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

What Really Happens When a Composer Writes Music? When you watch your amazing composition performed for the first time, audience members are usually wowed by the amount of work that it took to create the work. They often can't fathom the hours behind such a great musical feat, even if they didn't care for the music, they still remark on the ingenuity it took to pull together the latest song, whether it was a string quartet, an avant-garde percussion piece, or an electroacoustic work.  The reality is that it takes a lot of time to write a composition, and usually the work takes several stages. Cover of Leonard Bernstein STAGE 1: The Planning Stage Most composers take some time to plan out their piece. This can include writing sketches in a notebook, jamming on an instrument, listening to recordings, or even reading books. Like composer Leonard Bernstein , my routine also involves many hours lying down, inert, letting my brain figure out how I will create my ne...

In the Digital Age, a composer is just as likely to write a work for the local university as he or she is commissioned by an ensemble in Australia.  From using notation software programs like Sibelius and Finale to using crowdsourcing and virtual Skype rehearsals, the classical composer today has dozens of tricks up their sleeves. The shrinking of our world has forced many composers to develop tech skills that were not necessary 20 years ago.  Many composers are familiar with the concept of a click track. Most commonly associated with live acoustic recording of soundtracks or recording studio sessions, the classical composer today may have to use a click track to help musicians thousands of miles away to stay in sync for a project. Complex multimedia projects involving live musicians, film scores, and cross-internet recordings.  The Logic Score is Helpful But Not Always Accurate For my current project, Libertaria: The Virtual Opera , I have a cast of a ...