Emily Drum joins Jocelyn for a conversation on today’s bonus episode!

Emily (she/her) is a singer, arranger, composer, vocal producer, songwriter, and educator living in Phoenix, AZ. During her time at the University of Arizona, she became the driving force behind the award-winning a cappella group Amplified, serving as director, arranger, and producer. In addition to leading the group to historic success in the Varsity Vocals ICCA competition, she received four ‘Outstanding Arrangement’ awards for her work. Today, Emily is in high demand as a professional vocal arranger and composer. She is commissioned by high school groups, top-ranked collegiate a cappella groups, and semi-professional choirs all over the country, and her self-published arrangements have been sung all over the world, in over 15 countries spread across 5 continents. In addition to arranging and composing, Emily is also a vocal coach, producer, and member of the award-winning treble vocal quartet, Red Letter Daze. Over time, her contributions to countless vocal projects have landed her 27 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARA) nominations and awards. She is excited to continue making strides in the world of vocal music and is grateful to be featured in Graphite Publishing.

Support us: Subscribe on Patreon

Follow us: @composelikeagirl on Instagram and Facebook

Learn more: Compose Like a Girl

Transcript PDF

Relevant Links:

Emily Drum

Womankind, available through Graphite Publishing

Star Light, Star Bright, available through Graphite Publishing

GALA Choruses

Phoenix Women’s Chorus

International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella

Red Letter Daze

Boston A Cappella Festival

DAW

Sherry Blevins joins Jocelyn for a conversation on today’s bonus episode!

Sherry is an award-winning composer/lyricist, conductor/clinician, and an award-winning music educator. Her first piece was published in 2018. Since then, more than 17 of her pieces have been published, and she is now with four publishing houses including Hinshaw, Fred Bock, BriLee, and JH Music. Since then, she has enjoyed composing for and with a variety of singers and ensembles across North America. Sherry has a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a master’s degree in music education from Appalachian State University. Her hope is that whether through composing or teaching, that the music she shares will bring hope, life, and light to others.

Support us: Subscribe on Patreon

Follow us: @composelikeagirl on Instagram and Facebook

Learn more: Compose Like a Girl

Transcript PDF

Relevant Links:

Sherry Blevins

When I Become An Old Woman, available through Graphite Publishing

Looking for Light, available through Graphite Publishing

If I Call To You, My Love, available through Graphite Publishing

Jenny Joseph’s poem “When I Become an Old Woman”

Dr. Iris S. Levine, Vox Femina

Ritika Bhattacharjee joins Jocelyn for a conversation on today’s bonus episode!

Ritika is a composer, pianist, and vocalist who performs in jazz combos and big bands, plays for contemporary dance productions with Ventana Ballet, and underscores fully improvised musicals at Merlin Works, The Hideout, The Fallout, and ColdTowne Theatre. Her multi-media composition portfolio includes the scores for three short films, a video game, an iOS app, a string quartet, a musical, and a symphony commission from Austin Balcones Orchestra. She received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2022, where she founded and served as the president and conductor of Ingeniare, the A&M Student Engineering Chorus, and served as the band leader and pianist for Binomial Rhapsody, an engineering instrumental ensemble that composed music from math equations. During her undergraduate study, she was the lead jazz vocalist for the Corps of Cadets Aggieland Orchestra, performing scores from the big-band era on tour. She currently works as a business consultant in Austin, TX, and will receive her graduate diploma in composition from the European Academy of Film Scoring in 2024.

Support us: Subscribe on Patreon

Follow us: @composelikeagirl on Instagram and Facebook

Learn more: Compose Like a Girl

Transcript PDF

Relevant Links:

Ritika Bhattacharjee

The Infinity of Space available through Graphite Publishing

Texas A&M University

Shayla Rivera (Ritika’s Professor at Texas A&M University)

Binomial Rhapsody

Python

Pivot

Gutenberg! The musical!

Film Scoring Academy of Europe

Conspirare

Morten Lauridsen - Lux Aeterna

Orange County Philharmonic

Pepsi R&D

Lewis Carroll’s, “Alice's Adventures in Wonderland”

SOUNDDRAW

String Theory

Wormhole Paradoxes

Dr. Michio Kaku