Now more than ever, music is a way of life for Mia Ruhman.

The fourth-year music composition student is a composer and vocalist marking the completion of her original opera “Nannerl.” The opera, which includes a 20-person cast with Ruhman performing as its titular star, premiered last week with two performances on June 5 and 6 at the First United Methodist Church in Santa Monica. As her time at UCLA comes to an end, Ruhman said she feels she has accomplished everything she hoped to and is excited for what the next stage of her life will hold.

“Being at UCLA, it taught me – in many ways – balance, especially being a music student taught me balance,” Ruhman said. “It strengthened me, and it strengthened my discipline.”

Ruhman said she has always been involved in music and began writing songs and singing in choir as a child before becoming involved in musical theater at age 8. As a member of the National Children’s Chorus, Ruhman said she began working with Ian Krouse – a composer and distinguished professor at UCLA – to develop her songwriting. She said hearing a piece by composer Eric Whitacre when she was about 15 brought her to tears and inspired her to become a composer herself, which she pursued through the Composer Fellowship Program at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Ruhman’s other musical influences include bands such as America, the Eagles and Led Zeppelin, whom she said affect her compositions because she incorporates classic rock chords in her pieces.

Expanding her talents for composition through the fellowship translated into a desire to attend UCLA and continue studying with Krouse, Ruhman said. From there, she said she realized she could blend her knowledge of songwriting and music composition with her love of performing. She said she planned during her first year to write an original piece and cast herself as the lead, with the intent to perform it during her final year. With the premiere of “Nannerl,” Ruhman said she has accomplished every goal she wanted to achieve during her time at UCLA.

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After being accepted at UCLA, Ruhman said she knew she wanted to develop an opera about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s older sister Maria Anna Mozart, also known as “Nannerl” Mozart. She said she first wrote the theme of the show and then launched into extensive research of Maria Anna Mozart’s life using online databases of letters written between the members of the Mozart family.

As she learned about major events that happened to the female composer, Ruhman said she began writing more songs in a non-chronological order. Advice from Krouse and fellow distinguished professor Richard Danielpour helped her realize that writing the libretto – the opera’s written text – would help organize the developing story into a more cohesive storyline, she said.

“I’ve read thousands of their letters and anything that mentioned her, I would write it down,” Ruhman said. “I have a thousand Google Docs with so much information, and many of the songs in the show have actual text from the letters, but they’re spliced in ways so that either they’ll rhyme or they’ll just be more cohesive to the ear.”

In the process of researching her subject, Ruhman said she found Maria Anna Mozart’s diary. Ruhman said the diary was intriguing because it lacked information about Maria Anna Mozart’s personality, instead chronicling the times of day when she would complete different tasks. This level of detail helped reveal both Maria Anna Mozart’s meticulousness and her appreciation of the mundane elements of life, Ruhman added, which influenced her writing and Ruhman’s return to composing.

In the midst of classes, sorority activities and other musical projects, Ruhman said she managed to complete the written text during her third year. She said she then transitioned to working on the piano and vocal score while juggling a full-time job as a musicianship teacher with the National Children’s Chorus. While writing the score, Ruhman said her time consisted of composing for hours on end and going on an eight-mile run every three days. By the time she finished the score, the final product was more than 370 pages long, representing two hours and 37 minutes worth of music, she said.

“I have almost no memory of composing it,” Ruhman said. “You get possessed. It’s just the weirdest thing. I can’t describe it.”

Ruhman’s roommate and sorority sister, fourth-year physiological science student Anna Furton, said she was able to see a snippet of one of the compositions from “Nannerl” while attending one of Ruhman’s recitals a couple months ago. The piece was dynamic and impressive to watch, Furton said, because of both the abundance of movement and Ruhman’s voice. Furton added that she felt moved by the raw feelings and unfiltered emotions Ruhman was able to bring during the performance.

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Furton said it is important to acknowledge that Ruhman’s compositions require tireless effort and hard work. Often, Ruhman will return home late from time spent at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and sit at a table to continue composing, Furton said. Ruhman’s compositions are of such high quality not only because of her talent, but because of the energy and care poured into each piece, Furton added.

“It’s pretty amazing how much goes into these things behind the scenes, in terms of the sacrifices it takes to create art,” Furton said. “I think that’s something that Mia is so special at, because she has this gift and this talent, but she also has this incredible drive where she makes it happen no matter what.”

Vladimir Chernov, a distinguished professor of voice performance, said Ruhman began taking voice lessons with him at Krouse’s recommendation. He said Ruhman has been an open-minded student who has taken his advice about how to adjust her approach physically, from exercise to breath control, in order to expand the scope of her voice. Now, Ruhman is able to sing beautifully in both operatic and musical theater styles, he said. Ruhman possesses an outstanding vocal range and a dedicated focus to her craft seen in few students, he added.

Reflecting on her time at UCLA coming to a close, Ruhman said she has learned to be more ambitious. While it may be easy to think real life does not begin until after graduation, Ruhman said each day of her time as a Bruin has been spent preparing her for the future. She added that hard work can be difficult, but is worthwhile when considering the opportunities waiting to be pursued.

“You have to treat every day like it’s a performance,” Ruhman said. “Every moment is precious, whether or not you realize it.”