MY MUSIC
One
One was written for Salastina's Sounds Promising Program in 2023 for flute, violin and cello.
From 2020-2023, I worked as a music teacher in public schools teaching band, orchestra, and choir to students K-12. My students' enthusiasm and growing musicianship inspired me daily, and I was surprised with the depth that they understood music not only technically, but emotionally. I resigned from my position in the spring of 2023 to pursue my master’s in music composition and though I was excited for my next journey, it was incredibly difficult to say goodbye. I wrote this piece to honor my time working with young musicians and as a keepsake for all the memories my students and I shared together. I drew from pieces we had played in class and created this trio with their many voices in mind. The students overwhelmingly voted to name this piece “One” and when pressed further, admitted only for the reason they thought it would be ironic. However, the real irony is that this piece draws from the many complicated experiences of teaching- the isolation, overwhelming pressure, and joys of being the only adult in a room full of young, creative, and often very loud minds.
Stinky Boot Dance
The Stinky Boot Dance was written for the Composing in the Wilderness Program in 2023 and performed and recorded by Corvus at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. The piece follows the journey through Denali that the composers took through the perspective of my hiking boots, which truly reek of all the places I've been. Inspired by the rhythmic pattern of a boot dance I learned as an outdoor guide, the instruments try to teach each other the dance, inevitably fumbling and tripping over one another to begin again.
Ghosts in the Forest
Libretto by Darby Sherwood
Music by Mieke Johanna Doezema
"Ghosts in the Forest" takes place in an eerie and old forest with old traditions, recounted by an ancient tree, played by the mezzo-soprano. Throughout this story, the audience learns about this strange world and its inhabitants through the eyes of the ghost, played by the soprano, as they journey to discover their lost body and uncover the truth about the forest.
I Carry The Weight of Memories
This piece was written during the Curtis' 2020 Young Artist's Summer Program and later performed by Sarah Potocki. I Carry the Weight of Memories is inspired by a survivor who told me that she felt she "carried the weight of memories." Her words struck a chord within me as I think it does with all survivors who live with the choices of others. This piece captures the polarity of abuse and the difficult and lifelong process of healing.
Dreams of Drought
This piece was written and performed by the Mostly Modern Ensemble for the Netherlands 2023 season. The themes from Reverie and Petrichor originally were composed for an electronic project during the pandemic, dedicated to a friend who had recently been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The newly imagined instrumentation expands on isolation. Though the instruments and their interactions are connected and dependent, their individual journeys differ vastly.
Anthropocene: A Lament to Earth
Anthropocene explores the complex dynamics and social psychology of the current, human dominated geological age. As we live on this earth, quickly decaying beneath our feet, each generation decides the fate of the next. Gerard Hopkin's poem, "Spring and Fall: To A Young Child," takes on new meaning in the context of the Anthropocene. Our children now watch the leaves fall one last time on this earth, poisoned by their own parents.
Godless Galisteo
Godless Galisteo is a symphony piece performed by Tacoma Symphony during the 2020 and 2021 season of the Cascade Conducting and Composing programs. This piece acts as a time capsule for the many backpacking trips my father took me on through my childhood and tries to capture the ruthless beauty of the Southwest.
I Am The Fire Beneath Your Feet
I Am the Fire Beneath Your Feet was written for the Alexandra Gardner's Scale Up Program and performed by the Soli Chamber Ensemble in June 2021. This piece explores feminine rage through building and releasing tension, ultimately resulting in chaos and destruction.
After Silence
I first heard a poem by Jake Merrill on a kayaking trip, training as an outdoor leader. Jake Merrill was an outdoorsman and mountain guide who tragically lost his life in the field. Though I never met Jake, his words touched me, and I began to brainstorm what we find in our perceived silence. As I floated in the water under the stars, bioluminescence lighting up under my boat and cascading across my hands and down my paddles, I began writing this piece in the silence.
After Silence is a meditation on sound and the absence of it. This piece is written for percussion, wind, and brass ensemble, which brings Jake's words to life with the breath of the ensemble.
​
Grandfather's Basement
Grandfather's Basement was performed by ONIX Ensemble in March of 2020. I wrote the piece as a time capsule for the childhood memories of playing in my grandfather's basement with my sibling and tried to capture the wonder and imagination of children we once were. What would it be like to step back into those simpler times?
Unwelcome
In 2013, David Ramael, professor and conductor at Western Washington University, raped a student. Ramael fled the country and only faced one charge: furnishing liquor to a minor that was reduced to a $200 fine for providing alcohol to a minor. Meanwhile, the survivor was told that she experienced "unwelcome" or "unwanted" sex by the police and the University itself- who would not call the assault what it was: rape.
Unwelcome is a violin solo with wind symphony written to give this survivor back her voice and to hold those responsible accountable.
Drunk Masculinity
Drunk Masculinity is an electroacoustic piece using electronic and recorded sounds to create a soundscape that captures the emotional turmoil and complexities of domestic violence. I used a combination of recorded instrumentals and vocals- extracted from a poem I wrote- with electronically synthesized sounds from microtonal scales.
Evolution to Equilibrium
Evolution to Equilibrium is written for standard string quartet with classical guitar. Originally an original folk song written by Doezema, Evolution to Equilibrium examines the cycle of trauma and asks when or if normalcy can be ever achieved.
Escape
Escape is made up of two movements: Reverie and Petrichor, written for music box and piano and recorded electronically. I wrote these pieces for a friend who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma during the Covid-19 pandemic, shortly after the birth of her second child. In these tumultuous times, I wanted to give her an imagined space- a place to laugh, cry, or meditate- so that amidst the chaos of the world, she could close her eyes and daydream.
Dedicated to Rachel Dahlberg
​
List of Works
Large Ensemble
Godless Galisteo (2020)- symphony
-
written for Cascade Conducting and Composing Workshop premiere performance June 2021 Tacoma Symphony
Unwelcome (2019)- solo violin and wind ensemble
-
performed November 2019 for Doezema's senior composition recital
Opera
Ghosts in the Forest (2023)- soprano, mezzo-soprano, flute, cello, piano, and percussion
-
written for Seattle Opera’s Creation Lab
-
performed by Seattle Opera
Chamber
One (2023)- flute, violin, and cello
-
performed by Salastina musicians Ben Smolen, Kevin Kumar, Yoshika Masuda Nov 19, 2023
Stinky Boot Dance (2023)- flute, alto saxophone,violin, and vibraphone
-
performed by Corvus Ensemble July 2023 written for Composing in the Wilderness 2023
Dreams of Drought (2023)- flute, clarinet, viola, cello, and vibraphone
-
performed by Mostly Modern Ensemble in Middelburg, Netherlands
Salt (2022)- violin and piano duet
-
performed by ECI performing faculty at Hidden Valley Music Seminars
Anthropocene (2021)- soprano, viola, cello, piano
-
performed by Del Mar Symposium 2021 performers
And Anger Spoke to Her (2020)- brass trio
-
performed by LL3 Ensemble October 2021
I Am the Fire Beneath Your Feet (2021)- clarinet, violin, cello, piano
-
written for Scale Up Program performed by Soli Ensemble June 2021
Grandfather's Basement (2020)- flute, bass clarinet, percussion
-
recorded by ONIX Ensemble virtually March 2020
Forget Me Not (2019)- percussion and vocal ensemble
-
performed November 2019 for Doezema's senior composition recital
After Silence (2018)- wind, brass, and percussion ensemble
-
performed November 2018 for WWU Composer of Western Concert
-
performed March 2019 for WWU Women Composers Concert
Evolution to Equilibrium (2017)- string quartet & classical guitar
-
performed March 2018 for WWU Composers of Western Concert
SOLO
I Carry The Weight Of Memories (2020)- solo piano
-
written for the Curtis Young Artist's Summer Program
-
Performances October 2021, July 2022, and September 2022
Monsoon Season (2020)- solo marimba
-
written for the Curtis Young Artist's Summer Program and performed by Arx Duo virtually
ELECTRONIC
Drunk Masculinity (2019)
-
premiered at WWU Electronic Composers of Western Concert June 2019
Stone Fortress (2019)
-
premiered at WWU Electronic Composers of Western Concert June 2019
Reverie & Petrichor (2020)- music box and piano​
​