Month: December 2016

Her debut album Stay (2016) was featured on NewMusicBox’s Staff Picks as an album displaying a “wonderful demonstration of how to maintain a highly individual compositional identity without needing to take refuge in pre-post-genre musical silos.” (Frank J. Oteri, NewMusicBox).

I’m excited to find out that two of my compositions, Bordello Nights, and Chase the Stars, have been selected as finalists in the orchestra and band categories for The American Prize.

For a complete listing of finalist composers in the orchestra category, please visit: http://theamericanprize.blogspot.com/2016/12/composer-finalists-2016-orchestra.html

Here is a recording of Chase the Stars:

For a complete listing of finalist composers in the band category, please visit: http://theamericanprize.blogspot.com/2016_11_01_archive.html

Here is a recording of Bordello Nights:

Stay for clarinet, vibraphone, and piano was selected to be among the semi-finalists for The American Prize in the chamber music category. For a complete listing, see the blog post at: http://theamericanprize.blogspot.com/ for Wednesday, October 19th.

Here is a link to Stay streaming on Youtube:

Familiar Stranger was selected as a semi-finalist in the orchestra category, and announced last week. For a complete listing of semi-finalists, visit the link: American Prize blogspot list of semi-finalist composers for orchestra

Here is a recording of Familiar Stranger:

I’m excited to share the video from the premiere of my song cycle “Songs in the Dark” – the version for voice and piano! I love Emily Brontë’s poetry, and was honored to perform these with Christina Wright-Ivanova on piano at the UNLV Nextet concert November 2nd. I realized more and more the last couple of years how much I miss and love performing. I feel more complete when I aim to perform my own vocal compositions, since I can play a more active role in the music-making process. Here is a little bit about the songs:

When I came across these highly emotional poems, they reminded me of lyrics to rock songs reminiscent of one of my favorite artists, Tori Amos. I decided to compose what I consider alternative rock art song, and create a narrative that ties these poems together: how the main character deals with the varying emotional states that accompany feelings of despair or loss, focusing on the lower register of the voice:
1) “Frozen” – she is caught in the middle of a metaphorical storm that ultimately sucks her into the vortex of despair.
– Piano interlude creating the cold and dreary atmosphere as leaves are falling from trees
2) “Fall, Leaves, Fall” she embraces darkness, welcoming death around her.
3) “I’ll Not Weep” – even though she may be sad that he dies, she really is just sad to be stuck here and hopes that she can die too very soon and join him.

If any of my singer friends want to check them out, send me a message! =)
Here is the audio on SoundCloud: