SpotlightFX ?? Meet Paul, Award-Winning Musical Maestro
Our team is capable of using their talents to achieve anything they put their minds to, and Paul Cohen, a senior web developer at WebFX, did just that when he won the Vienna Composer Contest.?
Music has been an important creative outlet in Paul’s life since the beginning. He started playing piano at the ripe old age of four, only to expand into several other instruments throughout his life (trumpet, French horn, guitar, bass, drums, and folk instruments, to be exact) and, of course, composing and producing.?
His love of working with computers and composing music came in handy when he had the opportunity to enter the Vienna Composer Contest.?
The Vienna Composer Contest , launched by the Vienna Symphonic Library in collaboration with 2nd Foundation Music, saw composers from around the world submitting their original compositions to a panel of judges.
After multiple rounds, the winner would have their music recorded professionally in Vienna and released as a six-track EP.?
Paul’s song, “Majestic Kingdom ,” earned him the top spot in the competition.?
We asked Paul about what it was like to win the Vienna Composer Contest (and much more). Keep reading for all the details from this web-developer-music-composer extraordinaire.?
Q: How did it feel to win the Vienna Composer Contest?
A: Absolutely overwhelming. From hearing I was selected to move on to the second round (over a thousand people narrowed down to 12), and then to the third round (down to 3), hopeful anxiety increased at each step. And then there was that crazy, surreal Saturday where I woke up to see that I had won — although things got very real once I realized how quickly I had to write the other 5 tracks to be ready for recording day!?
While I wasn't in Vienna for the recording session at Synchron Stage, I was able to be present and involved virtually, and that day will forever be one of my favorite memories. What an experience.
You can watch the recording session, featuring Paul, on YouTube! ??
Q: What story did you have in mind when you composed your award-winning track, "Majestic Kingdom," and the resulting "Filmic Fantasy" album?
A: Since "Majestic Kingdom" was meant to be the main theme of the album, I was picturing more of a worldbuilding intro montage - flying over a fantastical kingdom to show everything from homey village street corners to sweeping, snow-peaked landscapes.
For the rest of the album, the story was something like:
Want more of Paul’s musical insights? Check out the promo video from 2nd Foundation Music! ??
Q: Why did you enter the Vienna Composer Contest?
A: I've been a fan of Vienna Symphonic Library music software for a while and came across the contest announcement. The prizes for the various rounds looked incredible — music software, working directly with a high-end music label (2nd Foundation Music, or 2FM), and of course the crazy opportunity to write and record an orchestral EP with one of the premier recording orchestras/stages in the world.?
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I knew the contest would be very popular and figured my chances of even getting past the first round were zilch. But since the submission for the first round could only be 30 seconds long, the barrier to entry was invitingly low. So, I came up with a 30-second track I was proud of, crossed my fingers, and submitted!
Q: What is your favorite thing you've learned from composing your award-winning orchestral music?
A: I'm going to cheat and name two.
The first is how helpful boundaries can be for creativity. This particular album is a production music album, meaning it's meant for media usage (commercials, promos, TV, documentaries). Each track had to be written within various limits in order to be useful for music supervisors - for example, it had to follow a particular structure with repeated melodies used in different ways, no tempo or key changes, and on-the-nose moods/themes — all while still being musically satisfying.?
On top of that, 2FM provided briefs for each track with mood words and structure suggestions. But instead of feeling restricted, I found this challenge to be very inspiring, as it became less about anything being fair game and more about making the best choices I could within the existing limitations. Too many options can be paralyzing, but imposing boundaries actually breeds creativity.
The second is just how important community is, and what wonderful things can happen when you surround yourself with good people. While I was the instigator of the musical compositions, so many other people poured their hearts and talents into it — from the label’s constant feedback to help me get to my best ideas, to the 75+ professional musicians, conductor, and producers who breathed life into those ideas, to the recording/mixing/mastering engineers who molded the performances into the best final product possible. I’m proud of what I initially did, but once everyone got involved, it truly became something bigger and better than I could have ever imagined.
Q: What (or who) inspires your creativity?
A: Nature, sharing stories and emotions, engaging with others’ creativity (music, art, media, etc.), and deadlines.?
Q: How does your experience with music influence the work you do at WebFX?
A: Music and computers have always been my two biggest interests, and I think composition and development share more in common than meets the eye. Both require creative thinking within restrictions, seeing/utilizing patterns, figuring out "puzzles", and persevering through obstacles to get a desired result - all things that are very fulfilling to me, and you get better at them the more you do them.?
I once saw this humorous outline of the creative process, which aptly describes how I feel both composing music and working on a complex development project:
Creative Process
When you go through that process enough, you start becoming less fearful of obstacles and the unknown, and creativity can flourish. Music and development exercise many of the same “mental muscles” and play off of each other very well.
Q: What has your WebFX team's reaction been to your music and your subsequent win?
A: Many sweet words, excited emojis, and exclamation points! One particular reaction that stuck with me was a coworker whose son is also into both coding and music, and she mentioned using my story as an encouragement to him that it's possible to enjoy and find success in both areas.
Q: What's next in your musical journey?
A: With the birth of our second child last November, my priorities have necessarily been a little different lately. But I'll be contributing to at least one more upcoming production music album for 2FM this year, and I am looking forward to finding other opportunities to write, produce, and connect with others.
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Social & AdTech Operations @ WebFX
7 个月Paul Cohen this is SO cool!! Congrats!