Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexander Zhu.
Hi Alexander, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m originally from St. Paul, Minnesota. I started music at a young age – my first piano lessons were at age seven! I eventually started playing violin at age nine and eventually attended New England Conservatory in Boston for my undergrad.
While I was there, I was exposed to all kinds of music, from standards of the classical music repertoire to experimental jazz and popular music. I’d often play a traditional classical concert at 8pm, then afterwards immediately hop on the subway to go play an avante-garde show in a warehouse or art gallery or bar at midnight. Listening to and being able to perform all those different kinds of music during my formative years shaped my ears and my sense of style.
After I finished my bachelor’s, I decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue graduate school at USC and start my career. The East Coast is an amazing place, but I wanted to move my practice to a place that was more open-minded and accepting. Here in LA, the music that I fell in love with wasn’t limited to midnight shows in gallery basements or abandoned warehouses (although there are still many shows like that!) but was considered more mainstream and exciting.
I finished my doctorate in Music and Arts Leadership at USC in 2019. While I was in school, I was hired to teach at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music and at Pierce College, in addition to the lecturer position I held at The Thornton School. My teaching practice eventually spanned all kinds of students, from giving kids their first piano lessons to preparing advanced students for college auditions and coaching actors to play piano on screen. I’ve even had a few celebrity students – Chance the Rapper (yes, that one!) was my student for a few months while he was living in LA.
During my doctorate, I started getting requests to write and arrange music. I had only taken a few formal composition lessons, but I quickly found that writing music is the most satisfying creative activity for me. I was asked to lead the new music department at ZAG Animation, where I’m currently working on a feature film due to release in 2022. I also write a lot of music for indie projects and student films – working with a director to use music to help tell a story is incredibly gratifying for me. I was also asked to start a composition program at Pierce College. I created a program that allows students to learn to compose music in any style they want to pursue and to help them build a career.
My passion for music in visual media and composition has led me to start my own production company with some of my colleagues: Magical Music Manufacturing. We’re a team of classically-trained and industry-proven producers, composers, arrangers, engineers and performers that create music for media and live events. We’ve got a ton of cool projects happening and can’t wait to share them with you!
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?
Music is always a bumpy path – I tell my students who are seriously considering music career to do it only if they can’t see themselves doing anything else! Music is competitive, completely not objective, and super difficult. I’ve had incredibly hard moments in school and in the professional world, from crazy screaming teachers to totally unreasonable clients to unhinged colleagues.
However: all of these hard moments are nothing compared to the joy I feel making music and try to bring to profession. Seeing a cue click with the director; feeling the rhythm just right when performing with someone; a student’s eyes light up when you find a piece they like – this is what makes music worth it.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a music producer and film and TV composer who has written for media that can be found on Netflix, Disney+ and Cartoon Network. I’m known for my blend of classical training, flexibility, and the ability to create music in any style. Right now, I’m working on a major animation film due to release in 2022, as well as numerous indie projects focused on LGBTQ+ and Asian-American Identity issues. I’m also a conductor, instrumentalist, and arts administrator. I founded a music production company – Magical Music Manufacturing – to bring together not just all the different facets of my career but also my friends and colleagues in the industry so we can all work together as a collective.
I’m proud of my ability to work with people from all different sides of the music industry, and especially proud of working with people from other fields – part of the reason I love writing music for media! My artistic practice is unique for this and because I’ve done so many different things in different genres, from touring with orchestras to teaching college to composing for media to producing concerts and more.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
For those of us who didn’t grow up in LA, Southern California has an almost magical smell – something about the plant life and the ocean breeze and the warm desert aroma all mixing together (when the air is clear!) just makes this place so beautiful. My favorite childhood memory is an amalgamation of a lot of family vacations to California, feeling the warm sun on my face and feeling the cool breeze. I’m so lucky to be able to live here full-time!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://alexanderzhumusic.com/
- Instagram: alexanderzhuuuuuuuu
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/magicalmusicmanufacturing
- Other: https://www.magicalmusicmanufacturing.com/
Image Credits:
Christine Zivic, Adam Borecki
