Skye Neal

Taking inspiration from her own love of classical music, imaginative storytelling, and wilderness exploration, 11 year old composer Skye Neal turns creative energy into musical adventures. Her interest in composing was sparked at a very young age while learning to play piano and violin; she couldn’t resist improvising her own melodies, which later grew into songs and eventually ensemble pieces.

Under the guidance of Mátti Kovler, Skye’s talents have flourished as she continues to develop her voice as a composer. Over the past three years as a participant in Fear No Music's Young Composers Project, she has had the opportunity to learn directly from professional musicians and hear her songs come to life on stage. Other musical mentors include Grace Waites for piano, Kenji Bunch for violin, and Jason Sabino for voice.  Skye is a longtime member of the Pacific Youth Choir.

Her compositions have won awards at both the state and regional levels including Oregon Music Teachers Association's elementary composition competition and Oregon Federation of Music Club's junior composer competition. In 2020 she was a guest on All Classical Portland’s radio broadcast “On Deck With Young Musicians” and is the youngest composer ever featured on the program.

Skye’s piece Following the Stream was inspired by her treks through the forests of the Pacific Northwest. She hopes to take the listener on a journey through varying terrains, experience beauty in the unfolding landscapes, and feel a sense of wonderment at finding magic along the way. In her own words:  “First, you sit down and listen to the beautiful tinkling sounds of the water flowing off the rocks. Next, you get up and start following the stream into the forest. When it starts to get late, you come across a group of fairies doing their midnight dance. After the fairies finish their dance, you go hiking in the forest and hear all of the energetic forest animals. Then when you get tired, they carry you home.”

Skye wrote the original version of Following the Stream in 2020 for flute, piano, marimba, and viola as part of the Young Composers Project. She is thrilled to be working with Inés Voglar Belgique this year to orchestrate this song for PYP’s Young String Ensemble to perform.

When she is not studying or making music you may find Skye hiking, reading, drawing, birding, solving puzzles, or playing with her pet parakeet.