Embedded Files
MEET DENA!
MEET DENA!
Hi! My name is Dena (She/Her) and I was born and raised here in Ottawa. I enjoy spending time with friends and family, as well as concerts and the outdoors. Some of my favourite artists include Harry Styles, Taylor Swift, Nilüfer Yanya, and Olivia Rodrigo. I also like to play soccer and hockey during the winter!
I like listening to and playing music and have been playing the drums for 7 years. I enjoy playing rock and jazz patterns on the drumset as well as learning to accompany some of my favorite songs!
Highlights from Dena's IB Music Portfolio
Highlights from Dena's IB Music Portfolio
CREATING MUSIC
CREATING MUSIC
"RETURN FROM EXILE"
"RETURN FROM EXILE"
"Return From Exile" was inspired by the style of Joe Hisaishi and his music written for Studio Ghibli films. I wanted my composition to have a theme of a journey with a sorrowful, yet triumphant sound. To express this in my composition, I used the structure of ABA' where both sections of A are more quiet with a sense of stability that is then contrasted with the B section. The B section feels like the core of a journey that is being faced with -- and eventually overcoming -- challenges. "Return From Exile" starts and ends quietly but grows in the middle; particularly in the middle B section, there is a call and response between the cello and the violin; this back-and-forth develops the composition forward, adding a sound of triumph as well. With that said, the intro is slow and simple, allowing the music to build and become more complex while using simple rhythms. The outro, however, makes use of the main melody introduced at the start of A but simplifies it further to end the piece with a softer and quieter sound.
The instrumentation uses primarily string and wind instruments with piano, violin, cello, harp, and flute, which gives the piece a more calming and natural sound. Because the style of this piece was intended to mimic the style of Hisaishi, the instrumentation is simple but rich with texture, as well as diverse but fitting with the theme.
My intention with this composition is to evoke a victorious feeling of overcoming. For my audience, I want them to listen for the call and response in particular between the cello and the violin during the B section. I also want my listeners to note the layering of instruments as they build and diminish to help intensify or richen the composition as it evolves.
For your best listening experience, we highly recommend using headphones!
Return_From_Exile.mov"TIPTOE AT TWILIGHT"
"TIPTOE AT TWILIGHT"
"Tiptoe At Twilight" is a mysterious and ominous piece in a contemporary classical style. The oboe and bassoon play the melody and the piano plays the harmony while the double bass plays the lowest voice. The form of this piece is ABA'CA"D, which intentionally repeats A with variations to add more intensity each time before eventually returning to the main theme. I was inspired by the "Funeral March of a Marionette" by Charles Gounod, which was used by Director Alfred Hitchcock as the theme song for his mystery television series, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". His catchy theme song was interesting and evoked a mysterious mood overall. The reason this piece is entitled "Tiptoe at Twilight" is because parts of the piece sound like someone creeping around in secrecy while the rest of the world is asleep, evoking this feeling of mystery. This composition progressively gets more intense and louder to create more chaos and confusion. I hope that this special composition of mine can keep the listener guessing throughout the whole so that they can exercise their own imagination.
Tiptoe_At_Twilight.mp3"LO-FI"
"LO-FI"
This lo-fi composition builds by gradually adding new elements. The track, made using GarageBand, starts simple, containing chords on a synth and a simple percussive rhythm. Eventually, the track builds up to 7 different parts playing during the climax. The ending simplifies back to two instruments similar to the start, playing chords and a percussive rhythm.
Lo_Fi.mp3EXPERIMENTING WITH MUSIC
EXPERIMENTING WITH MUSIC
Ready_For_It_Aunt_Lydia.movFor my first creating experiment I decided to arrange the song "...Ready For It?" by Taylor Swift in a way that characterizes the fictional character of Aunt Lydia, focused on her role in The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. To do this I had to establish the main traits of this character. Aunt Lydia is an authoritarian character in The Testaments, she holds power, is strict, precise and deliberate, and experiences internal conflict. I decided a march would best showcase her authoritarian qualities, so I studied "Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Philip Sousa as source material. This piece contains evenly spaced snare rhythms repeated throughout the piece. The snare uses many quarter, eighth, and sixteenth note rhythms. I similarly created a rhythm in the snare part, which slowly progressed in complexity throughout the piece. This not only represents Aunt Lydia's authority, but also her strict, precise, and deliberate nature.
To further display these qualities, I used staccatos in the horn, trombone, and trumpet parts. The arrangement also contains aligned melodies and rhythms to represent the uniformity of Gilead and the control and power Aunt Lydia obtains through its corrupt system.
To represent the internal battle Aunt Lydia faces, a sudden chromatic increment is used. This demonstrates the complex thought process of Aunt Lydia when deciding whether to fight against the corrupt leaders of Gilead in the name of justice or to assimilate to stay safe.
Ready_For_It_Antigone.movFor my second creating experiment I decided to characterize the piece of "…Ready For It?" by Taylor Swift to fit the traits of Antigone from the Greek play Antigone by Sophecles. The eponymous character is a very passionate and pious protagonist throughout the play. She defies the rules made by the King of hubris, Creon and risks her life to bury her brother Polynices to follow Greek Gods orders, displaying bravery, rebellion, and hope, despite seeming powerless. To represent her piety and devotion to the Gods, I decided to use full, powerful chords among the choir.
I used "O Fortuna'' by Carl Orff as source material to create a full sound and emulated some characteristics of the piece in the piano part going back and forth between the treble and bass clef with full, demanding chords. To represent Antigone's growing courage and desire to serve both her brother Polynices and the Gods the arrangement slowly builds after the intro to eventually reach a full sound in the choir and piano part. To display Antigone's seeming lack of power, limited instruments were used to create a full sound to represent her accomplishments being just one girl.
To represent Antigone's growing courage and desire to serve both her brother Polynices and the Gods the arrangement slowly builds after the intro to eventually reach a full sound in the choir and piano part. The growing chaos towards the end represents Antigone's rebellious qualities and the danger she endures by risking her life carrying out the task of burying her brother. To display Antigone's seeming lack of power, limited instruments were used to create a full sound to represent her accomplishments being just one girl.
PERFORMING MUSIC
PERFORMING MUSIC
Highway_of_Heroes.MOVThe song "Highway of Heroes" by The Trews commemorates Canadian soldiers who died away at war, which I covered among an ensemble as the drummer. This acoustic rock song executes a march-style snare solo, associated with militaristic style drumming, integrating rolls and fills with repetitive rhythms. The folk rock genre and patriotic lyrics celebrate those who fought in the field.
Report abuse