Biography
JEFFREY MICHAEL DEARY
Jeffrey Michael Deary is a Michigan raised, self taught award winning composer, pianist, multi-platinum recording artist and entertainment entrepreneur. Having sold more than 2 million CD's and downloads and more than 30 billion online music streams worldwide, Jeffrey has also composed or licensed original music for over 150 film, TV, movie trailers and video game projects.
Musical Roots
Born and raised in Sterling Heights, Michigan, Jeffrey’s musical journey began at age two when he was drawn to his great-grandmother’s piano. When she passed away in 1983, the piano was given to Jeffrey’s mother, who initially forbade him from playing it. Naturally curious, he began teaching himself to play by ear at age six and was composing original music by eleven.
As a self-taught musician, Jeffrey doesn’t read traditional musical notation but instead uses a specialized shorthand he developed during his childhood. His musical influences include George Winston, Suzanne Ciani, David Lanz, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, James Horner, and Thomas Newman.
Film & TV Music Career
Jeffrey’s childhood passion for film scores led to a full composition scholarship offer from Berklee College of Music in 1997. When the renowned music institute discovered he couldn’t read music, they suggested he needed two years of college-level piano classes. A Berklee instructor advised him, “You want to compose for movies…you’ve got the talent…so go compose for movies.” Taking this advice to heart, Jeffrey gained experience by composing music for Michigan film school projects and local independent features before relocating to Los Angeles in 2006.
Since then, Jeffrey has composed music that has appeared in major video games like Call of Duty: Black Ops III and IV, JAWS Unleashed as well as Google and Cirque du Soleil’s groundbreaking interactive experience Movi.Kanti.Revo. Feature films including London Has Fallen, The Admiral, Dreams and Shadows. Movie trailers including The Girl on the Train, Jumanji: The Next Level. Television series including Magnum P.I., The White Lotus, The Twilight Zone, American Horror Story: Delicate, Coronavirus Explained, Saturday Night Live, Claws, Through the Wormhole With Morgan Freeman, How The Universe Works, The Flash, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Shark Tank, Oprah’s Book Club. Marketing and advertising music for Asics, McDonalds, Doritos, The Masters as well as Pebble Beach Resorts.