VIU jazz studies lead to notable career

If


you watch some of the hottest shows on TV, you have likely heard the music of


Andrew Oye.

The


35-year-old graduate of jazz studies at Vancouver Island University is building


an impressive list of credits on shows such as Lost, Dexter, Entourage and The


Office.

When


Jim and Pam got married this season on The


Office, the brief organ passage from  Mendelssohn’s  Wedding


March came from Oye’s compact  studio in a converted bedroom of his


Nanaimo home. When the Entourage crew


made their rowdy trip to Hawaii recently, the hula music came from a $30


ukulele that Oye managed to keep in tune.

“I


had to record the song one bar at a time,” Oye said during a recent break in


his busy production schedule.

The


versatile musician had three pieces to compose that day to provide background


music for a health care TV commercial in the U.S.

Oye,


who focused on guitar while attending the jazz diploma program at VIU is now


also proficient at percussion, keyboards and bass. Oye got into the business of


providing music for TV, radios and movies three years ago during a slow period


for his job teaching guitar. He looked on the Internet to investigate the


possibility of selling music to agencies that license compositions for


commercials and entertainment. He soon tapped in to Toronto-based


musicforproductions.com.

“I


heard a guitar player doing cool instrumentals and decided ‘That’s what I want


to do.’”

After


a creative blitz, he submitted several tunes and was on his way to becoming a


full-time music producer for the agency. He later broadened his market through


crucialmusic.com in Los Angeles and now has close to 600 compositions available


for licensing. The licensing agreements which allow for resale of the music


have paid $90 to $3,500. The 10-second spot on The Office netted $1,000 US.

“It


wasn’t my proudest moment,” he said of his rendition of the traditional public


domain wedding music, but he noted that it involved only half an hour’s work to


record.

Oye,


who grew up in Ucluelet and Port Alberni before pursuing music studies at the


Nanaimo campus, said the two-year jazz diploma program provided a solid


background for his teaching and composing work.

“The


whole experience taught me a lot about harmony. I have good memories about the


program. When I started teaching, things I’d learned came at me like a wave. It


just made sense.”

Scott


Littlejohn, one of Oye’s instructors at VIU, said the young guitarist clearly


showed promise.

“He’s


got such facility with the instrument,” Littlejohn said, recalling that Oye had


his sights on being a “rock god” back then.

He


credits much of Oye’s success with his ability to deliver what clients want


even when they express their needs in non-musical terms.

Oye


still teaches guitar part time at the I Wanna Rock School of Music in Nanaimo


but his primary focus is on composing an average of two to five songs a week,


sometimes on very short notice.

When


producers of CSI wanted ice cream


truck music that evoked a creepy feel, “I had an hour to do it,” Oye said.

The


talented musician has had his music used in a few movies and would like to work


on scores for major or independent films. It’s a lofty goal but when he started


composing for agencies three years ago “I wrote that I want to be on CSI, Lost and Dexter and got on all of them this year.”

For


more information, visit viu.ca/music and andrewoye.com