VOCAL
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THAT SPECIAL PLACE OF BELONGING — [IN PROGRESS]
for baritone, violin, and piano, 15’
commissioned by the George Shirley Vocal Competition
THE INTERLOCKING OF HANDS (2025)
a micro-opera in two acts for soprano and ensemble, 16’
written for the Fromm Foundation Composers Conference
Scored for soprano, flute, trombone, viola, cello, percussion, and piano
Part 1:
I. Whatever you want
II. Thinking slow and talking fast
III. Vanilla notes
Part 2:
IV. Propaganda
V. This place is only happy if you’re here
This uses of Sara Teasdale’s Spring Night in its text.
Performances:
Summer 2025, Conference Ensemble, conductor TBD, Avaloch Farm Music Institute, Boscawen, NH
[recording coming soon]
CICADIAN RHYTHMS (2025)
for mezzo-soprano and string quartet, 9’
commissioned by New Music Chicago for the KAIA Quartet’s performance at the 2025 Ear Taxi New Music Festival
“ The fleeting transience of life”
— Matsuo Bashō
— — —
“The cry of the cicada
gives us no sign
that presently it will die”
— Matsuo Bashō, Cicada’s cry
Performances:
October 2025, Grace Ryan, KAIA String Quartet, Ear Taxi New Music Festival, Chicago, IL
[recording coming soon]
THE REMOTE HUNGER OF DRONING THINGS (2025)
for baritone and piano, 6’
This work was commissioned by the National Association for Teachers for Singing, Inc. and the Cincinnati Song Initiative.
Altitude, by Lola Ridge
I wonder
how it would be here with you,
where the wind
that has shaken off its dust in low valleys
touches one cleanly,
as with a new-washed hand,
and pain
is as the remote hunger of droning things,
and anger
but a little silence
sinking into the great silence.
Performances:
June 23, 2025, Andrew Hallam, Calvin Stovall, Virtual/Cincinnati, OH
CORNER MOTEL MERCY (2024)
for soprano and piano, 6’
This work was written for the ‘between the lines’ initiative in February 2024. This piece uses the text ‘Corner Motel Mercy’ by Diepreye Amanah.
This piece is inspired by Diepreye's poem "Corner Motel Mercy", a plea from an older sibling to their sister to get their life together. With a father who recently passed and a grieving mother, the older sibling tries to get their younger sibling to snap out of there messy, sad ways and get them back on the right track. This text is a golden shovel poem, meaning the last word on each line forms a previous poem. The inspiration for this poem is "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams. In the music, I place an emphasis on each of these words, having the soprano elongate on each of these words in contrast to the fast moving music everywhere else.
Honors:
1st Prize, George Shirley Vocal Competition (Composers Division)
Performances:
May 17, 2025, Nicole Robinson, Muse Ye, George Shirley Vocal Competition Winners Concert, Britton Recital Hall, Ann Arbor, MI
May 17, 2025, Nicole Robinson, Muse Ye, George Shirley Vocal Competition, Britton Recital Hall, Ann Arbor, MI
April 6, 2024, Nicole Knorr, Davis Reinhart, Stamps Auditorium, Ann Arbor, MI