone else’s life can be just as important as grabbing that initial coffee. Seeing someone and caring for them as a whole person develops a friendship. If that friendship develops into an artistic relationship, that is a bonus. But I can also be confident that I have put in the work to develop healthy foundations for a collaboration. We see each other.
Success for me has not happened overnight. It has come from humanizing art, the people involved, and taking the time to show someone who I am. It has taken me years to learn how important relationships are but they speak for themselves. The importance of relationships is not confined to your immediate creative partner(s), it also includes your advocates and supporters.
I was invited to audit the ASCAP Musical Workshop by Michael Kerker in May 2024. On the plane to Los Angeles, I had no expectations, I was walking in happy to be there, open to learning, and being myself. It was during this workshop that I met Lance Reynolds, my unsuspecting supporter! After hearing me describe my creative process as a composer, we exchanged information and later had an extended coffee together. My relationship with Lance has evolved over time and I consider him one of my mentors. There was never an expectation that ASCAP’s workshop would conclude with me working on new projects. I would argue that I flew home with something better: a relationship that I now continue to learn and grow from over time.

All projects are ultimately about relationships. You as an individual decide the weight of those relationships in how you choose to interact. Had I approached Lance in my original mindset of being the guy, I doubt I would have made any meaningful connection with him. But because I was able to share my goals, aspirations, and process with him, he was able to see me beyond the music. He saw me as a person. We continue to develop our relationship and I consider myself lucky to continue to learn from him.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What separates me from other artists is that I am a composer that directs films and takes risks. I’ve been scoring films for 6 years now and usually, as a composer, directors send me a rough cut of their film and I write music based on their draft. In those scenarios, the story is already written by the time I am involved in the project. When I direct a project, I work the other way. The music comes first and the story is written around the music.

My most recent project, “Augmenting Realities”, is a great example of my creative process as a composer turned director. This project started with an instrumental song I wrote in response to a trailer for a virtual reality headset. The initial trailer made me think about my past – my return to on-campus learning at Johns Hopkins’ Peabody Conservatory after years of remote learning. I was eager to make new friends and memories but all I found when I returned to campus were people stuck in their own worlds on their screens. That frustrated me. With the release of more virtual reality technology, all I could imagine was others being further isolated and unable to engage in the world around them. As this flood of emotions raced through my mind, I did the only thing that made sense: I composed.

After I got my emotions out into musical notes, I started to imagine how it could be visualized. With support from The Club Creates in New York City, I was able to hire a skeleton film crew and four dancers to bring my anxiety-induced music to life in a short film. Together with my choreographer, we crafted the story of one dancer trying desperately to pull her three other dancers out of the virtual reality world and into the moment with her. I am proud of the work we created and that we premiered this short film at the SVA Theatre in Manhattan as part of a film festival.

The general mold for others can work for me, but I thrive when given the opportunity to take risks. I distinctly remember growing up left-handed and my Quaker school sticking me inside a closet in kindergarten until I figured out how to become right-handed. Once I became ambidextrous from that memorable experience (and left the school), I embraced doing things my own unique way. Just as I was expected to switch hands effortlessly, I can switch my creative hats just as easily. Art is worth taking risks and doing it your way. At my core, I am a composer but I am not limited to that mold. I want the world to be curious about what I make next. I want to be seen as spontaneous: my sound and stories change as I continue living. I compose, direct, produce, rap, and even paint!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
New York City is a hotspot for so much! The first stop has to be at Sheep Meadow or The Great Lawn for a picnic. With dinner at Oscar Wilde, I can show them my favorite flowers that the bar has. As a jazz pianist at heart, we would cap the night off watching a jazz performance at Birdland.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My Mom is a badass. Kacey Cahill is a charismatic leader who confidently asserts herself to negotiate deals for her job. She is direct and always in “close mode”, as she tells me. You listen first, isolate the issue, and ask questions to understand the essence of their goals. You build trust through listening and work towards a consensus by validating their feelings and desires. Art, like many negotiations, requires making someone happy so that everyone is happy. To find that sweet spot, you need to be compassionate, supportive, and find ways to ensure everyone feels empowered. Every time I go home to Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, I can hear her in her office talking to her team over the phone and empowering others to be active in the collaborative process. Each time I find myself leading a project, I endeavor to embody my Mom’s leadership style and her care for others. Like her, I stand by my ideas and vision but, I also borrow her compassion and seek to be inspired by and inspire others.

In 2023 I composed, directed, and produced a musical, “The Galaxy Brain Experience”, with my collaborator Zivi Osher for Baltimore’s Charm City Fringe Festival. It was my first time leading a group and wearing all three hats at once. With a team of 20 other people including dancers, musicians, graphic designers, audio engineers, and gaffers, there was a lot to manage while also taking graduate classes from NYU Steinhardt. For three weeks my schedule consisted of back-to-back classes in New York City Monday through Friday, then commuting to Baltimore on Saturday to rehearse with the cast and crew then get back to NYC on Sunday, grab a snack, a nap, and do homework before doing it all again. Like any show, things happened and curveballs came flying left and right. The way I kept our team steady was embodying the lessons I learned from my Mom: be confident in my ideas, compassionate towards others, and empower the team.

Out of 14 acts, we won the Charm City Fringe Festival’s Audience Choice Award. “Galaxy Brain” is just one example where my Mom influenced my work as an artist. There are countless other instances where watching and learning from her life has inspired me to create. Her divorce when I was in college (“Sensory Overload” in 2022), supporting my siblings through mental health crises (“Galaxy Brain Experience”, in 2023), and battling technology’s invasion into family time (“Augmenting Realties” in 2024) are just some of the things I have seen my Mom face. I am fortunate to both learn from and be inspired by someone I love and admire. I think if someone were to look through my work in 10 years time, they would still be able to point to ways in which my Mom has left a mark on my art.

Website: https://www.joecahillproductions.com

Instagram: @joecahill_productions

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-cahill-31a385249

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JoeCahill_Productions