Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesica Yap.
Hi Jesica, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
So, what’s my story? Well, I was born in Indonesia, an island country rich in cultural diversity. I am of Chinese descent, but I am a proud second-generation Indonesian. During my early childhood years, I was exposed to different styles of music, art, and dance, and my musical language was shaped through this wealth of multi-cultural experiences. Growing up, music was a part of my everyday life just like it was for my four older siblings. I started formal piano lessons at the age of four, and by the time I was 12, I was regularly playing at our local church, and even wrote my first song at that age.
I was also an accomplished ballet and contemporary dancer, winning many competitions, but a back injury, unfortunately, forced me to retire prematurely. I continued to focus on my music and set my goals on furthering my education and skillset, even though I didn’t yet know where exactly my musical journey would take me. It was a dream come true to be accepted in the Asian World Tour Scholarship at the Berklee College of Music. I never even knew that a career in film scoring even existed until I was in college, where after seeing one of the Bourne series, I instantly fell in love with not only the score but also the idea of composing for the visual arts.
In 2014, after graduating from Berklee with a film scoring major, I moved from Boston to Los Angeles and dove right into an internship at two world-renown film composers’ studios: Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Productions (The Dark Knight Rises, Dunkirk) and Henry Jackman’s Sacred Tiger Music Publishing (Captain America, Big Hero 6). After completing my internship, I was fortunate to assist at Henry Jackman’s studio, and within just a couple of years, I learned enough that I was ready to tackle a career as a freelance composer and music producer, and luckily all my stars lined up because, since 2016, I’ve worked full-time as a visual media composer.
In November of 2018, I was blown away to have won my first award at the HMMA (Hollywood Music in Media Awards) for Best Original Score Short Film for the foreign language short film, “Sigek Cokelat” (A Chocolate Bar). I was blessed to have been able to work with talented local musicians to depict the authenticity and traditional sounds of West Borneo, and this award opened new doors for me, and in 2019 I won my 2nd HMMA for Best Original Score Short Film for the foreign language short film, “Home”.
In 2018, I was also nominated for a Jerry Goldsmith Award in the Best Ads category, and for an HMMA for Original Commercial Advertisement Score. Several films that I worked on since 2016 have been screened at notable film festivals such as the Colorado Environmental Film Festival, London International Film Festival, Cinemambiente Environmental Film Festival, International Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival, XXI Short Film Festival, LA Shorts Film Festival, Los Angeles Indonesian Film Festival, and more.
In March 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I premiered my very first song on my Youtube channel, called “Together.” Shortly after that, my quarantine-inspired song, “Six Feet Apart” was released. Since English is not my first language, it was all a bit daunting, especially since I sang in English. But because I enjoy working outside my comfort zone, I welcomed the experience! I mean, you can’t grow if you don’t take chances and don’t face challenges, right?
My songwriting journey was not only super empowering but also such a confidence booster! In January of 2022, I received two bronze medals from The Global Music Awards, a well-known international music competition, for both pop and new release for “Shine Your Light”. On November 05, 2021, I was nominated for another HMMA, this time in the New Age/Ambient category for my piano composition titled “The Journey.” In September of 2021, I received two bronze medals from The Global Music Awards for both lyrics/songwriting and female vocalist for “Six Feet Apart.”
In the last two years, since my very first song premiered on YouTube, I’ve released five additional songs including “Happier This Christmas,” a whimsical, fun, cozy holiday-themed song with a hint of edginess that has put a lot of smiles on people’s faces! It has just over 10,000 views on Youtube since it debuted on December 1st last year. I wrote the song while reflecting on the ups and downs of my own personal life and career throughout 2021.
This song’s message is that often the moments that don’t work out can in fact become invaluable life lessons. That a negative experience can actually have a positive impact on our future. And that it is important to forgive and let go in order to heal. My hope in writing this song was for all of us to end the year stronger, and head into the new year with a newfound perspective and brighter spirit.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey hasn’t exactly been a smooth one or even a linear one. I think it’s safe to say that the road to success can be quite bumpy; but for me, luckily the bumps were merely challenges and not necessarily roadblocks.
Leaving Indonesia, my birth country, to study abroad in the United States was one of the big first stepping stones in both my career and my personal life. Being without my parents and family’s physical and financial safety-net for the first time ever, really required some adjustment. My metamorphosis from college student to responsible adult didn’t happen overnight and included lots of trial-and-error. But I made it through with lots of familial love, and even more self-determination.
Moving to Los Angeles securing an apartment, and landing a job that paid for the said apartment, wasn’t as easy as it might have been in a small town. Things weren’t smooth-sailing for a while. It took a few years before I hit my stride with steady gigs. As a young adult in a dynamic and expensive city, one must put in a lot of hard work, give up some creature comforts, and be super patient along the journey to success.
When challenges present themselves in my vocation or personal life, I just keep pushing through until I have a breakthrough. Throughout my career journey, I’ve had to iron out a lot of kinks. But all these kinks were necessary to help me develop perseverance, strength, and hope. You know the saying, “a river cuts through rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence?” Well, I have been very persistent my whole life, and it has paid off in my career.
“Over-night success” doesn’t actually happen overnight. It happens over thousands of nights.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I don’t necessarily specialize in one particular thing; I’m sort of a jack of all trades – a composer, singer/songwriter, pianist, performer, piano teacher, and educator. Wearing many hats keeps me busy and keeps me on my toes. Whether it’s composing for films or other visual mediums, I tackle it all with gusto, and I do it to my greatest abilities.
Since my move to Los Angeles almost 8 years ago, I’ve greatly expanded my musical interests and career opportunities. When I’m not teaching piano and theory (currently I have approximately 60 students, some of whom have performed at huge venues like Carnegie Hall!), I compose music for visual arts, or play keyboard/piano for local bands such as the indie-pop band, Walla Band, and even lend my expert piano skills to other composers for scoring sessions.
I’m also active with the Indonesian community in LA and have performed on piano/keyboard with major singers like the Indonesian Idol’s 7th season winner. Performing live is truly an exhilarating feeling because you can connect to an audience in real-time, and it’s often a breath of fresh air from the many hours of isolation and seclusion that comes with the job description of a composer.
I’ve released six songs in the last two years, and at the moment, I am working on a new song that I hope to release in a few months. I am also finishing my piano instrumental album that I started last year. In addition, I’ve been practicing and working diligently to prepare for the Music International Grand Prix piano duo competition (taking place 1/22/22) with my sister under the name JJ Dua and on January 30, 2022 we won the 1st place for the California semifinals in ensembles category. As you can see, I have many irons in the fire. It’s how I roll!
As far as my latest song, a funny-not-so-funny little story: I was supposed to release it back in November 2021, but I broke a rib on September 17th, the very day I was supposed to do the vocal recording. Needless to say, that didn’t happen because, with a broken rib, you can barely even breathe without pain, let alone do any physical activity. I had to postpone launching the song because this one was going to include a music video in which I’m dancing (my first time doing so in one of my videos), and of course, that was going to involve some serious physical exertion and big arm movements that no way was I ready to do considering my injury. Plus, I wasn’t even allowed to do much physical activity so that the rib could heal.
The video would have involved pretty vigorous dancing; way more than I did in “Happier This Christmas.” I am actually super excited for this song to come out, and I am aiming for the spring. So, instead of working on the intense choreography for the new song, which I was not able to do, I recorded and did the music video for my Christmas song instead, which required minimal dancing, and by then, the rib was much less painful! I shot that music video 6 weeks after I broke the rib, so I was still far from 100%.
I’d feel twinges of pain during some movements like shoulder rolls, but I managed to push through, and I think I covered it up pretty well even though I was not completely myself yet. The all-night shoot was pretty challenging, especially since I had to smile through some of the discomforts, but I am glad I fought through the pain and created that super bubbly and fun video. It was all worth it. The song is getting some really positive feedback!
I think what I’m most known for are the songs I released on Youtube over the last couple of years, but also for the tremendous dedication I have for my piano and music students whom I’ve watched grow and become budding artists. I am very proud of the music school I’ve built and expanded over the years, and it greatly fulfills me to see young children with such a love for music grow into eager performers.
But what I think gives me the greatest pride is moving to the United States as a young adult from such a vastly different world, with language and culture barriers, and no knowledge or idea of how life even worked here. But it’s been a wonderful rollercoaster, and thriving in Los Angeles is not an easy feat, but I’m super grateful for all the amazing opportunities for which I worked so diligently to get. I am immensely proud that my hard work and perseverance continue to pay off!
I don’t know if it sets me apart from others, but my upbeat and positive personality, my professionalism, passion, and my desire to always be a team player are all traits people value in me when they work with me. I still have a lot more to give, and I look forward to aligning myself with fellow talented artists who are successful and ambitious.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I absolutely have. I learned that health is the most precious, but also most vulnerable thing in life.
Being in touch with family and loved ones on a regular basis is very important because we never know when the last conversation will take place with them. Don’t let too much time pass between phone calls, FaceTime chats, or texts, and always let your family and friends know you are there for them and thinking of them.
This pandemic has also taught me to be resourceful and find alternate incomes, to not just depend on one source of income, and to always have a financial cushion that can cover at least 3-6 months of expenses, because we never know what can abruptly put us out of work such as this COVID-19 pandemic did.
There is an Indonesian proverb that goes, “prepare the umbrella before it rains.” I think it’s wise to live by that proverb because we all know it’s eventually going to rain. We just don’t know how hard.
Contact Info:
- Email: jyap@jesicayap.com
- Website: www.jesicayap.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jesicayap/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jesica.jap
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jazz_yap
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JesicaYap
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jesica-yap-music-los-angeles
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/jesica-yap
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6KZjOE2BCgvWjj539qPhAR?si=YWPsgTPtQFKMR2ef5Gay6Q
Image Credits
Roland Wiryawan, Joanna Leung Photography, Julian Chan, Elvis Liew, and Sheri Determan
