Amanda Jones (composer) facts for kids

Amanda Jones is an American composer and musician. She creates music for movies, TV shows, and commercials. Amanda is also a member of an indie rock band called The Anti-Job. She made history by becoming the first African American woman to be nominated for an Emmy Award in a music score category. This was for her work on the Apple TV+ series Home.

Early Life and Education

Amanda Jones was born on October 26, 1988, in Columbia, Maryland. She started playing the piano when she was just three years old. Around age fourteen, she began playing the guitar.

Amanda went to Vassar College. She first planned to study chemistry. However, she soon changed her mind and decided to focus on music. At Vassar, she studied music composition, production, and classical guitar. She earned a degree in music from Vassar. Later, she also received special certificates in film scoring and orchestration from the Berklee College of Music.

After finishing college in 2010, Amanda moved to Los Angeles. She went there to record music with her band, The Anti-Job. At the same time, she started thinking about a career in composing music for television and films.

Music Career Highlights

From 2014 to 2016, Amanda Jones worked as a music production assistant. She helped famous composers like Hans Zimmer and John Powell. During this time, she worked on movies such as How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Kingsman: The Secret Service.

In 2016, Amanda got a job at Lionsgate Studios. She worked as a senior music coordinator. She helped with music for several TV series. These included Nashville, Dear White People, and Greenleaf.

In 2018, Amanda got her first chance to compose music for a full-length movie. This film was called One Angry Black Man. Since then, she has composed music for many short and feature films. Some of these include the documentary Ringside and the Oscar-nominated documentary St. Louis Superman. She also scored the feature film Definition Please.

Amanda has also composed music for many TV shows. Her TV credits include Cherish the Day (produced by Ava DuVernay) and Twenties (produced by Lena Waithe). She also worked on A Black Lady Sketch Show for HBO and the comedy series ... Boyfriends. Other shows include Love in the Time of Corona and the Apple TV+ series Home.

Amanda composed the music for the "Maine" episode of Home. For this work, she was nominated for an Emmy Award. This nomination was for Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special. It made her the first African American woman to be nominated in a music score category at the Emmys.

Music Releases

Amanda Jones has released soundtracks for some of her projects.

Film Scores

Here are some of the films Amanda Jones has composed music for:

Television Scores

Here are some of the television shows Amanda Jones has composed music for:

Awards and Recognition

Amanda Jones has received several awards and nominations for her musical work:

• She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special for her work on Home – "Maine".
• She received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Gospel/Christian Album for her work on Greenleaf.
• In 2019, she won the S&G Rising Award for her music composition in films and television.

Important Initiatives

Amanda Jones is a co-founder of the Composers Diversity Collective. This group works to help more people see and recognize composers from different backgrounds. They also help connect new composers with mentors who can guide them.