Cynthia Sternau is a composer of electronic and electroaccoustic music who lives in New York City. Inspired by poetry, philosophy and spiritual symbolism, she creates her work using a computer, MIDI controllers, and synthesizers. Samples of her music may also be heard in MP3 format at www.mp3.com/CynthiaSternau.
To date, Cynthia has composed nine short operas, five cantatas, and various instrumental cycles for synthesizer and/or jazz piano. She writes her own libretti and other texts, drawing upon obscure myths and sources from the classical and early Christian periods. Her vocal works are intended for performance by singers and electronic accompaniment. Though not yet sung, her operas are now available in the format of story-operas, in a performance where she enacts the story over the music. The samples on this website use brass instruments and/or choir samples to “sing” the vocal lines without words. A note on the score samples: all works are created in 4/4 at a quarter note = 120; vocal scores follow this format.
Cynthia creates and produces her own work in her home studio, and like most contemporary artists, she earns a living in another way--as an editor. She holds a BA in Classical Languages and Literatures from the University of Chicago. She is co-editor of The Secret Prophecies of Nostradamus, a science fiction anthology, as well as the author of numerous works written under the pseudonyms of Lois Hill and B.L.H. Masterson.
Her CD, The Tale of Cupid & Psyche: A Story Opera and Three Unsung Cantatas from the Odes of Solomon was released in 2002 by Arizona University Recordings (www.aurec.com). An earlier album, Meditations & Elegies, (self-published) is distributed through Amazon.com.