Meet Derry McDermott of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Derry McDermott.

Hi Derry, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started learning music around the age of 5 at the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM) in Dublin. After a few years of pre-instrumental classes, I took up double bass, recorder, and piano. I also studied music theory and played in the orchestra. As I got older, I found myself gravitating more towards the piano which became my primary instrument.
It was during this time, while at home practising that I started composing. During my breaks from practising, I would sit and tinker on my own, or draw on some musical ideas from a piece I was practising and use them as a springboard to compose something new. I would record these on voice memos as I went, trim them to the parts I liked, then play them back on my iPad while recording on my phone so I could record multiple passes on top of one another. I found, particularly in my teen years, composing also helped me process a lot of my emotions and feelings that I often found difficult to put into words, so not only was it a hobby but it was a way for me to express my emotions in a way that felt more accurate and representative.

I’d be lying if I said I remember exactly when my obsession for film scores began but my earliest memory was around the age of 10 sitting with my dad at the piano (who had learned music by ear) learning the Forrest Gump suite together. Neither of us could play both hands, so dad would teach me the left hand and he would play the right hand. Not because of this but in the years after my love for film scores grew steadily over time. I think, for me, it was the lack of lyrics or words along with the wide variety of moods and emotions film music was able to capture that I connected with. I also loved that it was rarely tied to one genre or harmonic language. I recall after watching films in the cinema, I would go home and try to recite the melody and harmony on the piano. I remember distinctly coming home from seeing Star Wars The Force Awakens and immediately trying to learn “The Jedi Steps” from memory.

My music teacher in secondary school, Enda O’Connor, played a huge role in me continuing down my musical path. It was he who encouraged me to keep composing and to study music at third level. He had studied music at Trinity College Dublin and said this was the place for me to go, and so I did, studying a joint honours in Mathematics and Music. While there, I played in the orchestra, sang in choir, played piano in a rock band, and played at Irish traditional music sessions in different pubs. It was great to be exposed to so many different kinds of music. I would also compose any chance I got. I remember I used to sneak into the practice rooms after orchestra rehearsals and would set up my phone, turn on voice memos, and just compose for a couple of hours, sometimes until late to see what ideas fell out of me. When walking home I would listen to what I recorded and make notes of melodies and harmonies I liked.

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?
The road has not been smooth, but like everyones story, there have been ups and downs along the way, all of which though have brought me to where I am today so I wouldn’t go back and change anything. My main struggle was being diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic at 19. This happened during the final year of secondary school when I was prepping for my state exams to get into college. That introduced a lot of complexity in my life and forced me to rethink my whole lifestyle. I had to watch what I drank, what I ate, when I worked out, and I was just tired all the time. Again composing here helped me process this by channeling my anxieties and frustrations into my music in a cathartic way. Becoming disciplined with what I ate and when I ate to manage my blood sugars also made me more disciplined with my work across in all areas.

Also, as I’d imagine is the same with many people in creative fields, I had a fair amount of self doubt! When I graduated from my undergraduate, I didn’t actually think I had the chops or talent to be a film composer so I chose to go into finance with my math degree. It was really those two years in finance, composing on the side, that made me think, screw it, I have to believe in myself. I have nothing to lose and everything to gain by at least trying.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I graduated from Trinity in 2023. As mentioned above I went on to work at KPMG for 2 years as an IT Auditor. While I evidently did not continue in the world of finance, I learned so much at KPMG; how to work as a team and all pull in the same direction, how to maintain a work life balance, how to stay organised and meet deadlines. A lot of these skills I think have helped me hugely even in just the last year since moving to LA.

During this time I would compose in the evenings after work, my 5-9 after my 9-5 as people say! I also applied to composing competitions and arranged some pop music for an orchestra. Whenever I’d compose it never felt like work and time would genuinely slip away. I took this as a sign that maybe I ought to give this film composing thing a real shot, so I did! I also knew if I were to go for it I had to go all in, so like Ludwig Göransson I literally just looked up the best places to learn screen scoring and applied there and ended up at USC!

What are your plans for the future?
Well I am just finishing up my masters degree in Screen Scoring from USC, so now out into the real world! Im frankly terrified but also so excited to see what lies ahead! I will be staying in LA for the time being and just looking to work in any way I can. I’d really love to assist a composer to get hands on experience. I also love teaching so see I can teach some piano or theory too. There are also a lot compositions I need to finish and publish over the next few months which I haven’t had a chance to finish during the year but am super excited to share!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://play.reelcrafter.com/1cm3iK6KR8-sHKrqXCFMqw
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/derry_101/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derry-mcdermott-b5b4a91a3/
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/derry-mcdermott-985646110
• Other: https://uscscoring.com/students/2026/derry-mcdermott

Image Credits

Christian Amonson