Every human experiences trauma. It is sewn throughout history and the human experience. For me, music is a way of moving beyond trauma, of exploring what comes after, exploring the ways that we rise, redefine ourselves, and claim our power. I am drawn to stories that acknowledge suffering but are not consumed by it. Whether in opera, choral works, or instrumental compositions, my goal is to illuminate the moment after darkness, the turning point when resilience takes hold.

 

​My works blend intellect and intuition. I deeply value collaboration in the creative process. Collaboration means opening my ears, mind, and heart, and listening. Listening deeply so that I might bring the greatest understanding possible to each character that is set to music. Because I value my work as a conduit to connect audiences, I deliberately create music that will be compelling to non-musicians, yet still interesting to the most seasoned musicians. I have overwhelmingly received feedback that non-opera lovers are drawn to my operas. My work is rooted in deliberate structure and technique, balanced with work that serves as an invitation to any audience. This is my goal: to create operatic works with the power to reach as wide an audience as possible. There is no greater gift in my mind than that music is a powerful tool to bring us all together.

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I have spent decades studying the great melodies. I strive with every work, with each opera, to create melodies worthy of singing. Of remembering. Of evoking emotion in the listener. A lofty goal, but one I will continue to strive for continuously.

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​In my first full-length opera, PEARL, a sequel to The Scarlet Letter created in collaboration with famed Feminist Psychologist, Carol Gilligan and Physicist Jonathan Gilligan, we worked to challenge the paradigm of the tragic story. Inspired and informed by Carol Gilligan’s The Birth of Pleasure, we sought to move beyond narratives that frame suffering as an endpoint, particularly in stories that center women and marginalized voices. Gilligan’s book, In a Different Voice had a profound effect on me in college and offered an expanded understanding to begin to view the world through wider lenses. 

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My first modern opera, Harvey Milk by Stewart Wallace, which I attended at the HGO as a student at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, was the opera that caused me to fall irrevocably in love with the medium. As a gender-queer composer, I could, for the first time, see a bit of myself on stage. Since that time, my goal has been to create works that allow others to find themselves. To create stories of defiance and survival. To rise above the paradigm of the tragic female lead. To create operas that have the potential to embody the greatest level of diversity. This is especially true with my work on ALICE.

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​The balance between accessibility and depth is essential to my process. I strive to create music that is emotionally immediate while also rewarding deeper engagement. This means crafting pieces that are harmonically and thematically rich yet never alienating. It means creating music that resonates both on an intellectual and visceral level.

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Whether performed in a grand opera house, a concert hall, or an intimate recital space, my work aspires to leave a lasting impression, resonating long after the final note has sounded. My hope is that audiences walk away not only with melodies still singing in their minds but with a sense of the resilience, hope, and transformation that music can embody.