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MY STORY


Twenty years of classical music, sound and media experience. 
Young’s experience runs the gamut of composition/music production, video production/editing, audio engineering, sound production, special fx makeup, orchestral and choral writing, music technology lectures and public speaking, visual fx, movie trailer production, humanities education, animation, film music, foley, and more.
CONTACT ME TODAY FOR YOUR PROJECT OR FILM!
spenayoung@gmail.com

Versatile, experienced, professional, and easy to work with, Young is an excellent addition to any project. Located in Buffalo, New York, Young has been involved in local productions as well as dozens of international projects for clients. 


Like any little girl, I wanted to be a famous rock drummer when I grew up. I drove my parents crazy drumming away in the garage, the attic, or wherever they could stash me and my mess of percussion instruments away. As I got older (I'd say wiser, but that's not really the case) I started studying composition with Dr. Clare Shore in sunny South Florida. When I transferred to the University of South Florida and joined SYCOM (an avant-garde collective of insane arts students and electronic musicians) I knew I had found my calling - experimental intermedia (or mixing video with electronic music and drums). 




I traded in my drumsticks for a mouse and decided to follow my love of rhythm, media technology, and science fiction to create groundbreaking futurist and sometimes downright creepy works like World Order #5, virelaan, and Libertaria: The Virtual Opera, the world's first feature length machinima opera. I enjoy combining futuristic fantasy with technology and creating innovative hybrid works that have never been seen before. So enjoy some of my music, watch a crazy video, commission me for a project, or lets meet up sometime for a chat. The future of music is now, and it is an incredible thing! 

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT
EPIC SOUNDTRACKS AND MEDIA
CONSULTING 
AFFORDABLE MUSIC COACHING
COMMERCIAL MUSIC
COMMISSIONS
FILMMAKER

NEED MUSIC MARKETING ADVICE? OR HELP ON YOUR ALBUM?



Works performed internationally at the Beijing Conservatory, the International Computer Music Conference, Miramax's Project Greenlight, the Athena Festival, the New York International Independent Film Festival, Art Basil Miami, Turkey's Cinema for Peace, Art Miami, and Pulsefield International Exhibition of Sound Art, the Holland Animation Film Festival, Australasian Computer Music Confetence, Buffalo's Women and Arts Festival, and countless venues worldwide.

Contact Sabrina Peña Young for your next creative project, educational program, conference, or special event: Spenayoung@gmail.com





Young is a sought-after lecturer and writer on music technology, social media, online collaboration, marketing, and contemporary music.









WHAT THE PRESS IS SAYING ABOUT LIBERTARIA

“Cook wrote that he’s impressed by the results. ‘It’s quite amazing. (It) has a wonderful anime/comic-book vibe to it…It’s pretty cool. The other singers are amazing. The chorus parts are epic. Quite an accomplishment…’ ” – Palm Beach Arts Paper
“One of my favorite things about this story is its odd apocalyptic tone and strong sci-fi/fantasy foundation. The dark quality that comes with it is the cherry on top.” –FanboysAnonymous.com
“It was a heroic effort, and the level of singing in the animated opera was very high...It sounds like a graphic novel, and it looks like one, especially with its cartoon balloons taking the place of supertitles. As a story, it is very much in line with the good-vs.-evil sci-fi tradition, with the added bonus of a plucky female heroine…There are a good many percussion effects in the opera, and its tone is primarily quite dark and sinister, very much along the lines of acontemporary video game score.” Palm Beach Arts Paper Music Critic Greg Stepanich.

Faculty Matters Magazine Spotlight Sabrina Pena Young's New Opera Libertaria
GETTING “IN MOTION” AT TEDX BUFFALO 2014
by Melissa Kania at Melissa’s Musings

“The final talk of the opening session was Sabrina Pena-Young with her talk entitled “Singing Geneticists and EPIC Virtual Machinima Opera in Cyberspace.” Wow! I had absolutely no idea what to expect heading into this one, and it was absolutely so different than what I had expected.
Pena-Young spoke about a virtual machinima opera she created, using contributions from people all around the world. Participants sent in sound bytes, funding and ideas and it became this huge project composed of all these pieces from worldwide. The finished product is now available online for free.
But what I took away from her talk wasn’t anything specific necessarily about animation, design, or even opera. It was about individual ideas and how the power of a community – whether a block club, neighborhood groups or a worldwide virtual environment – can come together to create this incredible product at the end. If we work together, anything is possible.”


Sabrina Pena Young presents Libertaria: The Virtual Opera at TEDxBuffalo 2014

SELECT PRESENTATIONS AND EVENTS 

 TEDxBuffalo, Art Basil Miami, Art Miami, Opera America in NYC, Australasian Computer Music Conference, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and Association for Computer Machinery Conference, Beijing Conservatory, Miramax’s Project Greenlight, New York International Independent Film Festival, International Computer Music Association, Holland Animation Festival, Fort Lauderdale International Independent Film Festival, Society for the Electroacoustic Musicians of the United States, International Alliance for Women in Music Conference, Vox Novus 60×60, New Music Box, Future of Music Symposium, Hartford Women Composer Festival, Faculty Matters Magazine Highlights Young’s Libertaria, Moviestorm.Com, Nashville Soundcrawl, Percussive Notes, Deep Listening Gallery, Elektra Special, French Television Broadcast, EuCuE Millikin University, Kansas State University, Arts NOW Series, Electrolune France, USF Hispanic Heritage Festival, Florida International University, Pulsefield International Exhibition of Sound Art, The Atlas Gallery Miami, WKMS Public Radio, Art@Radio University of Maryland, Feminist Theory and Music Conference, University of South Florida USF Contemporary Music Festival, IAWM Music Journal,Panpipes, SEAMUS Music Journal, TERZ Magazine

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 stories, but is se

What Skills Do You Need to Become a Songwriter?

What Skills Do You Need to Become a Songwriter?  Becoming a successful songwriter is the dream of many musicians. But knowing how to write a song , learn an instrument, and make a successful musical career can seem impossible. Well, it does take a lot of work. Not everyone that wants to be a professional musician will succeed, and many just enjoy writing songs as a fun hobby for their enjoyment.  Do I need to Sing or Play a Musical Instrument? This might seem like a simple question, but it actually has a complicated answer. Why? Some songwriters never learned a single instrument yet can come up with great lyrics and catchy melodies. Others have played piano or guitar for years or are trained singers. So what is the answer?  As a songwriter, you need to understand different aspects of the songwriting process. That doesn't mean you have to have an incredible voice or be the best guitar player on the block. What it does  mean is that you need to know music. There is no better

The Phantom of the Opera - Prague Cello Quartet

The Phantom of the Opera - Prague Cello Quartet

Free Sheet Music Download: Classical Music Flute Solo Airborn Sand by Composer Sabrina Pena Young

Free Sheet Music Download: Classical Music Flute Solo Airborn Sand by Composer Sabrina Pena Young FREE MUSIC DOWNLOAD:  http://imslp.org/wiki/Airborn_Sand_(Young,_Sabrina_Pena) Originally composed during a hurricane in South Florida . Inspired by a news reporter 's comments about "Airborne sand " whipping through her hair, the composer decided to write a work for flute that imitated the movements of sand whirling on a beach during a hurricane. It was subsequently performed at the University of South Florida in Tampa . Flute Solo Related articles Friday Freebie: Old Rugged Cross The Landing - Science fiction Robot music - Sabrina Pena Young Music Marketing Secrets: How to Use Twitter, Youtube, Social Media - S P... Quiz: Which Classical Music Era Are You? Latest iTunes 12.5 Beta Should Please Classical Music Fans After Dark - Romanian Rhapsody concert at the Limerick City Gallery of Art Russian inspiration for Clandeboye Festival The Tran

Free Classical Sheet Music and Free Opera Downloads @ Scribd

Sheet Music (Photo credit: jayneandd ) Awhile ago I decided that I would upload the bulk of my music scores and sheet music to sites like Scribd, the Petrucci Music Library , and Archive.org for free sheet music downloads. Some musicians told me that it was ridiculous to give away my music. The truth is that I don't depend on music publishing sales of my scores, and I would rather inspire a young piano student, percussion ensemble, opera singer, grandma, bored music student, or music teacher to play and study my music than hold on tight to my copyrights and let my music scores collect virtual dust on my hard drive.  The Petrucci Library, Scribd, and Archive.org all have dozens of free music scores available for choir, vocal solos, piano, percussion, orchestra, opera, multimedia works, and more. You can see a short list of available free sheet music by checking out the Scores page. You might want to check out scores to my modern opera Libertaria: The Virtual Opera , an ex

Music Secrets: How to Write an Opera, Part 2

Music Secrets: How to Write an Opera, Part 2 After the incredibly positive feedback that I had from Music Secrets: How to Write an Opera, Part 1 , I thought I would talk a little bit about the composition angle of writing, at least how I do it in regards to vocal music . Here's a quick primer for anyone learning some of the basics of writing vocal music for opera, musicals, classical music , etc.  1. The Sketch I have had several great teachers in my life - Dr. Clare Shore , Hilton Jones, Dr. Kristine Burns, Paul Reller , Dr. Frederick Kaufman, Dr. Orlando Garcia, Chuck Owen, etc. My composition prof (and USF SYCOM guru) Paul Reller helped me develop the composition technique that I have had for years.  Download the Libertaria: The Virtual Opera Soundtrack at iTunes When I have the time to go through the entire composition process (because sometimes I have to skip a step or two for deadlines), I will start out with pencil, paper, and a piano (or keyboard, in my case).

How to Write Film Music in 5 Easy Steps

How to Write Film Music in 5 Easy Steps How to write film music in five simple steps for any composer. Thanks for checking out this video! Subscribe for more great content! Like this? Then check out AMAZON BESTSELLER Composer Boot Camp 101, a comprehensive guide to songwriting, composition, and film music with 50 exercises for students, educators, and music professionals! DOWNLOAD TODAY

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