About Maura
Maura Drinkert is a composer, producer, lyricist, and future music educator from Fowlerville, Michigan. She is currently a junior at Michigan State University earning a B.A. in both music education and composition.
Journey
Maura was raised in a Christian household and continues her faith into adulthood. To this day, she strives to give all of the glory to God in her music and her message. Ever since she was a little girl, Maura has had a strong involvement and love for the arts. She studied dance for twelve years at Maria’s School of Dance, starting at the age of three. Her love for music grew from her elementary music classes and singing/tapping along to the Beatles at home. This then blossomed into a year of piano lessons and joining the junior high band as a percussionist. Maura’s love for songwriting was evident throughout elementary school and junior high, as she was exposed to Garageband in sixth grade band. Her interest and career in composition began in eighth grade with a desire to eventually write a piece for band.
Maura studies composition with Dr. Alexis Bacon. Her compositional/production experience (premiered and yet to premiere) includes: percussion ensemble, wind band, SATB choir, string quintet, brass quintet, fixed media/performance in real time*, musical theater*, and Christian contemporary worship/gospel*.
(* denotes use of electronics/sound engineer credits)
(Left photo: 2017 MMEA Young Composers' Competition. Max Schwarz, Stephen Andrews, Maura, Max Rose, and Mr. Bill Vliek after the first performance of The Ticking Clock.)
Credits/Experience
Maura has participated in the 2017 and 2018 MMEA Young Composers’ Competition, the 2020 MSU Running Start Competition, the 2021 MSU CREATE! Microgrant Exhibit, and the 2022 Sō Percussion Summer Institute. She has also competed in the Sandbox Percussion Composer Mentorship contest, the NAfME Composers’ Competition, and numerous songwriting contests. Maura's ensemble experience as a percussionist includes the Spartan Youth Wind Symphony, the Michigan Ambassadors of Music (European tour), the MSU Concert Band, and the MSU Concert Orchestra.
Maura has collaborated on pieces with Sō Percussion, the MSU Percussion Studio, and the Fowlerville High School wind ensemble and choir, along with numerous graduate and undergraduate instrumental and vocal students from MSU. She is also collaborating as a producer and sound engineer with Barbara Ann Holmes on her worship music.
(Right photo: Eric Cha-Beach and Maura before the first reading of In the Cards during the 2022 Sō Percussion residency at MSU.)
