7 Music Essays, Opera and the Power of Words


The Feminine Musique: Multimedia	and Women Today

In high school I wanted to be a professional musician and a writer when I grew up. I remember sending off short stories to several professional publications (and I still have the rejection letters somewhere). Well, I am still not a bestselling author, but I do enjoy writing about music and even the occasional short story.
I recently published several articles on music technology, music education, and Halloween film scores.

The written word has the means to express ideas that are only felt in music. Combined they can create an incredible powerful force. Maybe that is why I felt compelled to write Libertaria: The Virtual Opera. Opera is the quintessential dramatic form combining music and words. Not only does the audience feel the strains of music ripping at their soul, the words provide a new level that invades their mental space as they absorb sight and sound, creating the nearly perfect art form.

Recent articles include:
New Music Box Article about Digital Music and Collaboration
The Secret Aural Life of Drummers (playing percussion by ear)
Women in Sound Art: 7 Musical Microportraits (TERZ)
The Making of a Virtual Opera (Fall IAWM Music Journal)
Brief Halloween Film Score Tutorial

You can enjoy a free read of Music, Women, and Technology: 7 Essays below. This short set of essays cover topics on contemporary music, women in music, and composition, including The Failure of Superwoman, The Silent Noise of John Cage, The Composer's Daughter, and Decomposing Composers.
Music, Women, and Technology: 7 Essays (Kindle Edition)

Comments

Mary said…

Very interesting. Keep the writing, S.Pena Young. Certainly you will be discovered not long for your music essays. I know getting recognition is not the end goal of your work, I bet it is the happiness that you feel upon writing down your thoughts.

February 8, 2013 at 5:39 AM

HOTTEST POSTS!

Music Secrets: How to Write an Opera, Part 1

Feel like writing an opera is only for big name composers with big budgets? Or are you willing to take the plunge and create a work in one of the most compelling and cutting edge musical forms...an opera? Almost two years ago I embarked on the largest musical production I have created to date - Libertaria: The Virtual Opera. After writing the award-winning Creation Oratorio and dozens of multimedia works, I wanted to combine my love of the audio and the visual into a single large scale work. Find a Great Dramatic Story You need a strong story to write a compelling opera. Fortunately you can easily borrow from thousands of public domain works and modernize them. Think of West Side Story (just a contemporary version of Shakespear's Romeo and Juliet) . Many great operas use Shakespeare, the Brothers Grimm , and Biblical stories, all of which include interesting characters, strong themes, and action. Libertaria borrows heavily from messianic sto...

FREE MOVIE Spiritus : Science Fiction Animation | Sabrina Young Film

In this visually compelling animated sci-fi film by Buffalo filmmaker Sabrina Young, a neurotic janitor hitchhikers her way to the dying exoplanet Spiritus to escape the truth of her past in this visually stunning animated machinima film by award-winning Cuban American Director and Composer Sabrina Peña Young. Thrown into the Asylum by her parents after a violent incident, Eleora longs to join the SpaceX crew to journey to Spiritus. Captain Reginald Hunter, a loser playboy, will do anything to stop her from finding the mysterious Ancient alien seer who calls to her light-years away. Created using a combination of original watercolor paintings created by the director's 8-year-old daughter and video-game inspired machinima, and accompanied by Young's riveting electronica Stranger Things inspired soundtrack, Spiritus promises to take the audience to an unforgettable fantasy adventure. Nominated for Best Animation at the Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival 2019. Directed...

Bandwidth Media & Film | Sabrina Pena Young

Bandwidth Media & Film provides world class SEO writing services | Sabrina Pena Young

Graphic Design Reel 2022 | Sabrina Pena Young

Space Apps Challenge 2020 Generation Artemis - Sabrina Young

Practicing my Malletkat after converting my studio space into a virtual performance space.

Las Aguas - Electronica - Sabrina Pena Young

Electronica work Las Aguas from the prizewinning multimedia Creation Oratorio by Sabrina Peña Young. Originally commissioned by the Millikin University Womens Choir and Percussion Ensemble. Program notes and Translation: Las Aguas Cielos Sky/Heavens Separe las aguas de las aguas Separate the waters from the waters Aire Air La vida Life (Swahili) Maisha Life Bahari Sea/Ocean Hewa Air Iwepo nafasi kati ya maji igawe maji na maji. Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. Kuwepo na viumbe hai tele kwenye maji, ndege waruke juu ya dunia katika nafasi ya anga Let the waters swarm with living creatures; let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.

COMPOSER SABRINA PENA YOUNG | MUSIC TECHNOLOGY | FILM | CLASSICAL | OPERA

Search This Blog