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Unpenned, Emily Sara Austin

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Unpenned is the story of a female singer discovering her voice in a world defined by the male composer’s quill. It is told from the perspective of a vocal performance student preparing for her senior recital during a pandemic and explores baroque and romantic styles, eventually moving into contemporary art song, alternative rock and R&B as the student realizes the expanse of narrative and musical forms through which she can express herself. With this musical journey comes an exploration of female characters, some operatic, and some I’ve created based on stereotypes of women as depicted in films, musicals, books and …