In late 2019, Los Angeles-based violinist and composer Jaimie Pangan was named a nominee in the Hollywood Music in Media Awards.
But back in 2018, when she first received her acceptance into the University of Southern California’s prestigious Screen Scoring program, she was too nervous to tell her parents.
“They only found out [when] I was about to move [to L.A.] in a couple of months,” Pangan said. “I was afraid that they would not like [my decision to apply for a master’s in music].”
Cold Tea Collective recently caught up with Pangan to talk about her unconventional journey into film composition, the global reach of music, and her creative processes.
TRIALS AND TRANSITIONS
Although she knew by high school that she wanted to pursue music, Pangan went on to study Information Technology and worked in the IT industry for several years before taking the plunge into film composing.
Pangan was first introduced to composition and film scoring through her discovery of composers. Curious, she participated in New York University’s Screen Scoring Workshop in the summer of 2017, which solidified her decision to pursue film scoring in the United States.
She then went on to apply to the University of Southern California, where she finished her master’s degree in Screen Scoring.
“There were so many things not in my hands,” Pangan said. “Whether or not my visa would be approved, if the schools would accept me.”
Her parents, too, were worried. Los Angeles was more than an ocean and a continent away from her native home in the Philippines, but she saw those uncertainties as motivators.
“If I want to pursue this, I have to be serious. I have to take it seriously because I don’t have the choice to go back.”
GLOBAL NARRATIVES AND NETWORKS
“Back” may have referred to the geographical and occupational challenges she faced in moving to L.A. to pursue music, but the flexibility of her musical work meant Pangan could continue to connect and work with filmmakers and musicians across the globe.
Pangan collaborates with a global collective of musicians and directors, working across North America, Canada, and the Philippines. On the night before she spoke with Cold Tea Collective, she had just recorded a tinikling song with a couple of musicians from the Philippines.
Recently, Pangan also composed the soundtrack for the short film, The Wild Ones, in which she colored her customary ambient musical voice with a Spanish flair to reflect the backdrop of the film’s characters.
THE BUSINESS OF COMPOSING
Speaking of her composition process, Pangan said it all occurs mostly in her head and that she “usually start[s] with the melody.”
Her music carries a quiet depth to it, taking on ambient and minimal yet fluid characteristics. But there is also an undercurrent of discipline to her work.
“I don’t believe in writing music every time you’re inspired because it’s not going to come every time. It’s more of a process.”
Pangan’s work as a composer doesn’t just stop at writing music, though. She wears multiple hats with ease, including that of a conductor, marketer, social media manager, and director.
“[Music composition] also has its business aspects,” she said. Once the music is composed, Pangan is responsible for sourcing musicians for the recording and conducting her own music. Recording sessions are always a little nerve-wracking; they only get a couple of passes for each recording, and the musicians are jumping in without any rehearsals.
But Pangan is no stranger to the myriad of tasks required of her. Navigating through the film scoring industry mirrored the challenges she faced in first taking the plunge and flying across the globe to pursue her dreams.
FUTURE PLANS
Because of her love for dramatic and suspenseful music, Pangan hopes to one day score an A24 film. In the meantime, she keeps busy, often juggling upwards of 10 projects at once.
“I’m working on other films as well and music for a podcast. I’m doing music composition and supervision for a feature film [and] I’m also composing for this TV show in the Philippines under a major entertainment company, Cignal Entertainment.”
It’s demanding, but all of her hard work isn’t going unnoticed. One of the short films she scored in 2018, Eagle Girl, had its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival last October.
Some of her other achievements have included “Best Score” for the short film “Mojave Shadows” at the Dreamachine International Film Festival; “Best Music” for her work on “Alter”; and becoming a finalist at the Oniros Film Festival in Italy for her synth work on “The Art of Flawsome.” One of her soundtracks was also used for the feature film “Tia Madre” in the Philippines.
“Just keep going,” Pangan said. “I had to wait around seven years to pursue what I love to do. And I really just jumped on it because I didn’t want to regret not doing it in my life.”
Keep up with Pangan’s forthcoming projects at @jaimiepmusic on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
