A Career Composing Music: Griffin Jennings ’18

Since graduating in 2018, Jennings has been working as a freelance composer. He recently created a company called Mikrofon Music, which he intends to use as a platform for future work.

What have your recent projects been?

I composed original music for a documentary on the PBS show Frontline called ‘‘Right to Fail.’’ I also composed for a podcast from Radiotopia called ‘‘Spacebridge.’’ Both projects were incredibly fulfilling because I cared about the topics and had great relationships with the editors, which made the back-and-forth process of sending music drafts collaborative and mutually beneficial.’

What do you enjoy about your work?

Being a freelance composer is difficult, but rewarding. The difficult part is finding work, especially work that you’re passionate about. But if you do find those jobs—and I have been lucky enough to work on two amazing projects since graduating—the work is just the best. I can get paid for writing music I actually like? That's so crazy!

What advice do you have for Obies who aspire to work in music?

Use your Oberlin network! There are so many incredible composers and media producers who went to Oberlin, and they want to help you out. The more relationships you can establish, the more doors will open up for you.

In the future, Griffin hopes to continue building his resume and working on creative projects to further establish himself as a composer.

View Griffin’s website to learn of his projects and music