Texas Tech Student Composes, Produces Music

Gilde Flores continues music career while earning undergraduate degree.

Texas Tech University student Gilde Flores has always considered music his hobby, but started to make it his career in 2007. Around the time the senior human development and family studies major entered Texas Tech, his career began to take off.

Flores started playing music and joining bands when he was 14. His father, who is a musician, taught Flores the basics of several instruments, and his mother and stepfather bought him his first guitar. His desire to learn other instruments is what led to touring the U.S. with bands that were signed to major record labels, after which he became a sound engineer at Don Caldwell Productions. It was then he decided to become a music producer and composer.

“I love the creativity and freedom of expressing what you can't really say, but feel,” Flores said. “Music has a way of moving people in their own unique ways, and to be able to contribute to motivating someone else's emotions is a great feeling. I mostly enjoy the fact that something gets manifested from nothing and although it is intangible, it can truly be felt.”

Through extensive networking, Flores licensed his music to several networks, including MTV, Bravo and E! Network. He now mainly works solo and creates custom music for television, advertisements, film, radio, movie and video game trailers, and as a recording artist.

He composed music for “Wolverine,” which he said is one of his most prized pieces of work. He also has produced music for “Shahs of Sunset” and “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” which he worked on with George Mathews, owner of SMASH COAST Music Publishing and vice president of licensing and creative services for Mach 1 Music in Los Angeles. Mathews also worked on various other products with Flores in the more than four years the pair has worked together.

“In the time that I've known Gilde, he's gone from producing background music for television shows to scoring indie films, composing musical scores for major commercial brands, video game manufacturers and motion picture trailers,” Mathews said. “I still marvel at his growth and dedication. I literally watched him teach himself to compose classical music for film and video games.”

Flores composes his music using his own preproduction setup and sends the track to a songwriter for lyrics and vocals before pitching the music. He records himself playing different instruments depending on the type of project. Flores said he generally works with music supervisors and advertisement firms to receive opportunities. As of December, he has composed and recorded music for a movie and video game trailer album. Examples of Flores' work can be found on his website.

Flores said his plan is composing music for films and video games and ultimately moving to California. He never formally studied music and instead is teaching himself orchestration and music theory to accomplish his goals. He also wants to attend graduate school to become a licensed counselor. In this too, he hopes to incorporate music.

"Flores has the potential to be one of the biggest composers around. He is talented and has a high level of humility, which is very rare. Flores is a good person, husband, father and friend before being a great musician," Mathews said.

Flores' journey has not been traditional. He started touring directly out of high school, resulting in an education gap before attending South Plains College and transferring to Texas Tech. He continues to balance school, music and freelance work, and his family. He is married with three children – one son and two daughters.

“I can truly say I don't regret any part of it,” he said. “Instead, I find it's helped me gain another level of insight and technique I will carry forward in both my academic and music career. This experience has helped me become more determined, focused and passionate, and has instilled a sense of integrity. I push harder to set an example for my children.”

Gilde Flores continues music career while earning undergraduate degree.

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