Oscar-nominated composer Gavin Brivik is featured on today's episode of Gaining Proficiency! Gavin is CRUSHING IT in the film and television composition world, currently living in New York completing his Masters of Music in Composition with an emphasis in Film Scoring at NYU. While completing coursework, he is also working as a composer's assistant, which has allowed him to work with some of the biggest names in film, television, and documentary series. He and I discussed how he attended (and thrived!) in a community college before starting his undergraduate degree at a large state university, how to build your original brand as a musician/business, and the beauty of failing over and over again. Gavin is currently working on several short television commercials and multiple feature films, some of which he couldn't publicly announce yet (!), but I am so excited to see what the future has in store for him. He is one of the most kind, hardworking humans I've ever met, and carries himself with such respect and poise - an important characteristic of independent musicians who want to stand out in the crowd of millions. Thanks again for agreeing to be on the show, Gavin! Check out the episode on iTunes or Google Play Music - and don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe to not miss any future episodes or updates!Gavin can found and contacted via his website, www.gavinbrivik.com, or email directly at [email protected] NOTE: this episode was unfortunately cut off unexpectedly around 35 minutes, so this is only our partial interview. insert crying face emojis here. I thought this was some kind of sick April Fools joke, but as it turns out, something went wrong on the technology side while we were recording this interview. I lost sleep over whether or not to post our shortened version, but still loved what we talked about during the recorded time and wanted to feature Gavin as one of my favorite guests to date. Thank you for your understanding and grace as I continue to figure out how to both host AND produce a podcast at the same time!