Celka Ilona Ojakangas

From Wind Repertory Project
Celka Ilona Ojakangas

Biography

Celka Ojakangas (b. 1992) is an American violist, composer and student.

Celka was born to a Finnish-American family in the Midwest and played viola in a string trio with her brothers as an essential part to her musical upbringing.

She received a BA in music composition from Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, studying under Dr. Carlyle Sharpe, studied independently with Dr. Mara Gibson at University of Missouri-Kansas City, and is presently pursuing her master’s of music composition at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles as both a teaching assistant and student, where she has studied with professors Dr. Frank Ticheli and Dr. Sean Friar.

As an undergraduate, Celka was the assistant conductor to Drury University’s local civic orchestra and played viola professionally in three different symphonies.

Celka gets inspiration for her pieces from the musical backgrounds of her ancestry, from the musical history of her nuclear family, and also from her family’s history of working in geology and physics.

Celka was a finalist for the Morton Gould Young Composers' Award in 2016-2017, and most recently won USC’s New Music for Wind Ensemble contest with her piece Bonehead Fizzix, which premiered in February 2018.


Works for Winds


Resources

  • Celka Ojakangas, personal correspondence, February 2018