Biography:
Born in Genova, Italy, and raised outside of Syracuse, NY, Sean Penzo is a composer, cellist, and writer known for a wide range of collaborations and compositions. He has held board positions in Ethos New Music Society and The Improv. Collective, among others, and is a co-founder of the Michigan-based non-profit, East Zodiac. Penzo has composed for ensembles which have performed and recorded his music internationally including Sonic Apricity, Akropolis Reed Quintet, and Quartetto Zuena. His most recent writing work has involved writing the libretto for Mateo Wojtczack’s, “Hero’s Awakening”, and the blog, Musician Coop. During his undergrad at SUNY Fredonia, he studied composition with Paul Coleman, Andrew Martin Smith, Rob Deemer, and Jamie Leigh Sampson, and cello with Natasha Farny. After Fredonia, he studied with Keith Fitch and Bryan Dumm in Cleveland, and graduated with a master's in music composition.
Penzo values performance just as much as composition. He enjoys working with live bands and playing the role of a studio musician--often recording remotely for clients of all genres. His recent endeavors have involved working with Shane Patterson, Todd Hobin, Isa Bruder, and The Junk Experiment. Currently based in Pittsburgh, PA, he regularly performs, records, and premieres works written by other composers.
Born in Genova, Italy, and raised outside of Syracuse, NY, Sean Penzo is a composer, cellist, and writer known for a wide range of collaborations and compositions. He has held board positions in Ethos New Music Society and The Improv. Collective, among others, and is a co-founder of the Michigan-based non-profit, East Zodiac. Penzo has composed for ensembles which have performed and recorded his music internationally including Sonic Apricity, Akropolis Reed Quintet, and Quartetto Zuena. His most recent writing work has involved writing the libretto for Mateo Wojtczack’s, “Hero’s Awakening”, and the blog, Musician Coop. During his undergrad at SUNY Fredonia, he studied composition with Paul Coleman, Andrew Martin Smith, Rob Deemer, and Jamie Leigh Sampson, and cello with Natasha Farny. After Fredonia, he studied with Keith Fitch and Bryan Dumm in Cleveland, and graduated with a master's in music composition.
Penzo values performance just as much as composition. He enjoys working with live bands and playing the role of a studio musician--often recording remotely for clients of all genres. His recent endeavors have involved working with Shane Patterson, Todd Hobin, Isa Bruder, and The Junk Experiment. Currently based in Pittsburgh, PA, he regularly performs, records, and premieres works written by other composers.
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Artists Statement:
I grew up on storytelling. From old family legends, fantastical mythical creations, and historical accounts, to the story behind a folk song, or the old tune my grandfather used to sing. My desire to write had its origins somewhere within one of those tales and my writing continues to propagate that tradition. Everyone who attends a concert; from the audience members, to the musicians--they all have their own unique series of stories that brought them to that point. At the attack of the first note, the infinite blend of these narratives and how they affect each individual response to the music, defines why I write.
I enjoy working closely with musicians whenever I have the opportunity to write them a piece. I like to learn about their stories, the things that are close to them, what they enjoy playing, what they hate playing. The person I’m writing the piece for will ultimately determine its contents. As a result, two pieces of the same instrumentation written for different musicians would be vastly different. I’ve often found that the more open musicians are, and the more we’re able to discuss what they would love to see in a piece, the more successful the work is. They should be able to take ownership over this thing that we’ve created together.
To me, collaboration is invaluable. No piece is complete until it is performed--until the performers add their own perspective to the work. Understanding and coming to terms with these perspectives is exciting and incredibly rewarding. So long as everyone has a story to tell, I’ll never stop listening and writing it down.
I grew up on storytelling. From old family legends, fantastical mythical creations, and historical accounts, to the story behind a folk song, or the old tune my grandfather used to sing. My desire to write had its origins somewhere within one of those tales and my writing continues to propagate that tradition. Everyone who attends a concert; from the audience members, to the musicians--they all have their own unique series of stories that brought them to that point. At the attack of the first note, the infinite blend of these narratives and how they affect each individual response to the music, defines why I write.
I enjoy working closely with musicians whenever I have the opportunity to write them a piece. I like to learn about their stories, the things that are close to them, what they enjoy playing, what they hate playing. The person I’m writing the piece for will ultimately determine its contents. As a result, two pieces of the same instrumentation written for different musicians would be vastly different. I’ve often found that the more open musicians are, and the more we’re able to discuss what they would love to see in a piece, the more successful the work is. They should be able to take ownership over this thing that we’ve created together.
To me, collaboration is invaluable. No piece is complete until it is performed--until the performers add their own perspective to the work. Understanding and coming to terms with these perspectives is exciting and incredibly rewarding. So long as everyone has a story to tell, I’ll never stop listening and writing it down.