2026 Redwood National and State Parks

Artist-in-Residency Application: Music Samples

I compose and produce electronic music using Ableton Live 12, a digital audio workstation (DAW) which allows me to shape sound the way a digital photographer shapes light through pixels. I blend sampled instruments, natural sounds, and my own created tones, then build them into layered pieces that express my lived experiences in and connection with nature. I conceive, compose, and craft every decision—from melody, counterpoint, texture, and rhythm to arrangement and structure—by hand, ear, and heart. I do not use artificial intelligence (AI) generation in any part of my creative process.

1. Symphony No. 2 in G Major (Not Yet Titled)—Development from 1st Movement
(April 2026, work in progress, 1:56)

To celebrate my 10th river trip in 10 years on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, this four-movement symphony in sonata form will reflect the immense awe, wonder, gratitude, and joy I feel when I spend time with this remarkable geological wonder. I am not only creating sound inspired by this landscape (e.g. the flute melody represents the flow of the river) and specific personal memories, but also matching the notes from individual instruments with the shape of the landscape on the visual score (e.g., the chord notes in the Exposition are V-shaped across the page to mimic the view I see when I’m floating down the river on a raft). I intend to pair this symphony with a collection of my photographs from the Colorado River and Grand Canyon in a future online exhibition.

This sample contains the Development from the first movement which represents traveling through the first rapids in the Grand Canyon for the first time. See my full symphony sketch/plan for this piece.

Symphony No. 2 in G Major (Development from 1st Movement)
Colleen Miniuk

2. She Made It
(June 2025, 4:00)

I composed this song after watching (with joy) my students in my “In the Footsteps of Georgia O’Keeffe” photography workshop in May 2025 feel proud about expressing themselves through photography in a new-to-them, awe-inspiring desert landscape. The song accompanied the “Sacred Spaces” artist slideshow during the “Opening Night with the Artists” webinar which can be viewed at 13:22 in the webinar recording available at https://youtu.be/dyMwuyno_vc?si=pSjrYwGCaHlTbpLp&t=802

She Made It
Colleen Miniuk

Thank you for listening and for your consideration!