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Student Composer Showcase - Sophia Oszurek

Sophia Oszurek's piece "Shimmery Sunshine Band" was performed at MusicCOMP's Opus 36 concert in April of 2022.
Sophia Oszurek
/
used with permission
Sophia Oszurek's piece "Shimmery Sunshine Band" was performed at MusicCOMP's Opus 36 concert in April of 2022.

Sophia: I like to compose cause it’s kind of like a way to get my feelings out and to see how things sound.

James: That’s Sophia Oszurek, this month’s featured composer for our Student Composer Showcase. Sophia’s piece “Shimmery Sunshine Band” was performed by pianist, Stefanie Weigand at MusicCOMP’s Opus 36 concert in April of 2022, when Sophia an 8th grader at Saint Albans Town Ed Center. Sophia plays the violin in their school orchestra and the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association and enjoys playing the piano.

Sophia: I chose piano because it’s something that I’m comfortable with because I’ve been playing it for a long time. What inspired me was the music I listen to because it’s kind of like hypes me up and gets stuck in my head a lot. And sometimes it’s not in English which proves that the musical language is universal, and you don’t need even lyrics to get the message or feeling across. And it was also because of the sad things going on in the news today. So, I wanted to make a piece to cheer people up.

The Music Composition Mentoring Program (Music-COMP) is a Vermont non-profit started in 1995 that teaches students in grades 3-12 how to compose original music. Students are paired with professional composers as mentors, and over 50 works are premiered each year with professional musicians.

Production support for the Student Composer Showcase is provided by Lake Champlain Access Television, ac ommunity media center serving eight towns in Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle Counties, providing a free forum for expression, and a link to local government and training. More at lcatv.org

James Stewart is Vermont Public Classical's afternoon host. As a composer, he is interested in many different genres of music; writing for rock bands, symphony orchestras and everything in between.