Life & Work with Kristine Bernabe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristine Bernabe.

Hi Kristine, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a Vietnamese-American film composer, music producer, and multi-instrumentalist who was born and raised in Los Angeles County. During childhood, I remember being fascinated with experimenting on the piano in between classical piano lessons. It was around junior high when I first became interested in film music. I used to walk to this video rental store nearby and rent movies every week, and I happened to rent a few movies scored by Hans Zimmer and Howard Shore one week. That’s when the film music bug began, and for a time all I wanted to play on the piano was film scores.

At the same, I grew interested in music production after listening to classic rock, alternative/indie rock, and instrumental hip-hop CDs. In high school, my dad bought me a mini-MIDI keyboard that came with its own digital audio workstation, and I started composing and recording original music for fun. I picked up a guitar and began performing songs at local open mics around the same time.

After many years composing and recording music for myself, I decided to move to New York City, where I began to pursue film music composition and music production at a professional level. I attended a film scoring course at Juilliard Evening, NYU/BMI’s Television Scoring Workshop, and later completed NYU’s graduate program in screen scoring. During these years, I composed and produced original scores for several short films, including the NALIP and Netflix-sponsored short “Sunflower Girl” directed by Holly M. Kaplan.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My road to pursuing a music career was not a straight path, even though it was always something I did for my own personal enjoyment. Figuring out how to make it all work is the ultimate challenge for many artists, I think, but I do believe it gets easier one step at a time. My family came to the United States as refugees during the Vietnam War, so growing up as a child of immigrants, the most important thing was establishing the foundation for a secure and stable life. Pursuing a creative career was always something that I wanted, but at one point I wasn’t sure if it would ever happen or if I would be able to get a music education at all. After talking to many of my friends who are also children of immigrants, I think this is a common dilemma we share, and it’s so important to talk about it and support each other’s goals and dreams.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a film composer and music producer, my work draws from the various genres that have influenced me throughout my life. From film composers like Hans Zimmer, Ramin Djawadi, and Ludwig Göransson to classical composers and rock bands like The Beatles, I love finding new ways to combine different techniques and create new sounds. One way these artists have influenced me is in how they blend genres and push the boundaries of music. I always think about the experimental music production techniques they’d do on Beatles records, for example, and it inspires me to take creative risks of my own.

Outside of music, I am also deeply inspired by films, books, and my creative collaborators. Prior to pursuing film music professionally, I supported myself as a nonfiction writer for a few years after finishing my undergrad degree. Reflecting back on it now, I realize how much that experience has influenced me as a film composer. Having the opportunity to delve into people’s lives and stories has helped me look at story and character with empathy and care. When I collaborate with filmmakers on their projects today, I try my best to handle the story, characters, and themes in the same way.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I mentioned this a bit earlier, but my surprising fact is that I used to work as a nonfiction writer. I did my undergrad degree in history and still love anything nonfiction to this day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kristinebernabe.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_kristinebernabe/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/kristine-bernabe-594663220