A Conversation with Ambie Award-Winning Composer Lindsay Jones
Lindsay Jones is an Ambie Award-winning composer, who received his award for his score work on Othello, a show produced by Next Chapter Podcasts and a play on Shakespeare.
The score for Othello also won the Signal Award (Gold) for Best Original Music. This dramatic score uses only cellos, violins, and drums to heighten the feeling of suspicion and dread prevalent throughout the entire series. You can listen to the score here.
We got the chance to hear from Lindsay about his Ambie award and work.
Lindsay on scoring the podcast Othello
First of all, congratulations on your win at the Ambies. What was going through your mind when you found out you won?
Lindsay Jones: Thank you so much! Honestly, I couldn’t believe it when my name was called. Our podcast is an audio drama serialization of Shakespeare’s plays produced by a small company called Next Chapter Podcasts, and here we were up against these giant corporations with very well-known podcasts and famous composers. I still can’t believe we won!
Shifting gears a bit, how did you originally get involved with Othello?
LJ: I’ve been working for Next Chapter Podcasts since 2021 when I was hired to create original music and sound design for King Lear. I have now done nine series for them, and Othello was one of the ones that they offered. Othello is one of my favorite plays because of the tension between the characters. The slow build of betrayal and madness is a really exciting scenario to create music to match. It was a really fantastic experience.
Did you always know you wanted to enter the podcast space? And what about it appealed to you?
LJ: Honestly, I did not know that I wanted to enter the podcast space! I started out as a composer and sound designer for live theater, but during the pandemic, when the theater closed down, I pivoted into podcasts as a means of survival. I actually really love composing for podcasts because it’s a medium that really engages your audience’s imagination. You need to create a score that will really pull your audience in and put them in the character’s shoes as they listen. I’m super excited to continue this amazing journey through the medium of podcasts.
How has composing for podcasts been different from other mediums you’ve worked in, like theater?
LJ: In many ways, composing for podcasts takes the best parts of film scoring and composing for live theater, and then puts them together as one art form. I’m able to really create detailed scores that match the characters’ exact movements (like film scoring) and I’m also able to take big risks in terms of creating music with heightened emotions (like composition for theater). But! What makes podcasts truly special for music is that because it’s a completely audio-only experience, I have tremendous leeway in the storytelling aspect of what I do to really come up with immersive musical environments for the listener so that they can really imagine themselves as part of the story. It really is unlike anything else that’s out there for composers, and I really love the challenges that it brings.
Who do you think needs to listen to the score of Othello the most? Describe your ideal listener.
LJ: If you’re a fan of murder mysteries or true crime, then I think Othello would really appeal to you quite a lot. It slowly weaves this web of suspicion and betrayal that sucks you in completely, and then the end is truly shocking and frightening. It is a wild ride from beginning to end, and will completely change your mind if you think Shakespeare plays are boring or old. If you like things that are creepy and tension-filled, Othello will totally rock your world.
Do you have any other exciting podcast projects in the works?
LJ: I start my next series for Next Chapter Podcasts in a couple of weeks, which is Taming Of The Shrew, directed by Art Manke. I’ll be primarily writing Italian folk music for that series. If you’re looking to hear my work in non-Shakespeare settings, check out Marvel’s Wastelanders featuring Susan Sarandon and Timothy Busfield, the children’s podcast The Imagine Neighborhood, and Audible’s A Streetcar Named Desire featuring Audra McDonald and Carla Gugino. I’m always open to new possibilities in creating music for podcasts.
Congratulations to Lindsay for his incredible work on Othello! For more from Lindsay, you can head to his website here. Check out his composition work for podcasts, theatre, film, television, and more.
