Meet Jack Oberkirsch

We recently connected with Jack Oberkirsch and have shared our conversation below.

Jack, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
Your creativity is something that you have to nurture. You can’t expect to flourish as an artist if you don’t feed your creative fire. Some of the things that I do to keep my creativity alive as a film composer are hiking, biking, watching films, spending time with loved ones, and simply playing music.

If you want to thrive as a creative, you must spend time not only working but also fueling your creative side.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My name is Jack Oberkirsch and I am a musician and film composer from Denver, CO. My relationship with music began when I was 12 years old and I started learning the drums. Soon after, I picked up the guitar as well and at this point was playing in several local bands. As I grew older, I began touring with several of my bands such as The Rotten Blue Menace, Screwtape, MOB, and The Consequence.

As time went on though, I realized I couldn’t rely on working with others as my only creative outlet. This is when I started learning music production and film composition in particular.

These days, film composition is my primary focus within the world of music and I have a passion for using my unique musical voice to help others tell their story.

This last year was definitely a busy one for me as I completed the scores for two full-length films on top of working on numerous recording and producing projects.

My latest project that I’ve been working on is my new EP, “Sonic Detritus Of A World We Will Know”. The EP is a concept record about the end of human civilization.

Although I’ve written many songs and scored numerous different films over the last few years, this EP will technically be my debut as a composer. I don’t have a date set yet, but there will be more information coming soon.

I am looking forward to a busy year with plenty of exciting projects!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three qualities that have been the most impactful in my journey are practice, determination, and boldness.

Practice is important because if you want to succeed at something you have to constantly work at it. Talent and skill can get you a long way, but you can never improve your craft without spending time developing it.

Determination is important because oftentimes, the reason that people fail is that they give up. If you have the determination to outlast the others, you have a much better chance of success.

Finally, boldness is important because in many situations, opportunity won’t just be given to you, you have to ask for it! Of course, you need to be respectful about it, but being bold has brought me many opportunities within my creative field.

My advice to others that are early on in their creative journey is to identify what things set them apart and put time into developing them. You should not be afraid of being unique, instead, you should embrace it!

How would you describe your ideal client?
As a film composer, my ideal client/collaborator would be film directors, producers, writers, etc.

I have a passion and a talent for helping others tell their stories with the help of music so I am interested in connecting with anyone that works within that realm. I have experience working with local directors and scoring remotely for both out-of-state and overseas films using my Denver home studio.

I am always looking to hear about new and exciting film composition projects!

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Connor Campbell is the photographer for all pictures here.

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