One of the things that attracted me to the world of media music is how many of my heroes come from humble beginnings.
The career origin stories of so many great composers are outsiders, with upbringings from parents of modest means and unconnected to the entertainment industry.
While a handful of great media composers descend from industry lineage (the Newmans, Horner, etc), the majority hail from households (like my own) of school teachers (Elfman, McCreary, Lennertz) and other non-lucrative, non-show biz fields.
Like Pinar Toprak, many come from foreign lands, learned a new language and ended up scoring huge American films.
This is a business where hard work, perseverance, attitude, risk-taking, collaboration and talent (and luck) still matter.
Would be interest in hearing the humble origin stories of some of your film music heroes.
