Compositions
Nova (2021)
for flute, clarinet, cello, vibraphone, and piano; 30'
Nova is a narrative piece following three characters—Liv, Asha, and Deni—as they embark on a journey through a magical forest to help find closure for the death of their friend, Nova. This journey allows these characters to experience this processing separate from the rest of the world, with the help of a benevolent forest entity to guide them along the way. Throughout the story Asha, Liv, and Deni learn to process certain traumatic events and emotions and grow to become a support system for each other.
Each of them has a primary emotion that drives their experience. Liv is afraid of forgetting and moving on, Asha feels guilt, and Deni is experiencing denial. I have assigned different elements to each of these feelings which will be conveyed through the music. Guilt is fire, fear of forgetting is fog, denial is ice, truly feeling and processing is represented by ocean, and acceptance is earth.
Mvt. 1 and 8 performed at Atlantic Music Festival New Music Concert.
Until the Water Runs Clear (2020)
for voice and piano; 5'
arr. for SA choir and piano
Until the Water Runs Clear is sung from the perspective of the dying character asking a loved one to stay, providing some sense of comfort, and hoping for a happier ending in another life.
This piece was written first as a response to the media trope in which queer characters in film and television die at much higher rates than their straight counterparts, often to reflect real life circumstances. Over and over, this becomes frustrating and upsetting to watch. My thinking in writing this piece was that, if these characters must die, let me at least give these deaths the weight and respect they deserve.
Transitional Space (2019)
for clarinet, cello, and piano; 7'
Transitional Space reflects the feeling of suspension in time one feels while traveling in airplanes. While traveling back and forth between time zones, disconnected from social media, the landscape above the clouds contributes to the liminality of the space, suspended in the in between.
