Last month, 2021 Hamilton Scholar Reem Numan premiered “A Hero’s Journey” to the world — a piece she composed as part of her participation in the Argus Quartet 2021 Composers Institute.

“My piece was inspired by Japanese media I enjoyed during my childhood, including Legend of Zelda, Kingdom Hearts, and Studio Ghibli movies,” Numan said. “The stories told were enhanced by the music that accompanied the protagonists' journeys — I hope my piece emulates that.”

Argus’ Composers Institute is dedicated to mentoring and performing the works of underrepresented high school composers; Numan and five other students were selected to worked with BIPOC composers Carlos Simon and David Sandford and the string quartet themselves. At the conclusion of the program, the institute held a virtual concert debuting all five of the students works.

See an excerpt of the Oct. 12 performance below; the full performance is available to stream on YouTube.