Bio

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 is pursuing a Master's of Music Degree in Composition.

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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, Alison Plante, Robert Paterson, David Ludwig, Gregg August, Jonathan Whitney, Vivian Fung, Christopher Dobrian, and Tom Salta, among 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 James Miles Musical Innovation Grant for Continuing Education Award from the Black Violin Foundation, Inc., and the ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund Honorarium for participating in the 2025 Composer Now Festival. Most recently, she was the University of Redlands Conservatory of Music's 2025 Presser Scholar; Mena is also a two-time recipient of the SAI Composer's Award.

 

Mena is currently 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.

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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 started her journey in storytelling around the age of ten when she entered her first short story, "The Black Sparrow," into 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 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, she got her novella, "The Untold History: The Sea of Freedom," digitally published on the Novelly website. Furthermore, she was a guest on a podcast episode hosted by Novelly, discussing the inspiration behind her novella. During the 2022-23 school year, she volunteered as a writing coach for Novelly, and in the summer of '23, she was one of three panelists on a YouTube webcast hosted by Novelly and Nanowrimo.

 

Although her primary focus will continue to be music, Mena has five unfinished writing projects that she hopes and intends to complete. "The Untold History: The Life of Corinne Blacknell" (a realistic fiction novella and an unofficial sequel to "The Untold History: The Sea of Freedom"). "30 Takes" (a crime fiction novel). "The House Where I..." ( a mixed genre memoir including autobiographical accounts, poetry, and fiction; Mena looks back and ponders what if outcomes and decisions made in her life.) "The Strangers I Called Family" (Another realistic fiction piece) and Time Assassins (a science fiction novel); which has been a long-term idea of Mena's since fifth grade; that just recently received chapters, as it was used for her Senior Portfolio and Thesis to graduate with her BA.

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