Amanda Jones (composer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Amanda Jones
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| Born | October 26, 1988 Columbia, Maryland |
| Genres | Indie rock, cinematic music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Acoustic and electric guitar, piano and voice |
| Years active | 2009 to present |
Amanda Jones is an American musician and composer. 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 category. This was for her work on the Apple TV+ series Home.
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About Amanda Jones
Early Life and Education
Amanda Jones was born on October 26, 1988, in Columbia, Maryland. She started playing the piano when she was only three years old. Later, around age fourteen, she picked up the guitar.
Amanda went to Vassar College. She first planned to study chemistry, but she soon changed her mind to focus on music. At Vassar, she learned about music composition (how to create music), music production (how to record and mix music), and classical guitar. She earned a degree in music from Vassar. She also got special certificates in film scoring (making music for movies) and orchestration (arranging music for different instruments) from the Berklee College of Music.
After 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 began thinking about a career in composing music for television and films.
Her Career in Music
From 2014 to 2016, Amanda worked as a music production assistant. She helped famous composers like Hans Zimmer and John Powell. During this time, she worked on big movies like How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Kingsman: The Secret Service.
In 2016, Amanda got a job at Lionsgate. She became a senior music coordinator. In this role, she worked on several TV shows. 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 composed the music for the "Maine" episode of the TV series Home. For this work, she was nominated for an Emmy Award. This award was for Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special. This made her the first African American woman ever nominated in a music score category at the Emmys.
Music She Has Created
Discography
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Home: Season 1 Episode V,
"Maine" (Apple TV+ Original Series Soundtrack) |
Lakeshore |
| 2020 | Twenties (Original Series Soundtrack) | Lakeshore |
Films She Scored
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | One Angry Black Man | Menelek Lumumba | |
| 2019 | Ringside | Andre Hormann | |
| 2019 | St. Louis Superman | Sami Kahn | |
| 2020 | Definition Please | Sujata Day | |
| 2020 | On the 12th Date of Christmas | Gary Yates | |
| 2021 | Burros | Jefferson Stein | |
| 2023 | The Perfect Find | Numa Perrier | |
| 2024 | I Am Ready, Warden | Smriti Mundhra | Short documentary film |
Television Shows She Scored
| Year | Title | Episodes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | ... Boyfriends | 8 | |
| 2019 | A Black Lady Sketch Show | 6 | |
| 2020 | Twenties | 8 | |
| 2020 | Home | "Maine" | TV docuseries Nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special |
| 2020 | Love in the Time of Corona | 4 | |
| 2020 | Cherish the Day | 8 | |
| 2020 | Adventure Time: Distant Lands | 2 | |
| 2021–24 | Good Trouble | 57 | seasons 3–5 |
| 2022 | Naomi | 13 | |
| 2023 | Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake | 10 | season 1 |
| 2023 | Young Love | 12 |
Awards and Recognitions
Amanda Jones has received several awards and nominations for her amazing work:
- She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special. This was for her music in the "Maine" episode of Home on Apple TV+.
- She won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Gospel/Christian Album for her work on Greenleaf on OWN.
- She received the S&G Rising Award in 2019 for her music composition in films and television.
Important Initiatives
Amanda is also a co-founder of the Composers Diversity Collective. This group works to help more composers from different backgrounds get noticed. They also help connect new composers with mentors who can guide them.
