We recently had the chance to connect with Marina Ortega Mira and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Marina, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What is a normal day like for you right now?
Right now, I’m spending most days experimenting with a new instrument I just got for a project I’m currently working on. I’m sampling sounds, exploring textures, and seeing how it fits with the rest of the score. I love the exploratory side of making music, discovering and shaping sounds in a hands-on way, but I also pay a lot of attention to the creative process itself and how the way you work shapes what you create.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a composer and songwriter working across film, TV, and concert music. I create both instrumental and vocal music that blends classical training with contemporary and more experimental approaches, exploring how sound, texture, and emotion interact to tell a story. I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with talented composers and production teams here in LA, and I continue to explore new ways of creating music that feels both personal and resonant.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who taught you the most about work?
To be honest, I’ve learned many different (and sometimes even opposed) things from a range of teachers and mentors. I come from a small city in Spain, but I studied composition in various parts of Europe before moving to LA, and each of my teachers introduced me to a new musical tradition that was foreign to me before. Once I started working here, I had a mentor who showed me the practical, hands-on side of composing for film and TV, how to work with larger teams and adapt quickly. Each stage taught me something different and it sort of built on what I had learned before, and it has definitely shaped the way I approach music today.
Is there something you miss that no one else knows about?
Oh, definitely. Having the beach within walking distance is something I deeply miss now!
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
I truly see songs and instrumental music as two sides of the same coin, rather than big separate genres. I tend to approach a score as an actor would with one of the characters, and sometimes I think of the whole score as having a song structure. Music acts as the narrator underneath it all, it’s the main 4th wall element of a movie and the choices you make with it are similar to the choices a writer would make with the narrator of a novel. It can switch perspectives as a narrator would and sometimes it can even know more than the main characters themselves. That’s the same approach I take when I sing my own songs as well, so I tend to create a lot of bridges between the two when I’m making music.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: When do you feel most at peace?
There’s a sense of peace I get when I’m performing or recording, whether it’s singing or working on a score. There’s a point at which you enter this deeply focused state and are in the moment with what you’re creating; it makes everything else disappear and allows me to fully inhabit the sound I’m after.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://marinaortegamira.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marinaortegamira/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinaortegamira
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@marinaortegamira
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4kX5SurpXgH2DcbK12Fgrp?si=lBvJRfooSHOel7s6bULBqA
Image Credits
Aurora Macià Molina
