Meet Jamin Morden

We were lucky to catch up with Jamin Morden recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jamin, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

In this day in age–in music certainly, but I imagine in many other disciplines as well–imposter syndrome can be crippling. With internet access, you can head over to YouTube, Spotify, or any number of places to hear some of the best performances of unbelievably challenging music by the best players, most likely within a couple seconds. When world-class music is available at the push of a button, what can *we* do to continue making music meaningful in our own lives?

Before radio and television brought us all together, there would be village bands–even family bands–who made music together sheerly for the joy of it. These groups continue to exist today in the form of community bands across the US and around the world. In my eyes, the Washington Metropolitan Gamer Symphony Orchestra and its supporters are my community, my tribe. In spite of the fact that I am not the best conductor or French horn player in the world, I’ve found that my talents still are useful within my community, and I have found great joy in working for them. My usefulness in my community helps me overcome imposter syndrome.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

The Washington Metropolitan Gamer Symphony Orchestra is a rare breed: an orchestra and chorus that exclusively performs covers of video game music. In my opinion, some of the greatest symphonic compositions of the late 20th century include the works of John Williams, Alan Menken, Hans Zimmer, and their colleagues in film scoring. Their work represents a highly emotional, highly expressive style of music that is deeply appreciated by the public. Some of the greatest symphonic compositions of the early 21st century, for me, come in the form of video game music (vgm). Nobuo Uematsu, Koji Kondo, Martin O’Donnell, Yoko Shimomura, and dozens of other marvelous composers have already created a staggering repertoire of musically sophisticated and emotionally impacting music.

While WMGSO, and other vgm orchestras, often cover music that is already scored for a symphony orchestra–the soundtracks to Super Mario Galaxy and Octopath Traveler come to mind as two of many exemplars–we often transform original works to fit our instrumentation. What if the early video game soundtracks of the 80s and 90s, like Chrono Trigger, had a full symphonic orchestra available to them? Many songs require a group like ours to envision a grander (or less grand, in some cases!) setting of the music, though others continue to evolve as their franchises move forward.

It’s a bit like mining for diamonds in Minecraft or otherwise. You may dig through decades of music, and eventually find one truly exceptional piece that completely arrests your imagination. Then the fun part begins; conjuring a version of that music that can be played by live players for an audience!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Practice is critical in any skill-focused endeavor, and to that end one must learn how to practice. Simply throwing yourself at difficult music over and over again may help you improve, but you will improve slowly. I was lucky in that I had many excellent teachers who taught me how to teach myself. Now, I feel I have methods to approach nearly any piece of music, regardless of difficulty.

Perseverance is likewise essential. I have performed in all manner of terrible situations: freezing weather, low visibility, scheduling mishaps, rowdy audiences, and worse. Any self-respecting musician should be able to say “Ok, we’re not accepting jobs from this client again,” but in the moment, the ability to achieve a good musical result in spite of bad circumstances is worth the struggle! This is obviously more subjective, but sometimes being able to make good of a bad situation can make a huge difference.

Raw skill on your instrument or your profession is very important, no doubt, but no amount of talent can compensate for failures in courtesy, communication, and etiquette. Be kind to those who hire you, be kind to those you play with, and be kind to your audience. Communicate your needs to any superiors as soon as possible. Over-communicate if it helps you feel better. If you think you’re the strongest musician in the room, never, ever say so. Your performances always tell people everything they need to know about your skills.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?

I have mentioned previously my immense gratitude to my former teachers. I have been extremely lucky to have truly exceptional music teachers throughout my life, and while they all made me a better musician, I think I am most grateful for the lessons I learned outside of music. I learned how to behave in a professional setting, I learned how to practice efficiently, and even how to have fun doing so! I learned that even if you can’t make a living by making music, it is for many the best way to make a life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wmgso.org/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@WMGSO

Image Credits

Tom Flanders