We’re looking forward to introducing you to Katrina Zemrak. Check out our conversation below.
Katrina, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Music makes me lose track of time — it’s where I both escape and find myself. I used to lose myself in writing and composing, but now it’s the process of mixing that captivates me. I’ve learned that anyone can create music, but it takes real intention and creativity to make something original and emotionally engaging. Mixing has taught me to perceive music from a more sonic standpoint — to think deeply about the textures and tones of each instrument, and how I can make them more interesting and alive.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Katrina Zemrak is an award-winning composer renowned for her diverse body of work, which includes over fifty short films, multiple podcasts and television series, and three feature films. Her standout feature film compositions include Two Lives In Pittsburgh, which won the 2023 Audience Award at Dances with Films in LA, and the animated musical fairy tale Bongee Bear and the Kingdom of Rhythm, which was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2019 Palm Springs Animation Convention. She also composed and supervised full post-production audio services for the Emmy-winning series The Chronicles of Jessica Wu.
Katrina’s expertise extends beyond composition. She has provided sound design for a wide range of projects, including short films, commercials, feature films, documentaries, and podcasts such as Earthbreak, History Daily, American Scandal, Business Movers, Tides of History, and American Criminal. In 2022, she was awarded “Best Sound Design” by the Indie Short Fest in Los Angeles for her work on the horror short film The Mannequin Man, directed by Kip Knight.
Her educational background includes a Master of Fine Arts in Music Composition for the Screen from Columbia College Chicago, which she completed in 2017 with a full-ride scholarship. That same year, she attended the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, having received a scholarship from the Game Audio Network Guild.
From 2019 to 2022, Katrina worked as a music editor, sound designer, and additional composer for Nickelodeon’s The Casagrandes and The Loud House, as well as for Nickelodeon’s animated pilots program. Additionally, she served as a music copyist and Pro Tools engineer for the Apple TV series Lady in the Lake. In 2022, she collaborated with Unbridled Sound and director Boaz Yakin on the feature dance film Once Again, enriching the project with dialogue editing and sound design to achieve a more musical flow.
Katrina’s contributions to the film scoring community have been recognized with several accolades. In 2015, she received the Volunteer of the Year Award from the California Independent Film Festival for her role as Chair of the International Film Scoring Competition. She was honored with the Allen Turner Award from Columbia College Chicago in 2014 for her original bassoon piece An Erratic State of Mind. Additionally, in 2013, she earned the Leadership Award from Columbia College Chicago for founding ScoFi (Score & Film), an organization dedicated to educating and networking student film composers with filmmakers and hosting guest speakers such as Eimear Noone and Craig Stuart Garfinkle.
Katrina’s compositions have been performed by leading orchestras in Los Angeles and Chicago, and her piece Many, Many Clementines was broadcast by Chicago’s classical radio station, WFMT, in 2014.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
This is something I have been finding my way back to a lot recently. My heart, creativity, hobbies, and energy all comes from the woods. Growing up I used to come home from school and immediately go to the woods out back of my house and walk through them for miles. I never got lost, I always knew how to get home. I would move through the woods and the silence and listen to the wind through the trees and the birds. It was the most relaxing and soothing place on earth. No one was around, only me. It allowed me to connect with myself on a deeper level. I never realized how important that was to me until recently. Since being in Los Angeles I have found a deep love for camping, walking, and hiking. Being in the woods is crucial for my energy and creativity.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
NEVER.
Of course. I think as humans that is a very common way of coping with tough life events. But pushing through and moving past those specific times is what helps you grow and learn as a person.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
Unfortunately in the entertainment industry people say you haven’t made it until you have a manager or an agent, and that these people won’t find you until you are actually getting huge credits and are being noticed by the public. Living your life based off of these specific criteria can completely take away your accomplishments and successes that you do have. This mentality of the industry can be so debilitating and completely take away someone’s creative energy. So don’t live for the industry. Live for what makes you happy and feel successful.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
Sitting around and worrying about anything. I’d focus on living my life for me and living happily. This is so hard for most people I’ve talked to!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://katzemrak.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katrinazemrak/?hl=en
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrina-zemrak-b692b14a/
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/katrinazemrak
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2WwruDszY26WmiLkgbCWK0?si=7FtLzfvsQ2qJz4q2dFLgiQ
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
