Today we’d like to introduce you to Matías Ambrogi-Torres.
Matías, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I came late to music, but that only solidified my passion and conviction for what would be my future career. I was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia – I’m the oldest son of two immigrant families. My paternal grandfather is from Italy, and my mother and her family are from Chile. When I was very young, I was interested in my Italian grandfather’s trade as a tailor, but after a while I became interested in architecture. Finally in high school, I was introduced to orchestral music and I became absolutely obsessed. I spent four years re-learning the cello – my childhood instrument that my late uncle played. From there, I learned whatever I could, and I spent every second playing, writing, and studying. I was lucky enough to be able to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston. After moving to Los Angeles in 2017, I connected with a Berklee alumnus, John Swihart (Napoleon Dynamite, How I Met Your Mother), and worked with him for a year. Shortly after, John connected me to his friend, Tyler Bates (300, Guardians of the Galaxy), and I’ve been lucky to work with him since.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of very supportive people in my life. I’m beyond grateful to my family, my partner, my friends, and my colleagues for their help along the way. I’m very aware of the hurdles that my family had to cross in order to get to where they are now, to provide the life I live, and to give me the kindness, encouragement, and love they do. When I think about the metaphorical and literal oceans they had to cross, I feel so lucky to be able to be able to build a life off of my music.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I write music for movies and TV and through my work, I’ve come to love experimenting with electronics, synthesizers, and sound effects. My background and strengths lie in orchestral music, and I’m still enamored with the sound of the orchestra. I’m a cellist and was originally trained to be a paper-and-pencil concert music composer. These are all things that I still love to include in my work. Recently, however, I’ve developed an appreciation for lo-fi, electronic synthesis, and electro-swing, and my sound has started to change. I think it’s important to work on your sound, to try new things, and to always learn from others.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
My first composition professor liked to equate composition to climbing a mountain. In his explanation, he would tell us that learning our instruments was like being at base camp. Then, you’d climb different levels through theory, history, conducting, etc., until you reached the peak – composition. You had to climb through everything to get there. But standing at the summit you can see another taller mountain in the distance. You realize that you have a lot further to go. You might have climbed the “classical music” mountain, but there’s a whole range of disciplines and styles of music throughout the world that you can climb if you choose to be open to it. This teacher, Brian Rollins, encouraged me and inspired me during my formative years to keep climbing my mountain, and I’ll always be grateful to him for what he taught me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.composedbymatias.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/composedbymatias/
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/matias939
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10425621/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
