Sophia Collins, 13, has played the violin for ten years, and is in her first year at MYSO in Sinfonia. She currently attends St. Mary Parish School as an eighth grader, where she also has been playing the clarinet since fourth grade for the school band and jazz band. Her favorite academic subjects are science and math.

Sophia’s first serious composition was in sixth grade for her music class when she wrote a piece, but she tried composing for fun before that. Sophia loves everything about music, but also enjoys reading, writing, Irish dancing, and learning new things. 

Sophia so appreciates the opportunity that MYSO’s John Downey Creation Project has given her, along with countless other students, to enhance their talents for composing. Sophia would like to thank Abigail Peterson, her private violin instructor, Pierre Allard, her band director, Heather Schultz, her music teacher, Lauren Roznowski, her conductor, and Rick Walters, her composition mentor. 

Sophia's composition Time’s Quintessence: Paroxysm focuses on how the perfect example of time is a sudden burst. Time’s Quintessence focuses on using the example of a storm, specifically a tornado, to represent time. The beginning of the composition is a build up of all the string instruments in the orchestra, representing the phrase ‘The calm before the storm.’ Then, the midsection of Time’s Quintessence is full of more violent movements of each instrument, representing the actual storm. Then at the end of the composition, a more melodic tune is introduced, inspired by a collection of tornado sirens harmonizing, which represents how in a storm, there is a sense of peace in its passing and how the inner workings of time always continue and do not stop for anything. Time’s Quintessence: Paroxysm was overall inspired by the idea that time is always fleeting, and we remember most the moments that disrupt our lives for better or worse. Sophia hopes those that listen to her composition enjoy it as much as she enjoyed composing it.