Today we’d like to introduce you to Josué Vera.
Hi Josué, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in the island of Puerto Rico. When I was little, I used to stay an enormous amount of hours watching movies. It wasn’t a lot of movies though. I would start one and watch it from start to finish, and then I would go back to the beginning and play it again and again until I moved on to another movie.
As I watched it, sometimes I’d focus on the story, other times on the background, but the one thing that kept me rewatching was when I didn’t understand a particular scene. “Why did the roof fall” or “Why is that character upset?” It was captivating. At some point, that fixation turned to books. Then after, to music. There was a common thread of a search for understanding. I’d ponder it until I felt I had understood something about it and made my peace with it.
As time passed, I started focusing on the overlap of music and film. I had been taking music lessons and couldn’t help noticing it play with a scene. That interaction holds this beautiful ambiguity that opens up a common space for people to share emotions. It doesn’t try to name what you feel, rather invites you to experience it. I had decided that I wanted to pursue music and help create this space. I got a bachelor’s in composition and then moved to NYC to study a master’s in Screen Scoring at NYU.
Now I work in the best of both worlds as a freelance composer for film, tv, video games, and podcasts. What I hope is to create spaces of shared emotion, of empathy, to build community and understanding and grow together through it. Still a long road ahead, but I’m excited to see where it goes.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As long as your walking, I don’t think there’s a road without its obstacles and rockiness. Sometimes, or rather some parts, are smoother than others. The act of creating is exhilirating, even all the more so when it’s with others. Collaborating and bouncing off ideas with your colleagues until you get to results you hadn’t even imagined before is incredibly fulfilling. It still gives me goosebumps getting to see the audience’s reactions to what we’ve made and know that for a brief moment, they’ve connected to it.
That being said, when you turn a passion into a job, it comes with some rough quirks. It’s a lot of hours of work. That day-to-day grind easily becomes burnout. I’ve thankfully developed a bit of structure so as to guide my daily life and take care of myself. Music used to be where I turned to unwind from everything else. Now it’s my job, which means I have to create space for other things and explore new hobbies so as to unwind. Also, having a group that supports you is priceless. Be it family, friends, or colleagues, I find myself constantly thankful for those that have encouraged and counseled me in times of uncertainty.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I make music for media, be it a scene in a film or tv show, a level in a video game, or a conversation in a podcast. As a media composer, I’m always trying to support the scene in whatever way I can as well as, given the opportunity, to highlight the subtext of a given moment. To me, each project is like a world with its own rules and guidelines that we’ve yet to discover. It’s always a delight exploring, through conversation, what the project is asking for and how to get there.
I’m also one of the co-founders of Trivium Studios. We’re focused on creating community-building events aimed at aspiring talents in music for media. With this in mind, we produced the first-ever convention for video game music in Puerto Rico. We invited industry leaders to speak and talk about their experiences, held a Demo Derby for participants to showcase their talent and receive feedback, and ended with a live orchestra playing a video game music concert.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Whenever I get the chance, I love to go hiking. There’s such a thrill of discovery in it, as well as a bit of a sense of relief when I’m surrounded by nature. And then you end the trail tired and hungry and go on to eat the best dinner you’ve had in a while, followed by a warm blanket, hot cocoa, and a book.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.josueveramusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josueveramusic/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josué-vera-209a13237
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7dKZ3wGU0lDNeWrVE1LAgU?si=gUOczf0LQ6GlvMclVTrpdg
Image Credits
Marsepia Photo & Films
