Mena Williams is an Afro-Caribbean American composer, writer, and classical pianist from Miami, Florida. She started composing at eleven, courtesy of a summer camp offered at the University of Miami, where she realized that she enjoyed expressing herself through her music rather than through someone else's. Mena holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Composition and a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing with an emphasis in fiction from the University of Redlands in Redlands, California. She is continuing her studies at California State University, Long Beach, and pursuing a Master of Music Degree in Music Composition.

​

In addition, Mena has attended multiple summer festivals and workshops, including the WildFlower Composers Festival (formerly the Young Women Composers Camp), the Mostly Modern Festival, the Atlantic Music Festival, and the NATS Inc. Mentoring Program for Composers. Through these numerous programs, she has received lessons and has been mentored by renowned composers, including Tom Cipullo, Stephen Cabell, Alison Plante, Robert Paterson, David Ludwig, Gregg August, Jonathan Whitney, Vivian Fung, Christopher Dobrian, and Tom Salta, amongst others. Throughout her compositional career, 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 and Choir. There have also been readings of her works by the Mostly Modern Orchestra and the Bright Works Pierrot Ensemble. Mena has also received awards for her compositions, including the ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund Honorarium for participating in the 2025 Composer Now Festival, the University of Redlands Conservatory of Music recipient of the 2025 Presser Scholar Award, and, most recently, the 2025 ASCAP Plus Award. In addition, Mena was a two-time recipient of the SAI Composer's Award.

 

Currently, Mena is composing for concert music; however, her main goal as a composer has been to write for movies and TV shows, due to her immense love of films, as well as video games and dance, which are other forms of visual media she is extremely passionate about.

​

As mentioned earlier, in addition to her Bachelor's degree in Music Composition, Mena also holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Creative Writing. She began her journey in storytelling around age 10, when she entered her first short story, "The Black Sparrow," in the La Plume Writing Contest and placed 3rd. During her time at La Plume, Mena attended several workshops led by author Laurie Friedman. Mena's most outstanding accomplishment in creative writing is her affiliation with the non-profit digital publisher and library Novelly. During the summer of 2021, she 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, her novella, "The Untold History: The Sea of Freedom," was digitally published on the Novelly website. ​Although her primary focus will continue to be music, Mena has many unfinished writing projects that she hopes and intends to complete. 

​

​