Jean-Paul De Roover

About me

I was born/grew up in:Thunder Bay, ON, Canada, but raised overseas in Africa, Asia and South America.

I now live in: Thunder Bay, ON, Canada

I completed my training/education at:I completed both my HBA and MA in Sociology at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, ON, however I am mostly self-taught at music. I took music courses (composition, orchestration, theory, etc) at the post-secondary level. Also completed several other courses: Artist Entrepreneur program (10 weeks at Coalition Music in Toronto, ON) and Starter Company program (8 weeks at the Entrepreneur Centre in Thunder Bay, ON).

What I do at work

Jean-Paul De Roover Inc is a service-based music company offering services in performance, composition and production.

I do three main things:

PERFORMANCE - I have a unique one-man-show that uses live-looping technology to build my songs from silence in front of the audience. Because of it, each show is different.

COMPOSITION - I write music for film and TV. Whether it's a movie soundtrack or a jingle for a commercial, I can write in any style for any purpose.

PRODUCTION - I work with younger artists to help develop their songs from the demo all the way through the recording process until the CD release show.

How do you use science, technology, engineering and math in my job? I use math through my live looping. Music is math and you can’t do one without the other! I use science and technology as a part of setting up my studio and PA systems as I have had to learn the basics of electronics. To do things at a professional level, you have to understand the instruments and sound thoroughly. I have to know how live sound works and sound dampening using the different placement of acoustic foam. It took me a long time to learn that science applies to my music and performing, but it is a very important part of what I do.

My career path is

I'm self taught as a musician and learning to play my instruments, but I mostly learned by doing. I've been performing as a hobby musician for over 8 years, but made the leap in the past 2 years to take this career full time.

I am motivated by

I make music for a living - what could be better? My job has me performing for audiences all over the world, traveling and experiencing new things while collaborating with interesting musicians and filmmakers.

How I affect peoples’ lives

Music is important to everyone, and helps enrich everyone's lives. For businesses, I can help create professional audio solutions for commercials and films. For artists, I can help save them from both heart and headaches when starting their careers.

Outside of work I

I'm a hobby swimmer and scuba diver.

My advice to others

Perseverance is everything. Don't let disappointments and setbacks bring you down.