Enormously talented, quietly unassuming, passionate and focused, Quentin Fielding is the real deal. Musician, pianist, composer, actor, and deep thinker, this young man has dedicated his life to making the music he wants to hear and others enjoy unabashedly. His “universal music”, instrumental pieces that allow the listener to tell their own stories, brings his impassioned visions to life. Welcome to the world of Quentin Fielding.
The words, “Born on a mountaintop in the small town of Hope, New Jersey” are the first that greet you when you explore the “About” section of Quentin Fielding’s website. When I questioned Quentin Fielding about whether the isolation helped or hurt his career he replied, “It was a big blessing in disguise. There was nothing really to do to get in trouble growing up, you just look outside the window and there is this beautiful view. The only thing to really do, for me, was play music on top of this mountain. It’s kinda what kept me going growing up. Yes, I did feel isolated, but it wasn’t necessarily bad. I think the nature and where I’ve lived has definitely influenced my music, just the beautiful scenery of it and peacefulness of it.”
“I had a happy childhood,“ Quentin Fielding relays. “It freaks me out how incredible both my parents were raising me. They both set a wonderful example for me for when I have children one day. I had a great childhood.” You get the sense that he was exposed to great opportunities by his family, encouraged to be an individual, and instilled with confidence to not only reach for his dreams, but to keep working, hard, until he achieves them. His happy childhood, though, was not without its struggles. “The hardest thing I’ve had to go through, still so far, was the divorce of my parents when I was nine,” he revealed. “I grew a lot right then when I got the news because I thought, ‘Oh gosh, I have to take care of my (2) brothers.’ My parents did an incredible job of raising us. We grew up between the two families and from that experience I realized everyone’s just human. Getting to hop back and forth between the two worlds allowed me to see how to communicate a lot better from it.”
Quentin Fielding admitted that his mother began his love of music “in the womb”. He explained, “My mother actually played Mozart on the outside because (she thought) it might have made me more musically inclined!” Quentin Fielding started piano lessons when he was seven because of his mother’s encouragement. In fact, “My mom, she’s extraordinary, she went out and bought a little stand up piano on my first day of my very first lesson. And when I’d want to quit, which happened a bunch of times, she’d say ‘Just go to one more lesson, if you don’t like it you can quit.’ And I’d always fall back in love with it.” When I prodded him about composing music Quentin Fielding stated, “ I didn’t know I could write music… until I was 16 years old after sitting down at the piano after two years away. I started playing and came up with a little melody and thought, ‘Hey, I would listen to that!’ I kept messing around and all of the sudden I got it; pretty quickly I got how to make a song. Once I got that this wasn’t a fluke it became my passion and it turned my world upside down.” When asked why he quit piano around aged 14 Quentin Fielding admitted he wanted to dabble with the guitar, a passion at the time, and played saxophone in the school band. He was simply “taking a break from piano”.
Quentin Fielding’s two favorite groups in Rock-n-Roll that influenced him musically were U2 and Coldplay. But his favorite type of music was and is “soundtracks”. “The Lord of the Rings soundtrack I’ve probably listened to 5,000 times. I like all kinds of music, but primarily I love scoring music, the world it can create in your heart in a second.” This connection makes it evident why Quentin Fielding now scores movies himself! In fact he acted in and scored the independent film Aiden Black and has plans to do more of the same.
A teenage heartbreak suffered in tenth grade prompted Quentin Fielding to pick up his neglected piano. As with many artists, suffering is a conduit for creation, and Quentin Fielding utilized his pain to write, “Save Us”, a piece so moving, haunting, and beautiful he still performs it today. Tapping into his hurt and his talent, Quentin Fielding approached his brother and his best friend about forming a band that added drums and guitar to his piano work. That band, now called Jenny Jump, dressed the first composition perfectly and the live performance that followed showcased Quentin Fielding’s abilities to captivate with his compositions. Jenny Jump still performs today and continues to produce new music. Jenny Jump consists of Ryan Kleindienst on guitar, Brian McShane on bass, Derek Fielding on drums, Quentin Fielding on piano/keyboards, and Chris Keller on vocals. Jenny Jump will be in the studio in July recording two new songs. This is Quentin Fielding’s outlet for his Rock-n-Roll compositions.
All the while Quentin Fielding was discovering and developing his musical soul; he was an avid martial artist studying Isshinryu Karate. “Once again it was my mother who indulged me. It was just because I loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at the time. I was five years old.” He explained, “Martial Arts has probably been, even more so than music, for mentally, physically, and even in a spiritual way too, it allows you to… the discipline you learn for yourself, self-respect, respect for other people, and outside of the dojo (Karate school) everything in there bleeds and seeps into every single area into your life. The mental attitude of never quitting and the coordination throughout my childhood is due to martial arts.” Quentin Fielding summed up his martial arts passion by saying, “It’s part of who I am now, I can’t take it out. It will always, always be a part of my life, until I’m really old.” His philosophy does indeed bleed into the rest of his life, as a martial arts instructor he explains “I not only teach them (his students), but inspire them to be better people and do martial arts in the highest way possible”.
Talented, graceful, and focused in this part of his life, Quentin Fielding progressed up the ranks earning his black belt at age 16 and earning the title of Deshi, a title rich with honor, dedication, and loyalty. These words only begin to define the whole man that Quentin Fielding is.
I wanted to know how Quentin Fielding got his inspiration for writing the endless supply of music he seems to compose. He answered effortlessly, “Anything that has beauty and truth and passion in life behind it I can get it from. If I can see a picture, I can almost translate the picture into energy into music, almost like a circle. That’s why I really like film scoring; I understand the connection from the vision to what it should sound like, my interpretation. I can get the inspiration from anything, from talking to someone, to a memory, from a feeling, a beautiful scenery, a painting, a story, I can get it from anything that’s got some life to it.” The world is Quentin Fielding’s oyster, and he is constantly searching for the next great song. In addition, he is constantly reaching out to his fans via his Facebook fan page and through video blogs he posts on YouTube. Quentin Fielding is accessible, genuinely interested, and open to all opportunities to connect with his audience. He engages them and poses questions that boldly ask them to share so he may “write their story” through music.
Through his music Quentin Fielding continues to search, ponder life’s questions, explore themes, and grow. His inquisitive mind, universal appeal, and embrace of nature, love, and passion allow him the freedom to express, share, and wander. In his latest release, 2009’s The Ghost Composer, Quentin Fielding takes his listeners on an epic journey through what ifs, change, and growth. Posing the concept of second chances at life, he wonders through his music how life would be altered in that second chance. What lessons would be gleaned, what love valued, what dreams met, what passions fulfilled. It is a fantastical journey of longing, yearning, hope, and redemption.
In his short life Quentin Fielding seems to have captured the minds, imaginations, and hearts of his myriad listeners. His original, kind, sweet, giving nature is palpable and makes one want to simply sit next to him and emote. Listening to Quentin Fielding’s music is the next best thing! Find out much more about Quentin Fielding’s music at http://QuentinFielding.com.
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