So I've been a guitarist for around 6 years. Gender norms never even occurred to me- 10 year old Fiona just wanted to be a rockstar and wear studded leather jackets while playing a sweet riff on her axe (plus a short-lived flamenco phase). In reality, it was mostly just casual school gigs and tutoring other kids at first. But recently, I got into orchestral work and even signed up for a summer course at Interlochen for film & video game composing, which has become a passion of mine- a passion with a far more realistic end goal- working in the media scoring industry. There's always demand for film musicians, even if that means taking a random gig for a car commercial (I could probably even get away with just using Cubase or Pro Tools for these). I also figure that film and video game scoring reaches a lot more people than, say, toiling away as the bassist for a jazz band in NYC and hoping to make it big (jazz guitar is so fun ngl) I got into composing last summer, when everyone was in their foulest mood from having to stay inside and endure the summer heat. Being forced to stay inside is what made me remember flat.io, which was a software I used to notate scores for guitar class. I decided to take a trip down memory lane and revise the piece I had written for my band months earlier- "Song For a Dying King" (We never got around to playing it due to covid), and decided to try composing more. The first pieces turned out really well, and I honestly believe that I would have been discouraged from ever doing music again if they hadn't. Starting out is a lot easier if you judge your work by your own standards, however ignorant they may be, because I realized- by the time I started looking to other creators on the platform for inspiration- that my music was objectively pretty decent. It still had a long way to go, but I learned better in my little bubble of ignorance than I would have done had I seen their incredible works outright. I remember once, at school, I asked a guy for help setting up an old amp. He fixed it up, played some guitar riffs, and handed it to me with this sus look on his face (*coughs* guy serenades girl who probably knows nothing about music). I sat on the amp, played a complex fingerstyle piece, totally showed him up, and he looked quite surprised. And while I'm grateful to him for helping me, I think this event ties back to the assumption that women are either less capable, less technologically inclined (ok that one was true in this scenario), and that women are always the wife or girlfriend of the musician- never the musician themselves. I have since gained more tech and production experience, which will make it easier to "prove" myself as a woman in music if such a situation arises again, though it is unfortunate that we have to do so. By becoming a film composer, I hope to raise awareness for all the aspiring female musicians out there who are feeling discouraged by the lack of representation. I also hope that we raise one another up, rather than getting territorial about our fragile and volatile identity in the music industry. I want to show them that being a theory nerd, being good with hardware and tech, and that playing a traditionally masculine instrument doesn't make them less of a woman. It doesn't take away from their femininity, but instead makes them more interesting, well rounded, and capable of holding their own in an industry that holds everything against them. Thank you for your time and fascinating prompt.

I was just messing around with the first few measures and trying out different chord voicings when I noticed that the way the string/oboe melody sounded like two things trying to connect. The chord progression and scales rose as though reaching for something, and the organ posed the likeness of something otherworldly and ethereal. Should it be about space? No, that wouldn't be enough to keep my own or my listeners' attention. It had to be more specific; it would be about our two favorite celestial bodies: the Moon and the Earth. And... something reaching for another. Yes, that was it; a tower, carved into the skyline above a dark city. This is 'The Tower That Touched The Moon'.

I met my best friend mid-pandemic over a shared love of composing. I had only begun recently at that time- one month, to be exact. She inspired me to work hard on the pieces I was busy with at the time, and I in turn was able to motivate myself to learn music theory. We spent six months intermittently writing our violin fantasy, but our efforts did not prove fruitless. I realized that we could submit it into the WSMA competition and I could inter it into Interlochen to gain acceptance. Neither one succeeded in fulfilling our original plan, but I still got valuable feedback from WSMA and I'm actually glad I'm attending Interlochen online rather than in-person, because I'll get to go on vacation with my family. I hope to get into the film scoring industry someday, which is a dream job I would not have been considered had covid not trapped me at home all day with nothing but my laptop for company. This has also easily been the biggest creative journey I've ever embarked on, because tomorrow, I get a laptop, cubase (music software), MIDI keyboard (later on). Of course, I'm absolutely blessed to have such a supportive family, because I was sure I'd have to buy all the equipment myself. Needless to say, I have come to have a huge appreciation for the mastery of composers like Ennio Morricone, John Williams, and Alexandre Desplat, who not only have inspired my music greatly, but have shown me the majesty and wonder you can give to your audience, the way you can change an entire movie with music, and the memories you can give your audience that will last a lifetime.

As an artist, I specialize in music composition. The fun thing about music- as I'm sure you know- is that it varies tremendously from culture to culture. Parts of Asia use a certain scaling system which you may recognize from films like 'Kung Fu Panda', 'Kill Bill', and 'Mulan'. To most of the western audience, such scales often evoke images of a Chinese countryside, martial arts, and perhaps even a certain color scheme associated with the genre's respective culture. Music can really say so much without speaking a single word. In Latin American countries, time signatures which are less typical of European and Northern-American countries run rampant across the music scene. Yes indeed, this is the birthplace of bossa nova, rumba, tango, and the iconic 'Girl From Ipanema', whose dizzying chord progression is still unmatched to this day. France- though not particularly renowned for its music- nevertheless etched its place in music history after going against the grain Germany had set of tension and resolution, the legacy of whom has influenced every corner of the globe. Remember Debussy and Satie? Even Monet? Their works, though made by different mediums, all fall under the category of impressionism, an art form which was popularized by the French around the mid-1800's. Debussy rewrote the pre-established Germanic agenda with his iconic use of major 7th, minor 7th, diminished, and etc. chords, completely ignoring what was seen as acceptable and marketable in the music industry. The music of West Africa is perhaps the most recognizable in this list. With its focus primarily on rhythm as a means of musical expression, it's easy to see why it has carried on so plainly in the present day with black-originated genres like hip hop and jazz. Bearing all that in mind, it might become apparent how I intend to study music during my future travels. My friend in Asia and I are already collaborating on a concertino for erhu, piano, and orchestral backing, the title of which is a verse taken from one of the four Chinese classic novels. Another aspect of my music which I aspire to use travel to improve is incidental music- Tan Dun style. There's a documentary- it should be on Youtube- where he travels through his home town in China and gestures toward two women doing their laundry by a river. They beat the fabrics with a specialized stick to dry them out, yet there is a rhythmic quality to the beating. Dun demonstrates this incidental musicality with his hands, turning it into genuine music. What really struck me about that documentary was the way that Dun was able to capture his beloved hometown in music, in the truest sense of the phrase. Transforming my environment into music is something I especially struggle with and it is a skill I aspire to develop in my later travels, especially as I hope to go into film music, this skill will be invaluable and your scholarship will be very much appreciated on my musicological journey.

The arts are my everything. Whether it be fashion, portraits, sculptures, or music (emphasis on music), I live for the ways I can use the arts to express my creative side. The piece I'm attaching wasn't chosen specifically for its intrinsic meaning but rather what the process of creating it meant to myself and my creative journey. A friend I met over a shared love of composition worked with me to create it, and it has been such an incredible bonding experience. She lives in Singapore- a place I never before intended to visit- but she has become my best friend to date and we plan to meet up in her country after high school. This piece has been submitted to two separate organizations (WSMA & Interlochen) in attempts to gain an acceptance letter. Sadly it didn't win, but the theory I learned, the perseverance we found in ourselves, and the opportunities it opened up along the way were priceless. I really hope you enjoy.

First off, Toni Morrison is the BOMB. My school was awesome enough to supply her banned works for us to read. Secondly- I mainly specialize in music, though I had my share of visual arts competitions in Middle School. I'm just not as good at expressiv emyself visually a I am aurally (audibly?lolidk). Personally, I find it difficult to really make a hobby out of something unless I know I can put the knowledge to use. And for music, that would have to be film and video game composing. It's been a major goal of mine to start composing for these mediums because the pieces you hear in your favorite shows and films as a kid stay with you forever. They speak to your soul in a way no other music can, and the technique that goes into scoring films and games is so much different than you'll find elsewhere in the music industry. The construction of love themes and leitmotifs through variations on one or more characters' themes really is magical when done with the right technique and experience. John Williams is my go-to example for this concept- you may remember his work from Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Tintin. I'd cite him, Ennio Morricone, and Yuki Kajiura as my biggest musical influences. Anyway, not only is film scoring the quickest way to get your music out there, it's the quickest way to get it into the hearts and minds of the next generation. So, here's the link to my composer's profile. Some of it's just announcements and some of it is collaborations, but most of it's legit original music. https://flat.io/profile (I don't know if the link will stay embedded once the essay is submitted. If it doesn't, go to flat.io and search 'Fiona Jane'.)