Meet Jeffrey Carabelos | Film Composer

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

Hi Jeffrey, how do you think about risk?
I’m a risk taker. Always have been. Sometimes this means face-planting in a pile of your own misconceived ideas, and others it means striking gold. Numerous cycles of doing just that, both personally AND professionally, has caused me to realize that both outcomes are actually the same. Every fall, every mishap, every wrong turn has yielded a panoply of lessons which help to distinguish signal from noise. I used to see these mistakes as youthful blunders, not to be repeated. Now I welcome them. Each risk I take which yields an outcome I don’t want is a stepping stone to the future I’m building for myself.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I write music for film. It’s a career I had hoped for since I was 9. Life took numerous alternate routes, and I ended up coming back to this dream in 2020 during COVID. I’m grateful I did. I think what sets me apart from others is my business acumen. Many composers in this field are great at their craft, but haven’t really developed the skill set necessary to market themselves, sell their work, and ink deals. This is my third business (if you count my tutoring business) as a serial entrepreneur, and the skills I’ve learned elsewhere have given me an edge.

I’m most proud of my work on The Story of a Rock, a foreign language drama film about a young woman thrust into adulthood at the hands of fate when her mother disappears and she’s left to take care of her siblings as resources dwindle. It’s a powerful story, and I’m very proud of the score I crafted. It’s a modern drama and the director, Zak Mir, and I chose to experiment with numerous eastern and western instruments to create a unique and memorable score. I’m most excited for the release of the film and the score. The Story of a Rock will release on Saturday, October 19th at the Tasveer Film Festival in Seattle. The score will release simultaneously, and it will be available on all streaming platforms.

It was not easy getting here. It took numerous failures and hardships in my professional and personal life, coupled with loss and overcoming past traumas and negative familial cycles. You know, the same kind of thing we are all trying to do. I overcame these challenges through luck and faith. Faith that life had more to offer me, that I was not dead yet and no matter how many times I’ve been hit, I continue to stand.

The greatest lesson I have learned is patience, and it’s still one I’m working on. It’s easy to become fearful, angry and distressed when diligence and hard work seem to get you nowhere. Patience. Continue to do the work. Fall in love with the process, not the outcome, and the rest will follow.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
That is a difficult question to answer. Denver has grown so much since I was a kid. I’ve been here all my life and it seems I can hardly recognize it at times. Between work and, well, work, I haven’t explored nearly enough of the modern sights and excitements.

That being said, I would recommend Meow Wolf to the adventurous, art-loving spirits of Denver. You absolutely cannot go wrong with brunch at Sassafras, dinner at The Fort, and a show at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. The Broadway musicals, plays, Colorado Symphony, and Colorado Opera are absolutely divine and worth experiencing. I have seen more at these venues than I can count, and I’m a very happy, and long-time subscriber.

Speaking of opera! Central City is stunning year round, and the Central City Opera House is a historical marvel worth experiencing. Each show is excellence manifest. Don’t miss it.

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’d love to dedicate this to Andrew M. Edwards, an incredible and accomplished film composer who is kind enough to lend support when I’m in need. Andrew is generous and loves teaching, and if it weren’t for him I would stumble a lot more.

Website: https://www.jeffreycarabelos.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/jeffreycarabelos

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-carabelos-51180a237

Facebook: https://facebook.com/jeffreycarabelos

Other: Follow me on Spotify:

On Apple Music:
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/jeffrey-carabelos/1660462346

Image Credits
Images by Micah Groenevelt.