The Composer's Life
Diving into the day-to-day details of a composer: what they do, how they do it, and why. Nadia, the host, is a composer for film and media and a graduate from Berklee College of Music. She shares tips on how to compose, music theory, her experiences, and interviews other composers to give you an insider's view on composing professionally.
Website: https://www.nadiamair.com/the-composers-life
Email: nadiammair@gmail.com
Episodes
37 episodes
Daniel Asia: Thoughts On How to Have a Career in Composing (Part Two)
In this second part of my conversation with composer Daniel Asia, we move deeper into the practical and philosophical side of a composing career: how composers navigate opportunities, develop their voice, and sustain creative work across decade...
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44:37
Daniel Asia: A Look into This Yale Graduate's Composing Career (Part One)
In this first part of my conversation with composer Daniel Asia — a Yale graduate with a long-standing career in concert and contemporary composition — we explore his path into music and the foundations that shaped his approach to writing.<...
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45:17
How to Release Music
Releasing music as a composer isn’t just about finishing a track, but involves many forms of creativity in design, marketing, and more.In this episode of The Composer’s Life, I talk about the process of releasing music today: fr...
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19:14
Michael Sweet: Video Game Composer & Sound Designer
Video game music sits at the intersection of composition, sound design, and interactive storytelling, and in this episode, I sit down with composer and sound designer Michael Sweet to explore how those worlds come together in practice.We...
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1:02:50
Erich Stem: Composing for Orchestras Since Age 12
Erich Stem began composing for orchestras at just twelve years old — and has continued building a career around writing music ever since.In this episode of The Composer’s Life, I sit down with Erich to talk about his journey as ...
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1:06:41
Berklee Interviews: Richard Carrick, A Career in Composition
A career in composition doesn’t always follow a single path. Today I sit down with composer Richard Carrick to talk about his work across composition, performance, and academia, and how those different roles interact over time.We explore...
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37:47
Weird Rituals that Famous Composers Used to Do.. Did it affect their creativity?
Some of the most famous composers in history had surprisingly strange routines when it came to creativity — from strict daily habits to unusual rituals and superstitions.In this episode of The Composer’s Life, we look at some of...
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22:14
Exciting Announcement!
A quick update from The Composer’s Life — I’ve just launched a new newsletter.In this short episode, I share what it is, why I’ve started it, and what you can expect if you decide to join.If you’ve been enjoying the podca...
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1:51
Berklee Interviews: Sheldon Mirowitz, Composer & Philosopher, Pt. 2
In part two of my conversation with Sheldon Mirowitz, we move into the day-to-day reality of composing — how ideas are shaped, refined, and carried through to finished work.We talk about the balance between exploration and editing, how c...
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38:13
Berklee Interviews: Sheldon Mirowitz, Composer & Philosopher, Pt. 1
Some composers talk about what they do. Others talk about how they think.In this episode of The Composer’s Life, I sit down with film and television composer Sheldon Mirowitz to explore his perspective on creativity, composing, ...
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33:04
Berklee Interviews: Timothy Huling, Composer, Conductor, Orchestra, & Producer of music for Film, Games, Media, & The Concert Hall
Timothy Huling is a composer, conductor, and orchestrator whose work spans film, television, video games, and the concert hall. In this episode, I sit down with him to talk about what it means to work across all of those worlds.We explor...
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1:00:21
Berklee Interviews: Claes Nystrom, Emmy Award Winner for the First Deepfake
Claes Nystrom is an Emmy-winning composer and sound designer, recognized for his work on what has been described as the first deepfake-related cybersecurity threat to a democracy. In this episode of The Composer’s Life, I s...
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47:00
Berklee Interviews: Claudio Ragazzi, Emmy Award Winner and Film & TV Composer
Claudio Ragazzi is an Emmy and Grammy award-winning composer, guitarist, and professor at Berklee College of Music — and in this episode, I sit down with him to talk about his work in the film and TV industry as a composer.We explore how...
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1:12:22
Interview: Film & TV Composer Blair Mowat - Part 2
In part two of my conversation with film and TV composer Blair Mowat, we move further into the realities of working as a composer — from the day to day creative process to navigating the film and media industry.We talk about how projects...
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37:51
Interview: Film & TV Composer Blair Mowat - Part 1
Blair Mowat is a film and TV composer whose work spans drama, documentary, and large-scale productions — and in this first part of our conversation, we talk about how his career developed and what led him into composing for screen.We get...
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37:36
Interview with Film Composers: Kevin Lax & Robert Lydecker
Kevin Lax and Robert Lydecker are film composers whose work spans film, television, and media — and in this episode, I sit down with them to talk about their approach to composing and working in the film industry.We get into how they col...
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53:35
Composing with Modes: Locrian
Locrian is the mode that doesn’t quite settle anywhere. It feels unstable from the very first note — not because something is wrong, but because of the way it refuses to resolve in a traditional western sense.In this final episode of
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15:22
Composing with Modes: Aeolian
Aeolian is the sound most people associate with sadness in music — but it’s more subtle than that. It doesn’t push forward like some other modes. It sits a little lower, feels more internal, and tends to settle rather than resolve.Today,...
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11:11
Composing with Modes: Mixolydian
There’s something immediately relaxed about Mixolydian, but not in a neutral way — it has attitude. A kind of laid-back tension that comes from that one note that shifts everything slightly out of “standard” major territory.In this episo...
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11:28
Composing with Modes: Lydian
Lydian has a very immediate “lift” to it — like the sound is constantly moving upward. There’s something unusually bright and open about it, almost weightless.Today we continue the modes series by exploring how Lydian behaves when you ac...
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20:14
Composing with Modes: Phrygian
Phrygian has a very immediate sound — it doesn’t take long to recognize it once you hear that first half-step. There’s a tension built into it that feels unstable in a very specific way, which can produce incredibly unique sounding music.
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23:18
Composing with Modes: Dorian
Dorian is one of those modes that sits in a really interesting place — it’s minor, but without the dark qualities you might expect. It has a sense of movement in it, something slightly open, slightly lifted, and the one note change is enough to...
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19:36
Composing with Modes: Ionian
Ionian is the mode most people already know — even if they don’t realize it yet. It’s the sound behind a huge amount of familiar music, and in this episode I start a mini-series looking at each mode and how it can be used when composing....
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14:24