Today we’d like to introduce you to Navid Hejazi.
Hi Navid, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born and raised in Madrid, Spain. I come from a family with a strong artistic tradition, so at the age of five, I started learning the violin. I was an advanced student, and at the age of eight, I was already performing violin concertos in front of big crowds. But my passion was film music. Since an early age, I was deeply touched by film scores and when I was 15, I started composing and learning harmony and composition skills. After getting my degree in Violin Performance from Madrid Royal Conservatory and having the chance to score a few short films, I got a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music. That was a turning point in my life. Right after I left Berklee, where I double major in Film Scoring and Composition, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue my career in film music. That was 2012. As soon as I got to LA I met composer Nima Fakhrara, with whom I have been working for more than ten years now. I also got an international award for which is my first feature film as a composer (an awarded indie film called “Juan in a Million”). In 2013, I got the chance to intern at Hans Zimmer’s studio, which was a dream come true for me. Since I got to LA, I have worked on more than 100 productions, including films from major Hollywood studios and top-selling video games. In 2017, my friend and fellow composer Marcos Moscat and I started Game Music Town, an audio company specializing in creating audio for video games and apps.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road at all. It has always been very hard but has also been a real adventure with many rewards. As a kid raised in Spain, looking at composers like Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner among others, dreaming with one day working in Hollywood, I had to sacrifice other things in life. For example, my other passion as a kid was playing soccer, which in Spain is a big deal (I even got to play as a semi-pro against Real Madrid youth teams) and I had to set it aside in favor of music. I didn’t have a childhood like my friends did, and I always felt I was missing having fun. But at the same time, I was very determined to continue my education and find my way to Hollywood. Once I got here, I found other struggles. It is a highly competitive industry where you can’t take anything for granted, so you have to learn how to stay motivated. In my case, I find this motivation not only by keeping this determination and hard work but also by finding a balanced spiritual life: reading, meditating, doing exercise, keeping a healthy diet…and laughing a lot! You have to cultivate a healthy mind and try to stay connected with our Source, expanding your vision. If you don’t, at some point in your life, nothing in this world will really make sense or have any real value. You grow stronger and while struggles come and go, you can always look at them from another point of view.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I mostly compose original music for films and video games, including feature films, short films, documentaries, TV series, video games, apps, and podcasts. I have also worked as an orchestrator on film scores and AAA games. Something more unique about my skills is that I have become a specialist at performing solo strings on film scores. After getting an education in ‘classical’ music, I learned modern styles like Celtic, bluegrass, country, and jazz, which has allowed me to develop new techniques, becoming more effective and creative. For me, this is a positive aspect because I get hired to create film scores, which demand being mainly string driven. I guess I’m most proud of always delivering on time and being open to changes/revisions. This is part of this job, and you learn to be an extension from the production team. Mentioning a few projects, I feel proud about how the score for the movie “Guidance” came out, also my solo violin performance on the main theme for the “Resident Evil: Revelations 2” main menu and very honored for having had the chance to write original music for the powerful documentary “Victor Walk”.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Maybe the fact that I don’t enjoy that much playing the violin. I sometimes go back and enjoy playing a Romantic violin concertos like Mendelssohn´s or Tchaikovsky’s, but other than that what I actually enjoy is performing on film scores and becoming creative on my own solo artist albums, developing new techniques and sampling. Another thing is that my favorite music is Native American. I have done research on it and released an album on Native American violin music (the album is called “Violin Totem”).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.navidhejazimusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/navidhejazimusic/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/navid-hejazi-54a47141/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwESPVbc71HwICkWHo9E_ww
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/navidhejazimusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/74PBYA5bPYDFzdEQZQWPlq?gclid=CO2zpvXXw60CFSsvmAodhl5xAg
