Emma Jackson is a pianist and composer whose emotive and atmospheric music has captivated audiences worldwide. Despite her young age, she has already achieved remarkable success, with her compositions featured in major projects, from Pixar documentaries to exhibitions at MoMA.
In this interview, she shares how she approaches composition, her love for storytelling through music, and what inspires her unique sound.
I first started playing the piano when I was seven. It felt like an instant connection to me—I honestly never even questioned doing anything else. By the time I was eleven, I knew I wanted to be a composer and was doing everything possible to get to that point.
I received a music scholarship to a music school, where I had musicianship lessons, orchestra practice, and music lessons on Saturdays. But I really didn’t have the attention span to sit through orchestra practice or theory lessons. To be honest, I absolutely hated playing in an orchestra!
The way I always described it was like there were 100 bouncy balls in my brain, each with a different idea or thought, thinking, Oh, but what if the music went like this instead? whenever we played the same orchestral line over and over in practice. I just wanted to come up with new endings and creatively explore composition outside the boundaries of classical music theory briefs. I must have been a nightmare student at that age.
Composition was just something I was always drawn to. Over time, I gravitated more and more toward mindful and calming music, as I felt myself enter a flow state every time I was composing or improvising in this style. Composing this type of music feels less like a job and more like a mindful practice for me—it’s truly my happy and cozy place.
Composing for a film is such a collaborative process, which is one of the reasons I love it so much. It usually starts with a conversation with the director about the storyline and any musical vision they might have.
In my experience, this can go two ways. You might work with a director who knows absolutely nothing about music, openly admits it, and isn’t confident using musical terms. Or you could work with someone who had specific musical ideas and references in mind throughout the filming process, bringing them to the composer in post-production.
Both approaches are fun! I absolutely love when a director wants to give me an entire history or backstory of the town they’re filming in—just in case I find it useful—or when they share their filming process along the way. These conversations help me better understand what’s important to them, allowing me to find that creative headspace and compose from the perspective they were in when writing or filming the project.
I have several different ways of writing, depending on my reason for composing.
Am I composing as a mindful practice—to create space in my mind? Am I improvising and entering a flow state? Or am I challenging myself harmonically or compositionally?
If I’m looking to challenge myself, I’ll sit down with a manuscript and think about harmony and music theory. But if I’m composing by simply sitting down and seeing where the keys take me, it’s usually an emotion-driven process rather than one based on the history and theory of music.
I think regularly switching between both approaches helps me progress and develop my compositions.
My proudest moment so far was having my music featured in Pixar’s Good Chemistry documentary. I was contacted about this in 2022, and to this day, it still doesn’t feel real!
I love all of Nicholas Sparks’ films and soundtracks, especially Safe Haven, which was scored by an amazing composer named Deborah Lurie. The guitar music in that film, to me, is more beautiful than any other score out there!
I was lucky enough to travel to Amsterdam in September 2024 to record my new EP with Andante Piano, and an Andante Piano Session in their studio.
This EP will be released in early 2025, and I’m very much looking forward to sharing it with the world.
Emma Jackson's EP 'beyond the noise' was released on March 21st, featuring four beautiful tracks that showcase her emotive and atmospheric style.
Listen to Emma Jakcson's EP on your favourite streaming platform.
https://music.andantepiano.nl/beyondthenoise-ep
Emma Jackson's Andante Piano Session
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