Meet Josh Ginsburg

We were lucky to catch up with Josh Ginsburg recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Josh, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I knew that I was passionate about music from an early age. Although I could not articulate this from the beginning of my journey, I gradually realized that music spoke to me on a deep level and that it would allow me to express aspects of myself that could not be expressed in other ways. After first being introduced to the trumpet in middle school, I was incredibly excited to keep pursuing this art form. I played trumpet in middle and high school in both classical and jazz groups, and continued on to study jazz music in college at USC. After I began studying music professionally in college, I worked tirelessly to absorb music into every fiber of my being. I would listen to Chopin to relax, Wynton Marsalis for exciting innovation or John Williams for awe inspiring musical moments. I discovered film scoring after completing my undergraduate degree, and I learned to love this part of the music industry. The widespread nature of media scoring appealed to my eclectic musical taste.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Media Scoring is always exciting for me because it combines everything I love about music: expressing emotions through music and utilizing music across many genres. I have been composing for film, TV and video games for about eight years and I truly enjoy it. Writing music for a new project always fills me with excitement, and I am always grateful for the opportunity to help bring new shows and games to life. I would describe my style as a modern approach to the classic Hollywood sound. I excel at crafting exciting action sequences, intimate musical moments, and at combining traditional orchestral instruments with modern instruments and sound design techniques. Over the past three years, I have co-scored ten TV feature films in various genres (e.g. Romantic Comedy, Action Adventure) alongside collaborator Timothy Kobza. Some of my favorite films that we had the pleasure to co-score include “10 Truths About Love” and “A Bet with the Matchmaker” (directed by Brian Roberts – director for some episodes of “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “The Drew Carey Show”) and “Kangaroo Kids” (directed by Fairai Richmond). In this same period, I scored several award winning short films and contributed music to some network TV shows (the most notable of which being ABC’s “Claim To Fame”). My hybrid orchestral and jazz based score to the short “Fuego” (directed by fellow USC Alum Edwin Franko) was awarded “Best Musical Score” at the 2023 San Diego Film Festival. Additionally, my emotional orchestral score for the powerful drama short “Backlog” (directed by another USC alum Jacqueline Rosenthal) was recently nominated for “Best Original Score” at the upcoming Indie Short Festival in Los Angeles. I very much appreciate the variety of projects that I get to work on and it allows me to keep innovating on a daily basis.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
In retrospect, the three qualities that have been most impactful to my journey are open-mindedness, persistence, and patience. I’ve found that these three qualities are both intertwined and necessary to be successful as a media composer. I have needed, and continue to need, to keep an open mind when working on new projects and with new collaborators. Each new collaboration presents new elements of excitement and unique challenges. While a new project may task me with writing in a style that I have a vast amount of experience in, it may also require me to learn an entirely new genre in order to best suit the project’s needs. I keep an open mind when working with new directors because I always strive to serve the project as best as possible, whether that means that I nail the music composition on the first try or on the fifth. Finding the sound for a new show poses a unique challenge and it is always a collaborative experience between both the composer and the director. Great musical ideas do not always present themselves on the first attempt. I may write something that I think is perfect, but if the director has something stylistically different in mind, I keep an open mind to listen to them if they do not think that my presented music is working. Sometimes, it may be only certain aspects or instruments that aren’t helping, or entire pieces may need to be reworked. At the end of this process though, it is always incredibly satisfying when the composer and director have found the sound for the project and perfected the music. The show or game really comes to life and this is one of my favorite aspects of film composition. With this in mind, I offer the following piece of advice to people early in their journey: allow yourself to enjoy the process of working on a new project. When you are feeling good and invested in writing good music, it will be easier to make creative choices, stay fresh and hone your skills. Enjoying the creative process while working with a director on a new film or game will allow you to compose great music, befriend a loyal collaborator, and learn a great deal in the process. Keeping an open mind to listen to other people’s ideas, having the patience to work with others, and the persistence to keep working until you are successful, are truly the cornerstones of having a successful collaboration with media directors.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Yes! I am always looking for new people to work with, whether they are directors, instrumentalists, composers, or anyone in the music and media industries. I always learn new things when working with new collaborators and I find that it helps me stay fresh learning from different perspectives. Whether a director is looking for a composer to score their next work, an instrumentalist is looking for music to record on, or a composer is looking for a co-writer, I always enjoy meeting and working with like-minded individuals to have a great collaboration with. If someone would like to contact me, you can do so by reaching out through my website – https://www.joshginsburgcomposer.com

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