Meet Matthew Kaminski | Film Composer

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

Hi Matthew, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Pursuing an artistic and creative career stemmed from having a desire to make people feel less alone. All my life I have been fascinated with helping and relating with people by having meaningful connections. Music is one art form where people consistently connect with each other. It is a universal language that makes you want to cry, dance when no one is looking, or hit rewind. When you watch a movie and get emotional, it is not the acting or the dialogue that makes you emotional- it is the music. If you were to rewatch the same clip without the dialogue, I would guarantee you would not feel the same way if it were not for the music.

By realizing this and having a personal connection to music from an early age, I knew this was something I wanted to pursue as a career. When I wrote music in middle school and had judges critique my work, people would always tell me it sounded very cinematic, or that it had a visual aspect to it. I loved hearing this, because as a composer I always had a story or image I wanted to convey with my art. When I had the opportunity to conduct the Portland Metropolitan Youth Symphony at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, my brother came up to me after the performance and told me that I had the whole balcony in tears by the end of my piece. Happily, I knew I wanted to achieve this because it told me that people really listened and understood my music, and even connected to it in their own way. This was important to me, as having the power to give people the opportunity to hear things and interpret a story I wanted to share in their own way shows that everyone in some form or another has their own story to tell.

When people feel less alone it bonds people together and opens our ears and eyes to new stories and new worlds we never knew before. Creating something where people experience this is something I always want to be a part of, which is why being a film composer interests me so much. I always want to help bring someone else’s story to life and allow new viewers and listeners to relate to it in their own way that is emotionally significant.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am currently a 20 year old Music Composition major at Chapman University. My journey started when I began piano at 5, as I would play around on the piano after my practices and write music. I started notating my music at my composition lessons at the start of middle school, where I would write for chamber music and piano. By the end of high school, my music was premiered by the Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Cascadia Composers, Fear No Music, the Walden School Musicians, and the Brevard Music Center.

The aspect of my music that sets me apart from others are the visuals. I never write music just to write. Behind every piece, every performance, every instrumentation is a story that prompted me to write. I care immensely about the things that affect me and others from day to day, and often this finds a way into my music. As a person who deeply cares about other people, I want to connect with them. Some of my themes in recent pieces include the 2016 election scandal, lost friendship, and the act of being closeted as an LGBTQ+ individual.

The most difficult part of my career was coming to terms with my identity, specifically sexual orientation. When I was experiencing these identity struggles, I was never sure how much this should interfere with my career and music ambitions. I never wanted to wrap this identity around my whole career. At the end of the day, music was the only way I was able to write about these struggles because it was the only place where I was comfortable. I have several performed works where I explore these struggles because for a time, this was the only thing I could think about and thus wrote about. During this time, music essentially took on the role of a safe place where I could express myself in a way that made me feel less alone.

My experience at Brevard 2019 was the first place where I was not closeted. I was able to be me, in a whole world three time zones away from home where I did not know anyone. It was the biggest blessing of my life, as I was able to thrive in a new place where I was completely me. For the first time in my life, I was comfortable expressing myself in a way that was completely separate from the music I wrote. This opportunity was nothing less than groundbreaking, as I was able to come home and have the confidence to feel comfortable around everyone I knew. The overlap between my music and my sexual orientation began to take on two separate roles. Thanks to this experience, I was able to express myself by more than just notes on a page.

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.
As a 20 year old Music Composition major at Chapman University, my ideal itinerary for a visiting friend might be quite different from others. Firstly, I would take my friends to one of my film screenings at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. This would give my friends to see some of the work I’ve done that I am most passionate about! Besides, who wouldn’t want to go see a movie? If some of my musician friends came into town, I would love to collaborate and write new music, record a new song, or even perform one of our existing pieces of music.

On one of these days, we would definitely take a trip to Laguna Beach to relax in the small chain of beaches up the coast. There is nothing like going to the California beaches early in the morning, taking a nap in the sun and hearing the waves rush up, going in the water a couple times, and cooling off after taking in the sun. The feeling of being in a natural wave pool on a sunny day is absolute paradise for me. Seeing the palm trees sway gently back and forth and the flowers and cute shops in downtown Laguna is a trip worth taking. Seeing Newport Beach is also a must do. If my friends came into town, I would rent a Duffy Boat and cruise around Newport Bay and take in the beauty of it all on our own private boat!

For food, the Packing House in Anaheim is perfect for everyone. The Packing House is a collection of eateries with different cuisines in one cute, newly renovated building. You can get sushi, chicken, waffles, beer, tacos, bubble tea, ice cream – anything you like. There is a place called The Pie Hole where you can get Earl Grey tea pie, Matcha pie, or even Thai tea pie.

I would also take my friends to the Kopan Sushi and Ramen restaurant, In n Out, Orange Hill City Grill, and Huskins coffee for delicious food around Orange County.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to give a huge thank you to three of my most influential teachers: Ruth Sadilek, Daniel Brugh, and Jeff Payne. These mentors allowed me to write music, have my music performed, and expanded my circle of musicians tremendously. Ruth Sadilek first taught me how to notate my music and encouraged my post piano practice improvisations; she also lent me her electronic keyboard when I had a concussion and chronic migraine where I was unable to play piano. Daniel Brugh pushed my growth in composition early on, and introduced me to fEar No Music, Cascadia Composers, and numerous composition competitions. Finally, Jeff Payne, co-founder of fEar No Music, brought my music to life with the help of the Young Composers Program – an annual composition program designed to help young composers write chamber music for professional musicians, performed every year. Jeff Payne also gave me the incredible opportunity to conduct the world premiere of my composition, Hidden Voices, alongside Metropolitan Youth Symphony director Raul Gomez.

Lastly, I would like to thank my mother and father, Maryla and Greg Kaminski, for years of giving me opportunities and patience. My parents provided me with piano and composition lessons from an early age, alongside many other programs including the Brevard Music Center, the Walden Young Composers Program, fEar No Music, and my current education at Chapman University. They are parents who provide their children with so many opportunities, and I am incredibly thankful and lucky to have the education and performances I do today.

Website: http://www.makcomposer.com

Instagram: matthew.a.kaminski

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-kaminski/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd5rwGdELBUEIBvSYGKlYcA

Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/79golZwbPvMtAI9EffmB9k Email: ma.kaminski@frontier.com