Dear audience, I present to you the exclusive interview with Jonathan Grow, the American pianist and composer, today. He is famed for his emotional and intricate compositions. Moreover, his last EP “3” that is coming out now demonstrates his music evolution by showing three melodious at the same time enchanting pieces.
And today, we’ll be concentrating on his latest track “Devenir,” which is the last one of the entire EP. In this work, however, the narrator Jonathan flawlessly details his personal growth and transition throughout the story, linearly depicting his experiences from childhood to adulthood. The instrumental’s piano melodies, engaging strings, and symphonic crescendo delicately put across the transition and self-discovery into a rich painting.
Jonathan’s involvement in music from the age of five in a musical family was the gateway for his present career as a musician. By using many real things as inspiration for his compositions, he creates music that can be related to all; through this, his pieces are a reflection of life’s complexity.
The essence of this talk will touch on Jonathan’s artistic process, inspirations as well as the significance of his recent undertaking “3”. Let’s discover together transitioning era and tales of Jonathan Grow and plunge into the depths of his mind and musicality.
Listen to Devenir below
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What is your stage name?
Jonathan Grow. I don’t perform out so much anymore, but it’s the name I compose under.
Is there a story behind your stage name?
I don’t really have an interesting story, other than I just wanted to present who I am to whoever will listen.
Where do you find inspiration?
I’m inspired by everyday stories and the human experience. I hear the world around me as a sort of score to the film that is the extraordinary nature of everyday life.
What was the role of music in the early years of your life?
Music has played an enormous role my whole life. From a very early age, I’ve always sort of heard the music of the world around me. By age 4, I was traveling with my family’s singing group. I grew up in choirs, played in bands, taught myself the piano at 11, and began composing simple melodies and songs. Music has played an enormous role my whole life.
Are you from a musical or artistic family?
My family was musical growing up. My father and mother were both singers, my father was a music teacher and choir director. My sister, a classical pianist and percussionist. My oldest brother, a singer, also played the cello and tuba. My other brother, a singer, songwriter, double bassist, and pianist. We grew up making music together, traveling as a singing group.
Who inspired you to be a part of the music industry?
I suppose I inspired myself to be in the music industry. I hear the music in my head all the time – since a very early age. It’s important to me to get the music out of my head and, I suppose, into the heads of others. I want to write music that moves people. To get the music out to the world, the music industry is a necessary vehicle.
How did you learn to sing/write/to play?
I’ve always been self-taught. I think it’s just how I’m wired. I began singing when I was young. I taught myself the piano – started picking out melodies from the radio and teaching myself how to play them. My band teacher taught me how to play brass instruments – the trumpet, specifically.
I taught myself to play the acoustic guitar as an adult becuase the songs I was hearing in my head were on guitar. (I’m not a great guitar player at all, but it’s enough for what I need to do). I’ve taught myself to write and compose over the years. I’m currently teaching myself the clarinet.
What was the first concert that you ever went to and who did you see perform?
I didn’t see a lot of concerts when I was younger. Probably the first actual music event I ever attended was probably Les Miserable when it came to the Wharton Center at Michigan State, while I was in college. I was floored. It was so moving.
How could you describe your music?
My music is instrumental. A score for the human experience. Often melancholy, melody-centric. Moving and dynamic. I enjoy creating lush, moving orchestrations. Most of my work has piano at the core.
Describe your creative process.
My creative process has evolved. Much of the time, it begins with a melody that I just hear in my head. I used to always write away from my instrument. Composing in my head and heart first before ever touching an instrument. I still do that. But lately, I’ve embraced a more dynamic mode of composing, where I begin with anything at all. Wherever my hands land, in a sense, is my beginning; then I’ll just listen and respond to where the music tells me to go. Then at some point, it takes a turn and I begin to hear the countermelodies and textures and alternate themes, harmonic structures, etc. Often I’ll end up leaving behind the original melody altogether.
What is your main inspiration?
The human experience is what inspired me the most. Real people with real, lived stories.
What musician do you admire most and why?
This is a hard one. Thomas Newman is a composer I admire for his ability to convey emotion. Alan Silvestri is a master of melodic storytelling. Edward Elgar has an amazing ability to retell a theme unlike any other composer.
Did your style evolve since the beginning of your career?
My style has evolved very much, and continues to. If I’m doing this right, it always will. Because that means I’m learning and growing.
Who do you see as your main competitor?
I don’t see music in terms of competitors. We’re all doing the same thing in a slightly different way, and with our own voice. The way I tell a story with music isn’t for everyone; I’m thankful that there are other composers telling the same story differently, becuase I think it’s important for people to be able to connect with music – whether it’s mine or another composer’s. We can learn a lot from one another. We’re far more collaborators than competitors.
What are your interests outside of music?
Hiking, reading, running. Stargazing, though that’s hard in the city. Time with my wife and family is my favorite thing ever. I’ve studed French for a long time. I think it’s such a beautiful language and culture.
If it wasn’t a music career, what would you be doing?
Probably astrophysics. Exploring the beauty and mysteries of the universe.
What is the biggest problem you have encountered in the journey of music?
Giving myself permission to do the kind of music that I’ve always believed I could do. It took a long time, and I’m thankful to be where I am now.
If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be?
I wish the music industry was more accessible. We’ll never get a chance to hear some of the greatest composers and artists that exist in our world today. I find that sad.
Why did you choose this as the title of this project?
“3” is my latest EP. I chose that as the title for many reasons. It’s my third studio project, so that’s obvious. My music journey until maybe 5 years ago was a different one that I would have chosen. I learned so much on that journey, but the story I lived until then created a lot of limitations for me. For most of my life, I didn’t feel I had permission to really compose the music that has always been in my heart.
Then one day I decided I could just let go of all of those old paradigms and structures that had felt so limiting. So 3 is the age I was just before the beginning of that misdirected journey. A return to myself, felt in a sense like a return to the purity of that age, just as it all began.
What are your plans for the coming months?
I have some albums that I’m working on for publishers. After that, I plan to work on some of my own projects that I’ve had a passion for.
Do you have any artistic collaboration plans?
No collaborative plans just now.
What message would you like to give to your fans?
For anyone that hears what I do, thank you for listening. I hope that you’ll hear your own human story inside the music that I compose, and that it will give you permission to tell your own story and follow your own journey, wherever that leads.
Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me today!
