Wesley S. Uchiyama-Penix (b. 1994) is a composer, producer, audio engineer, sound designer, educator, and performer in the San Antonio/Austin area. Wesley also creates synth-pop music under the artist name WSU-P.
His compositions have been performed at the University of Texas at San Antonio New Music Festival, Electronic Music Midwest Festival, Performing Media Festival at Indiana University South Bend, University of Oklahoma inner sOUndscapes, and New Media Sound & Art Summit in Austin, Texas. Some of his collaborations include the Waterloo Dance Company, San Antonio Ambient Orchestra, JACK Quartet via the JACK Studio program, Texas State Mysterium for New Music, multi-instrumentalist Richard D. Hall, and singer/librettist Jourdan Laine Howell.
Recently, Wesley was commissioned by the University of Texas at San Antonio Lyric Theatre to compose Soul of Word, a short chamber opera exploring the importance of language and how it relates to one’s sense of self and their connection to their culture. Wesley was also commissioned by the South Texas Symphonic Orchestra to compose A Traveler’s Fantasy, which premiered in October 2023. His work for piano and post-processing, Azure, was selected for performance at the Performing Media Festival in 2024, and his flex chamber work The Border of Wind in 2023 at Indiana University South Bend.
Wesley has been the recipient of multiple honors and awards. The film adaptation of his chamber opera, Soul of Word, received a Remi Award from the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in 2024. He was selected to be a JACK Studio Artist in 2022 for his piece Reverie of Mist. He is the recipient of multiple ASCAP Plus awards.
As an audio engineer, he has worked on projects with jazz quartet Sued Nandayapa Bergmann Saunders (Ropeadope Sur), Oswaldo Zapata and Kasandra Keeling’s New South American Music for Trumpet & Piano (Global Music Award Silver Medal), and Richard D. Hall’s soundtrack for the video-dance But Where There’s Hope There’s Life.
Wesley has also helped establish the week long music technology event held at UTSA, MuTe Fest, where events include student/guest concerts, guest masterclasses, and student ran events with the theme of audio/music technology. He is also the recipient of multiple ASCAP Plus Awards.
Wesley holds degrees from the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he received his B.M. in Music Education, and Texas State University, where he received his M.M. in Composition. He has studied under Michael Ippolito, Richard Hall, and Ethan Wickman.