Biography

Krista Penney is a young composer from California. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree in composition from the Conservatory of Music at University of the Pacific, graduating cum laude. At Pacific, she studied with Dr. Robert Coburn and Dr. François Rose. Krista now lives in Washington and is pursuing a Master of Arts in music at Washington State University. She currently studies with Dr. Ryan Hare, Dr. Aleksander Sternfeld-Dunn and Dr. Scott Blasco. She is a member of ASCAP and New Music USA.

Krista’s music is noted for having a childlike, joyful quality. She is influenced by twentieth-century art music composers such as Igor Stravinsky, George Crumb and György Ligeti. From these influences and her conservatory training, Krista learned to create the rhythmic intensity and timbreal interest characteristic of her work. Her music has high energy and a sense of fun influenced by jazz and popular music but firmly rooted in the Western classical tradition.