19 21 oct '23

Adele Etheridge Woodson

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Function: Composer WSAcademy: WSA Voting Member
Adele Etheridge Woodson is a classically trained film and visual media composer. As a film composer, her strengths lie in her versatility and her creativity in fusing music genres. Most recently, Adele scored Pant Hoot, a documentary short featuring Dr. Jane Goodall that is set to premiere at multiple film festivals in 2020. The story follows Stany Nyandwi, a Burundi genocide survivor, who overcomes overwhelming odds to become a master chimpanzee linguist at Dr. Goodall’s Chimp Eden Sanctuary in South Africa. For the project, Adele crafted an empathetic and heartwarming score, featuring solo violin, African drum ensembles, and traditional Burundian whispered chanting that honored Stany’s perseverance in his journey to protect chimpanzees in Africa. Adele’s array of composition work also includes an art installation for ASU’s Art Museum and scores for varying visual mediums and dancers, but her most impressive feat may be her compositional premieres in Vienna, Austria, New York City, Phoenix, Cleveland, and Nashville. Her first string quartet, “ Humble: Hip Hop Variations on a Theme by Kendrick Lamar,” was premiered by the PHACE Ensemble at Vienna Summer Music Festival. She has worked with composer Dr. Daniel Bernard Roumain, songwriter Gary Burr, and composer Paola Prestini. In the past, she also scored for Arizona PBS’ documentary short, “Hero Material.” She graduated from the School of Music at Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a certificate in Arts Entrepreneurship. She was also the recipient of the Outstanding Graduate in Creative Work award for the class of 2020.

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