“The computer sound can’t match real players,” explained Anna Bridges ’99, as we listened to Shifting Towers, Dunes of Stars, a piece she composed for a string nonet and then inputed into—and edited on—the computer. She’s right. A few minutes before, she’d played Snacks for a Giant, her post-9/11 reflection recorded on CD by a real string quartet, and that piece evoked more human feelings, more emotion.

Anna Bridges '99

When Bridges was eight years old, she had no idea she’d be what and where she is today: a doctoral student in music composition at the University of Pennsylvania. Back then, she dreamed of being a genetic engineer, although she also loved singing.

Bridges felt the twin pulls of science and music throughout high school and well into her college years. At Colby, she double majored in music and biology, earning distinction in both fields. She sang in choirs and toiled in labs. In her junior year, she conducted research in genetic anthropology at University College in London. In her senior year, the Colby Orchestra played Tapis, her first major composition. “I even got to go up and talk about the piece. It was amazing; I loved it.”

She credits Professor Jon Hallstrom (music) with spotting and then nurturing her talent as a composer. One-on-one music composition lessons with Hallstrom helped her fully appreciate the appeal of creating music. “With composition, you’re limited only by your own mind; it’s more universal than creating words or pictures. And you can really move people.”

Convinced that composing music was her life’s calling, Bridges moved to Boston after graduation to spend time creating a composition portfolio to submit to graduate schools. Her day job, for three years, could hardly be described as incidental: assisting in vaccine development at the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital.

While in Boston, Bridges arranged her time so that she could pursue her music passion even while holding down a challenging full-time job. She took composition seminars at Tufts and sang in Musica Sacra, a Cambridge musical group for which she even composed a piece.

Fortified by a portfolio and a stellar record at Colby, Bridges’ applications to graduate schools around the country gained favorable reviews. She chose Penn for its excellent reputation and generous fellowship.

Immense responsibilities as a student—and teaching fellow—leave Bridges limited free time to enjoy life with her husband and Colby classmate Philip Boone ’99. That said, she’s philosophical about her current situation. “Sometimes it seems like all I do is work,” she said, “but how many people get to do what I do and live their dream every day?”

With the passage of time, Bridges better understands why she’s been so drawn to both science and music. “With science, you’re investigating what’s out there, what exists outside yourself. With music, you’re asking ‘Who am I?’ It’s more introspective. But both questions are equally valuable.”

For her master’s portfolio, Bridges composed a piece about the Oconee Bells, a flower that comes up through the snow in the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia. “It begins rough and then becomes more tonal as the flower emerges through the snow. It’s about finding the strength to get through something—like graduate school!”

Recordings of Emily Bridges' compositions can be downloaded for free at www.emilyannabridges.com.