Meet Jennifer Phan | Media Composer & Music Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Phan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Wow this is a loaded question! I guess as someone who grew up playing piano every day since I was six, always singing and humming around the house, pursuing an artistic career was never really a question for me. What has changed over the years is my understanding of what it actually takes to build a life in music. For context, I’m originally from Hanoi, Vietnam, and I always knew I wanted to pursue music composition and production. I flew across the world to attend the University of Miami because I was really impressed with the comprehensive music program within a bigger college community, and the Frost School of Music is one of the only music schools in the world where you can study Classical, Contemporary, and Jazz all under one roof. Being at Frost has changed me in so many ways. It’s taught me that there really is no straight answer when you’re in a creative field, and you just have to keep going and believe in yourself. Most of all, it feels like a trial run at having music as a job, with all the challenges, the discipline, and the perseverance it requires. Everything felt intimidating at first, but the practice and satisfaction I’ve found within this safety net has allowed me to branch out professionally outside of school and strengthened my commitment to pursuing an artistic career.

Creatively speaking, there’s nothing more fulfilling to me than taking the sounds and ideas in my head and bringing them to life, whether sitting at an instrument, producing on my computer, writing them into notation, or, most rewarding of all, hearing the music performed live, from a full orchestra to even just one musician at the piano. Performing live myself brings its own kind of satisfaction that nothing else compares, knowing that I am pushing my comfort zone and expressing myself to an audience. Making music is a team effort, and I love being a part of the artistic community. I would not be where I am without this community I’m surrounded and supported by, and I’m always excited to collaborate with others and discover the magic we can make together.

At the end of the day, through ups and downs, making music simply makes me happy. That joy is what keeps me motivated and helps me push through the challenges of building a career as an artist.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I started out as a kid playing classical music, studying at the Viet Nam National Academy of Music for nine years with a focus on piano performance. Growing up is already a challenge itself, and with being a young musician, there were times when I felt so burned out from practicing and thought about giving up altogether and finding a different career path. But funny enough, every different passion I turned to still revolved around music, whether it was musical theater, band practice, arranging Christmas tunes, producing karaoke tracks for friends, or making acapella videos on my iPad. Looking back, I’m proud of navigating those moments of doubt, because they taught me that questioning yourself is part of the creative journey. Embracing that mindset led me to study music in college where I got to explore all the possible career paths music offers. I felt more clear-headed, started saying yes to every opportunity and learning from people who had already built their paths. Today, I’m deeply passionate about writing music for film and TV, as well as producing for singer-songwriters.

There are two favorite projects of mine that really set me on this path, one a production gig and the other one composition, and they together formed my film composer toolkit. First, I had the chance to work with my bandmate and close friend, singer-songwriter Alexys Dowling, whose sound is rooted in classic rock and folk with a unique ’70s–’80s vibe like Fleetwood Mac, Heart, Toto, and Steely Dan. We’d already been playing together in our band Skyrise when she asked me to help produce one single. Fast forward 2 years and that collaboration has grown into her debut EP “For The Better”, a classic rock record, and now we’re in the process of recording her first full-length album, an 11-track project branching into disco and neo-soul influences while staying true to her folk-rock roots. Working with Alexys taught me so much about the art of collaboration, specifically how to take someone else’s vision and elevate it while preserving the heart of the song. It was also the first project I fully took on from start to finish: producing, writing charts, recording musicians, arranging strings and brass, engineering, and mixing. Along the way I learned how to manage time efficiently, create demos that clearly communicate ideas to musicians but don’t take up too much time, blend vintage influences with modern production, and even handle the business side, splits, royalties, publishing and all. It taught me everything about being an independent creator and navigating collaboration.

Another project that had a huge impact on me was serving as assistant director for the Rock Symphonic concert series at the Frost School of Music. I originally joined as a co-arranger with Winston, which was my first time writing for an ensemble of that scale: a 40-piece orchestra performing alongside multiple contemporary bands. The biggest challenge was creating arrangements that allowed all of those groups to play together cohesively, and I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better real-world lesson in economy of materials in orchestration and composition.

By the second year, I stepped into the role of assistant director, which meant overseeing a team of composers. That experience was invaluable because it mirrored the reality of film scoring, that no composer works alone. They rely on a team of additional writers, orchestrators, supervisors, and so on. Leading that team taught me how to be clear in my artistic direction, giving constructive and helpful feedback, and delivering materials in a way that saved valuable rehearsal time. At the heart of it, though, was still collaboration. On a project this large, you’re working with so many people, all of whom are my peers with different skills, opinions, and ideas. Learning to be the “middle person,” to accommodate different perspectives while keeping the bigger picture in mind, completely reshaped the way I think about leading a team, and working in a team.

One last experience I want to “shout out” is my participation in a film scoring workshop at the Chigiana Academy in Siena, Italy this past summer. For the first time, I had no school obligations or deadlines on other projects, and just spent everyday fully immersed in composing in the most beautiful medieval city in Italy. The goal was to write music to picture, and the cues we produce were recorded with a 16-piece SATB choir and the 42-piece orchestra in Florence, Toscany. The experience of hearing your music played live in this massive symphony hall was like no other; it really brought me closer than ever to my dream. As a senior in college, this workshop, and every project I’ve worked on, has prepared me for the professional world. I have a deep understanding and appreciation for the work that I do, a commitment to getting better every day, and a clear sense of the industry’s landscape. I’ve also developed a better sense of how to balance work and life, and while I’m not fully there yet and certainly wouldn’t claim to have achieved the perfect balance, I’m learning.

Ultimately, what I want to share with the world is my passion as a composer and producer who writes from the heart, just as I have since I was a kid. But now, that same kid has had the chance to travel the world, work on full-scale projects, and is ready to bring professionalism and dedication to take on any challenge.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh I love this question because a lot of my high school friends also study abroad in the States, and as a result I often end up as their designated Miami tour guide. Of course, we hit Brickell City Centre and Miracle Mile, wandering the shopping areas with palm trees, blue skies, and all the food spots that scream Miami. One of my biggest flex to them is that I can go to the beach any time of the year, so of course I have to take them to Key Biscayne, Key Largo, or South Beach for a little taste of the Italian streets and all the Cuban sandwich spots on Ocean Drive. And of course, I have to give a shout out to Wynwood. I love strolling around that area, checking out the street art, and visiting my favorite vinyl record shop. I also love to go to Lagniappe, my go-to spot for a cute charcuterie board and listening to live jazz.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give the biggest shoutout to my parents, especially my mom, for putting me in a music environment early on and just supporting me in whatever I do, sitting in on every piano lesson I had, coming to every concert and event, and introducing me to a lot of genres and styles. I also want to recognize my friends Winston Thayer and Mallory Gravitt. Winston and I have been longtime collaborators in everything that we do, and we’ve shared similar experiences and challenges in this transitional stage of becoming entrepreneurial musicians. His work ethic inspires me, and he always reminds me to enjoy myself and have fun, because at the end of the day, we love making music. Mallory has been an amazing bandmate and just a fantastic musician, and she’s taught me so much about the discipline of honing your craft daily and staying clear on your goals.

Website: https://jenniferphanmusic.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferphanmusic/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferphanmusic/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@jenniferphanmusic

Other: Alexys Dowling’s album “For The Better”: https://open.spotify.com/album/4znot1QM1V7K9RXrE9mfee?si=3TjZ4v6TTq2Z2T2vdhjs_Q

Rock Symphonic Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/rocksymphonic/