For Loba Salami ’27, performing and composing music have always been intertwined. A violinist who began playing in eighth grade, he discovered his passion for composition in high school which earned him the Marine Corps’ Semper Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence. Some of his early works, including “A Pirate’s First Adventure” and “A Cave Story,” inspired by Plato's Allegory of the Cave, signaled the start of his fascination with narrative-driven music.

Yet, it was love of both art and science that brought him to Lehigh. “I’ve always been really curious about so many things and science is an outlet for that curiosity,” he remarks. Salami, a double major in biology and music composition, draws parallels between the communication between instruments and biochemical signaling. 

As an Eckardt Scholar, Salami frequently merges his coursework with his creative endeavors. He is a member of associate professor of biology Julie Miwa’s NeuroSalon, an interdisciplinary project exploring the tremendous capacity of the brain for growth, plasticity and creativity. He wrote a piece for the salon and released it on Spotify called, “When Plasticity Was High.” It explores how neuroplasticity is high in children and young adults but becomes more rigid with age. “I really tried to visualize that biological concept in a musical way,” he explains.

A prolific composer with a dozen original works to his name, Salami credits his Lehigh professors with refining his raw talent. By drilling down into music theory, they helped him transition from an enthusiastic amateur to a professional artist. This growth was evident during his sophomore year when he composed “Pirates of the North.” The piece received a full orchestra reading which provided him with invaluable feedback, he notes.

He is an aspiring science-fiction speculative fiction author with a completed manuscript which inspired a new piece he composed his junior year, “The Knights of Envy.” It debuted this February with the Lehigh Philharmonic.

Beyond campus, Salami is also a part of the East County Youth Symphony in San Diego. Alexandra Keegan, Executive Director and Conductor of the East County Youth Symphony, proposed Salami write something for America’s bicentennial. He immediately started drafting a 30-minute piece appropriately titled “Land of the Free.” 

Supported by a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant, the piece will be performed by professional musicians at the Joan B. Kroc Theater on May 13, 2026, in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States.

In addition to music, Salami remains firmly committed to the pre-med track. He shadowed at a Navy Base over the summer in obstetrics and gynecology, helping mothers and babies proved to be a very rewarding experience, he says, reinforcing his desire to help people.

Salami envisions a future that balances medicine and advanced musical study—potentially including a master’s in Vienna for music and later graduate work at institutions like Yale or Stanford. His experience at Lehigh has been challenging in the best way, he remarks, where running a clinic by day and composing at night feels possible.

He’s most proud of the stride he’s made in music and his ability to tell stories with instruments and words.