Bio
Mena Williams is an Afro-Caribbean American composer and classical pianist from Miami, Florida. She started composing at the age of eleven, courtesy of a summer camp offered at the University of Miami, where she realized that she enjoyed expressing herself through her own music rather than through someone else's. Mena is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Music degree in Music Composition at the University of Redlands Conservatory of Music in Redlands, California and is studying under composition professors, Dr. Andre Myers and Dr. Anthony Suter.
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In addition, Mena has attended multiple summer festivals and workshops including but not limited to the WildFlower Composers Festival (formerly known as the Young Women Composers Camp), the Mostly Modern Festival, the Atlantic Music Festival, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing Inc. Mentoring Program for Composers (she was the youngest participant in the 2023-24 NATS Mentoring Program). Through these numerous programs she has received lessons and has been mentored by renowned composers including Tom Cipullo, Stephen Cabell, Robert Paterson, David Ludwig, Gregg August, Rob Smith, Vivian Fung, Christopher Dobrian, Daron Hagen, Paul Moravec, Veronika Krausas, initi figgis-vizueta, George Tsontakis, and Tom Salta. Throughout her progression as a composer, Mena has had pieces premiered by ensembles such as the International Contemporary Ensemble, AndPlay, the Neave Trio, the Atlantic Brass Quintet and most recently the University of Redlands Orchestra. Other performers of her works include pianists, Lara Urrutia, Mary Elizabeth Nerren and Chelsea Randall; soprano vocalists, Sonja Krenek and Olivia Knutsen; and bassoonist, Jonathan Stehnney. There have also been readings of her works done by the Mostly Modern Orchestra, the Bright Works Pierrot Ensemble and cellists, MSgt. Christine Lightner and Dave Eggar. Mena has also received awards for her compositions, such as The Lift Music Fund, The Kerdyk Family Music Scholarship, the James Miles Musical Innovation Grant for Continuing Education Award from the Black Violin Foundation Inc., and most recently, she has received the Joan Miller Composition Scholarship from the MacPhail Center for Music, she is also a two-time recipient of the SAI Composer's Award.
Mena is currently composing for concert music; however, for the longest time her main goal as a composer has been to write for movies and t.v shows; due to her immense love of films. Recently, she has decided to expand on her career goals and also hopes to write for video games and dance. Since these are other forms of visual media that she is extremely attached to.
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Along with pursuing a BM in Music Composition, Mena is also pursuing a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Creative Writing with an emphasis in fiction. She started her journey in story-telling around the age of ten when she entered her first short story "The Black Sparrow" to The La Plume Writing Contest and received 3rd place; during her time with La Plume, Mena attended multiple workshops hosted by author Laurie Friedman. Mena's most recent accomplishments relating to Creative Writing is her affiliation with the non-profit digital publisher and library known as Novelly. During the summer of 2021 Mena was accepted into the Rising Voices Collective (formerly known as the Novelly SPEAK! Writing Fellowship) and was mentored by author, Kosoko Jackson. Through the Fellowship she was able to get her novella, "The Untold History: The Sea of Freedom" digitally published on the Novelly website. As well as be a speaker on a podcast episode hosted by Novelly to talk about her inspiration behind the novella; and during the 2022-23 school year she volunteered as a writing coach for Novelly. Furthermore, in the summer of '23 she was one of three panelists on a YouTube webcast hosted by Novelly and Nanowrimo. As she works towards obtaining her BA at the University of Redlands Mena has worked with UoR Creative Writing Faculty and authors Greg Bills, Jonathan Maule, Leslie Brody,Youna Kwak, and Alyssa Slaughter. Mena is currently working as a peer writing tutor at the University of Redlands.
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References
Dr. Andre Myers
(Secondary Professor for Composition (2021-22, 2023-24))
Assistant Professor of Composition, University of Redlands
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Dr. Anthony Suter
(Primary Professor for Composition (2022-23, 2024-Present))
Professor of Composition, University of Redlands
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Professor Louanne Long
(Professor for Classical Piano (2021-Present))
Artist Professor, University of Redlands
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Professor Alexander Danson
(Professor for Jazz Piano (2022-24))
Artist Professor, University of Redlands
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Dr. Inesa Gegprifti
(Former Teacher for Classical Piano, Independent Study
(2020-21))
Artist Professor, University of Miami
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Dr. Shawn Crouch
(Former Teacher for Composition, Independent Study
(2017-21))
Associate Professor, University of Miami
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