Sarah Palermo
Sarah Palermo (born January 23, 1993), is an American composer of Pop/Acoustic Rock and Contemporary Choral music and theorist, who currently resides in Glendale, New York. Palermo holds a bachelor’s degree in music theory and composition, and a Master’s of Music degree in music composition. Beginning October of 2018, she is the archive assistant for the New York Philharmonic. Sarah’s musical interest first sparked in middle school, where she began writing pop songs on piano and guitar. She was one of three winners in the Michigan State University College of Music Large Ensemble competition in 2016 and was also awarded the MSU Excellence in Diversity Award in the Students Making a Difference through Artistic Expressions award in 2017.
Biography
Sarah Palermo was born in Camden, Maine. With the support of her parents, Sarah began piano lessons at the age of five. Her musical interest first came about in middle school, where she began to write pop songs on piano and guitar. Palermo moved to New Jersey in 2011, where she attended Westminster Choir College (Princeton, New Jersey) and received her Bachelor of Music in Music Theory and Composition. While attending Westminster, her activities included performing with the Westminster Symphonic Choir, Philadelphia Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, Vienna Philharmonic, as well as the Westminster Bell Choir. During her first year in the Westminster Bell Choir, she was inspired by the opportunities afforded to her to write for bells. Her first composition for bell choir, Infinity’s Reflection was premiered in the spring of 2014, during the bell choir’s tour in New England. Palermo relates the subject of the use of counterpoint in her writing style to her experiences ringing for the bell choir. Her time with the bell choir forced her to reflect on ensemble playing and interaction. Palermo’s compositions focus on the performer’s interaction with the music.
While at Westminster, she composed her first full-length pop/rock musical Crazy People Like Us, with a friend Mary Bilden who wrote the script. In the spring of 2014, Crazy People Like Us was premiered at Westminster. During her time working on Crazy People Like Us, Palermo realized the importance the role of collaboration and experimentation plays within her compositions. A graduate of the College of Music at Michigan State University (Lansing, Michigan) with a degree in Music Composition, she was a composition student of Zhou Tian. In the fall of 2016, she was chosen as one of three winners in the Michigan State University Large Ensemble Competition and was commissioned to write a new piece for the Michigan State University Campus Band, which she titled Renascence. Her influence for the piece arose from the Edna St. Vincent Millay poem also titled “Renascence.” In 2017, Sarah was awarded the Michigan State University Excellence in Diversity Award in the Students Making a Difference through Artistic Expressions competition, based on one of the solo’s in her musical Crazy People Like Us, entitled No Way Out.” Palermo’s other work’s include Mean Time Between Failure for bassoon, voice, and electronics and Ringing in the Season, for bell choir. Ringing in the Season was commissioned Penobscot Bay Ringers. Mean Time Between Failure will be performed at the 2018 Electroacoustic Barn Dance at Jacksonville University.
Awards and Recognition
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2016 | MSU College of Music Large Ensemble Competition |
| 2017 | MSU Excellence in Diversity Award: Students Making a Difference through Artistic Expressions |
Compositions
Art Songs
“On This Wondrous Sea” (alto, flute, and piano)
“Room to Roam” (baritone and piano)
“Water Lilies” (soprano and piano)
Larger Works
“Crazy People Like Us”
“Infinity’s Reflection”
“Songs of Motion”
Choral Pieces
“All My Soul” (SATB with keyboard)
“An Irish Blessing” (SATB a capella)
“ccxxxviii” (SSA a capella)
“Remarkable (The Time is Now)” (SATB a capella)
“To A Poet A Thousand Years Hence” (SATB a capella)
Articles and Links
https://www.music.msu.edu/news/diverse-expression-fills-award-winning-compositions?
fbclid=IwAR21v4bTfi5E4xr8XSr8VEEkjHW1WpgWyzfkx4AdIfzT9ojV09vfILyCGgg#sthash.QS088pp8.dpuf
https://soundcloud.com/spalermo?fbclid=IwAR2q5LJRU1qoS8y2jVLBmkna3VVP6flBI-r7NQ_RbN3sx-pgdzm7eArQHrc
References[edit]
Diamond, K (2018). Inspiration in Unlikely Places: Making Music in Hollander MakeCentral. News @ MSU Libraries. https://blogs.lib.msu.edu/news-msu-libraries/2018/jun/inspiration-unlikely-places-making-music-hollander-makecentral/?fbclid=IwAR0gkVptzldulVT-OZqRgoBoGteVPxcDsIFjV8N2OmAteGklL6aVHZBCUsI Palermo, S. Personal Interview. 2018 Palermo, S. Personal Interview. 2018 Rollins, A (2017). Spotlight on Penobscot Bay Ringers. Handbell Musicians of America Area I http://area1.handbellmusicians.org/2016/01/23/spotlight-on-penobscot-bay-ringers/
Sarah Palermo[edit]
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