In my own words:

 I think of my work as intrinsic to me, contemplative to the form, and respectful of the past.

Starting with intrinsic; I was in kindergarten when I started to get fidgety at school and restless at home. A keyboard and the necessary lessons to accompany it was the solution. Did it fix everything with my behavior? No, of course not. But it became just as valuable as learning to read, and certainly synonymous with it. As I got older, the lessons got more intense, less “do you want this?” and more “Do you need this?” And yes, I needed it – need it – like air, food, like the right vitamins.  And as I bask in the sun, soaking up natural vitamin D, it becomes as apart of my skin as a scar, and as apart of myself as the music I create. 

Contemplative: I am highly interested in the extremes of the question “why?” Specifically, when the answer is “we will never know,” or when the answer is “there’s no other way it could be.” I enjoy exploring themes of inevitability. In the first musical I ever wrote, Playing Dead, about a character who fakes her death, I struggled with the ending for a time while writing the first draft. Where does someone who fakes their death – to run away – end up going? The answer became clear. If she is to change, then what she was running away from is inescapable. And she runs right back into it. 

In contemplating the form, I am drawn to challenging it. As I studied classical composition, something I am fascinated by is why different vocal types can sing the same melody in the same key and same octave, yet the timbre is completely different, in turn making the context completely unique to each performer. Specifically, I love working with trans voices and writing music that celebrates our often varied and changing vocal types.  I want theater to be inclusive and accessible and I believe in the easiest answer: that it can be.

Respectful: As mentioned briefly, my background is in classical music. I believe in working to my strengths and respecting the truths of my background. When I write, I write on a piano. Then, I take it and become the main orchestrator. I usually music direct my own work, and have conducted most of it. I oversee the music from beginning to end because I believe in the specificity of the form and in my ability to keep it specific, yet growing.

As a composer, it would be difficult if I didn’t believe in the ubiquitous nature of music. It’s a good thing I do.