Sophie Fay

An encyclopedia of music, 22-year-old composer Sophie Fay discovered her passion in a high school orchestra class where she was handed a score of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide Overture. Later, she became one of only two artists accepted to Central Washington University’s Composition Studio. Sophie came out as transgender in 2018, and she is meeting the challenge of transitioning with music. Her moving work_ Fantasia and Fugue_ for solo piano was featured among a group of LGBTQ+ composers who created new works during Pride Month 2021.

“I feel a need to fight back against bigotry in any way I can, and I’ve found,” Sophie says, “my voice in this battle lies in the power of art.”

Sophie’s horizons as a musician have been broadened by her life experiences: she discovered and immersed herself with a group of underground, low-income, transgender musicians who introduced her to abrasive noise music and the calming sounds of drone music. She works from the conviction that music should not be bound by style, media, or sound design.

Sophie’s published works include video game scores. “I look up to composers like Hitoshi Sakimoto and Motoaki Takenouchi,” says Sophie. “(Their) excellent video game soundtracks … have redefined the possibilities for colors in music, with exquisite bell tones and smooth modular functions.”