Hi, I’m Mia,
The thread that interconnects all of my compositions might be difficult to tell: I’ve written for a string quartet, made medleys and arrangements of anime and video game themes, and finally (at the Summer School) vocal music inspired by West African polyrhythms.
But growing up in South London has given me a plethora of influences, from the classical music that dominated my standard early musical training to the songs in the cartoons that I adored; from the Afrobeat that’d fill my family home from the record player on the weekends to the R&B CDs that I’d eagerly replay in the car on the way to school.
I hope to share in my music – such as in my string quartet piece ‘Appropriated Sound’ – the idea that you don’t have to fit in a box under a label. You can be messy and confusing and still create something that’s beautiful to someone.
Composers that I adore include:
– Songwriters Melanie Martinez and Lauryn Hill (for their creatively truthful and stark lyrics),
– African-American composers Florence Price and Margaret Bonds,
– The extravagant complexity of the piano compositions of Brahms and Liszt, contrasted with the simple effectiveness of Burgmuller’s etudes.