Selected Works
Opera/Music + Theater
Waking the Witch
An immersive, one-act chamber opera for solo countertenor, mezzo-soprano, or contralto and Pierrot+ ensemble; ~70 min.
Written for Min Sang Kim, countertenor
Opera America Discovery Grant for Women Composers Awardee
In Waking the Witch, the audience assumes the role of a 16th-Century accused witch facing interrogation from a Witchfinder who believes they’ve made a pact with the devil. The libretto is drawn from from the words of historical witch hunters, found in religious texts and trial documents, as well as from modern day leaders and movements whose rhetoric is eerily familiar. The treble instruments of the ensemble play possibly real, possibly hallucinatory animal familiars—demons in the shape of small animals.
Learn more and listen to excerpts. Contact me for an archival recording of the full piece.
THE FISHWIFE
A one-act comic operetta for 9 singers and piano, reimagining the Grimm fairytale and greed allegory, “The Fisherman and His Wife.” ~60 min.
Commissioned for the Maryland Opera Studio by the School of Music, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
After her husband, a poor fisherman, catches a magical fish, a woman makes a series of increasingly bombastic wishes for wealth and power until she ultimately asks to be “like God.” But what does it mean to be—truly—similar to the divine? What does the fishwife actually want and need? From traditional arias to jaunty sea shanties, The Fishwife is an inventive reimagining of the Grimm fairytale and greed fable, The Fisherman and His Wife. A comic operetta with a foot each in the worlds of opera and musical theater, this one-act ensemble piece explores wanting: greed, yes, but also ambition, satisfaction, and deserving; human needs physical and beyond; imagining and pursuing a better life; and most importantly, the question of what is worth wanting. In exploring an unceasing, ever-growing desire for more, the work considers how aspects such as power, gender, cognitive functions, and economic systems influence what we think we want and how free we are to pursue our wants. It also examines how we justify wanting and having significantly more than what one needs, even as others have too little, as well as how human greed affects our shared planet. Fast-paced and playful, with catchy melodies and an ensemble of nine singers with relatively equal roles, The Fishwife aims to bring joy, reflection, and, hopefully, a little bit of kindness to everyone who sees and sings it.
Learn more and listen to excerpts. Contact me for an archival recording of the full piece.
For Whom the Dog Tolls
A 10-minute opera for soprano, piano, whistle, and duck call
Written for Charlotte Stewart-Juby as part of Opera from Scratch 2018. Selection, call for scores: New Music on the Bayou’s Summer Veiller, 2020, and District New Music Coalition’s New Music DC, 2018.
For Whom the Dog Tolls shows a day in the life of a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, a rare breed of hunting dog with the unique ability to lure ducks to their demise. To imitate an observed behavior in foxes, hunters bred joyful, high-energy small red dogs whose playful movements on the shore would make curious ducks come closer—a process called tolling. When within gun range, the hunter would jump out of hiding and be able to get a number of ducks at once. This piece celebrates the joie de vivre dogs can show us and celebrates working dogs in particular. But it also subtly explores who gets to move through the world with freedom, and who does not.
The Green Child
A mini-play for soprano and clarinet
Commissioned by Whistling Hens.
Two versions available: Full (~15’) and shortened (~10’)
Living in a space in between concert and theater, The Green Child retells Marcel Schwab’s fairytale, “The Green She-Devil,” which itself is derived from the real-life legend of the green children of Woolpit, England. The Village Girl is played by the soprano, and the Green Girl is played by the clarinet, speaking her own unique language; narration can be done by the soprano, a separate speaker, or as projected text. The girls rescue each other from dangers both physical and existential.
FAE-FERAL CHILD
A family-friendly micro opera in which a bullied but curious child seeks solace in a cave where they meet the Fae. Together, they embark on a journey of self-expression through the festival of Beltane. Libretto by Cliff Hoitt-Lange. ~15 min.
Commissioned by No Divide KC for No Divide KC in partnership with Lyric Opera of Kansas City as part of Come As You Are: Vulnerability in the Concert Hall.
Listen.
Choir: Mixed
Ad vitam
SATB a cappella choir (some divisi), commissioned by Christ First United Methodist Church, Wasilla, AK, latin text from the Requiem mass
"Lord, make them pass from death to life."
Listen.
Even So, Lord, Quickly Come
SATB a cappella choir, text excerpted from verse four of the hymn "Come Ye Thankful People, Come" by Henry Alford
Coming home "free from sorrow, free from sin"
3rd prize winner, Sewanee Church Music Conference 2020 Fyfe Choral Music Prize
Listen.
Evolution
SATB a cappella choir with children’s chorus/semi-chorus, text excerpted from Langdon Smith’s “Evolution”
A story of love and deep time. "When you were a tadpole and I was a fish / In the Paleozoic time, / And side by side on the ebbing tide / We sprawled through the ooze and slime, / My heart was rife with the joy of life / For I loved you even then.”
Father, Forgive Them
SATB choir, solo SATB quartet, and organ; text from Luke 23:24; appropriate as a standalone piece or as the First Word in a Seven Last Words collection
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
Good and Faithful Servant, Well done
SATB choir and opt. piano and handbells, commissioned by Quincy Point Congregational Church, Quincy, MA, adapted biblical text
Celebrating or aspiring to good work
Listen.
The Lobster Quadrille
SATB choir (some divisi), tenor or baritone soloist, and piano, text from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
A fish tries to convince a snail to join in the dance of the lobsters
Listen.
Noises, Sounds, and Sweet Airs: Shakespeare settings out of context
An ongoing series of Shakespeare texts set out of context for atypical choral configurations, with each piece performable alone or in any combination
BOUNDLESS: for mixed choir with low voices or quartet of mezzo, contralto/counteternor, baritone, and low bass; includes optional high-voiced solos at the end of the piece; Juliet: “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep…” Listen.
THY FAIR LARGE EARS: 3-part canon for similar voices; a lullaby to my dog; Titania: “Sleep, thou, and I will wind thee in my arms… and kiss thy fair large ears my gentle joy…oh, how I love thee, how I dote on thee!”
MAKE A HEAVEN: For live choir (mixed, treble, or bass), in person or via Zoom; Helena: “I shall make a heaven of hell”
…more to come…
Nothing New Under the Sun
SATB choir or solo quartet, text from Ecclesiastes 1:9
Written as part of a collaborative ‘exploratorio’ on the subject of the origins of creativity as part of the 2019 N.E.O. Voice Festival
Selection, call for scores (choral category), Denison TUTTI 2020
Listen.
The Oxen
SATB choir (some divisi), piano, and bells, text by Thomas Hardy
Reflecting on belief around Christmastime; potentially appropriate for both secular and sacred contexts
(also arranged for solo voice/unison choir, piano, and bells)
Riding
SATB choir with children’s chorus/semi-chorus, text by Ruby Archer
A horse riding, whooping for joy song. "Oh the joy of a fine free canter / Over the conquering mountain trails, / All with a lad that can laugh and banter— / Never the spirit fails. Laee-ho!"
To help the crampe
SATB a cappella choir (opt. B divisi), written for Choral Arts Initiative’s PREMIERE, text from the Book of Magical Charms
A setting of a spell from a 17th C. bookd of sorcery and witchcraft to help with cramps. “Take a piece of Parchemint…write thereon theis folowing words: Gut + Gut + Egut + Getaut…It will help.”
Listen.
The Voiceless
SAB choir and piano, commissioned by Connecticut Yankee Chorale, text by Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Alas for those that never sing, / But die with all their music in them!"
(also arranged for soprano, mezzo, and tenor trio and piano and for solo voice and piano)
What doth the Lord require?
SATB choir, a cappella or with optional accompaniment, text from Micah 6:8
What doth the Lord require of thee but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Listen.
Woman, why are you weeping?
SATB a cappella choir and soprano soloist, commissioned by Quincy Point Congregational Church, Quincy, MA, text from John 20
Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene
where you go
SATB a cappella choir and soloist, composed for the wedding of Lacy and Michael Browne, text from Ruth 1
Commitment and love
(Also arranged for solo voice and for solo voice and piano)
Listen.
Choir: Treble
The Dove Pursues the Griffin
SSSSAAAA choir, improvised piano, and internal piano strings; text from Helena's lines in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
"You draw me, you hard-hearted adamant; / But yet you draw not iron, for my heart / Is true as steel"
First prize winner, New York Treble Singers Composition Competition, 2005
The evening darkens over
SSAA a cappella choir, text by Robert Bridges
See poem text here
Listen.
Flower Girls
SSAA choir and piano, text from the Priest translation of Goethe's Faust; can be partnered with "Soldiers" for TTBB chorus
"For the ways of women's nature / Are so near akin to art."
MAndatum Novum
SSA a cappella choir or trio, text from John 13:34, commissioned by PERI Trio
Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos / A new command I give you: Love one another as I have loved you
rut
SSAA choir, soprano or mezzo-soprano soloist, piano, ocean drum, and optional bass guitar; text by Emily Dickinson and Edna St. Vincent Millay
Love's stricken "why"; Where you used to be there is a hole in the world; Heart, we will forget him
To A Wronged Queen
Four sopranos (or medium-high voices), a cappella
”Lay aside your crown, bend yourself to grief, but never to shame.”
Commissioned by Tara Sandlin for “I Smiled As I Died,” a recital exploring faith, feminism, and grief, inspired by the stories of Jeptha’s daughter and Vashti
Tremble
SSA a cappella choir or trio, text from Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia, commissioned by PERI Trio
”I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever”
Choir: Choose your own adventure
The following pieces are appropriate for various types of ensembles
*appropriate for children's choirs
The Engine*
3-part a cappella choir with optional percussion; text by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Imagining a spooky, anthropomorphized train
Selection, call for scores (children’s chorus category), 2017 Women Composers Festival of Hartford
Listen.
The Lion and the Tiger*
2- or 4- part voices and piano; text from Hilaire Belloc's The Bad Child's Book of Beasts (a 2-part partner song with optional harmonies; can be done as duet, quartet, 2-part chorus, 4-part chorus, with any voice part combinations)
Why a lion makes a terrible pet, but a tiger would be a great choice
The Oxen*
Unison choir, piano, and bells, text by Thomas Hardy
Reflecting on belief around Christmastime; potentially appropriate for both secular and sacred contexts
(also arranged for SATB choir, piano, and bells; can be performed by solo voice and piano)
WALK THE WALK
3-part a cappella choir; traditional African proverb
"If you can walk, you can dance; if you can talk, you can sing."
Choir: Low Voices
Love One Another
TTBB (or Barbershop) quartet a cappella, adapted from 1 John: 4, written for Gettysburg United Methodist Church
"Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in them"
Soldiers
TTBB choir and piano, text from the Priest translation of Goethe's Faust; can be partnered with "Flower Girls" for SSAA chorus
"Bold is the venture, / Grand is the pay!"
Art Song / Vocal Solos / Chamber Vocal Music
Gloria
Medium or high voice and piano; traditional text (Spanish language)
Traditional Gloria Patri/Doxology text
The Lion and the Tiger*
2- or 4- part voices and piano; text from Hilaire Belloc's The Bad Child's Book of Beasts (a 2-part partner song with optional harmonies; can be done as duet, quartet, 2-part chorus, 4-part chorus, with any voice part combinations)
Why a lion makes a terrible pet, but a tiger would be a great choice
The Jewels in our Fingers
Song cycle for soprano, mezzo, and baritone (with falsetto) solo trio and piano; includes improvised and semi-improvised sections; text: three poems by Emily Dickinson, “I held a jewel in my finger,” “You never know how high you are,” and “I took my power in my hand.”
I took my power in my hand / And went against the world / … Was it Goliath was too large, / Or only I too small?
Selection, call for scores, District New Music Coalition 2021
Old Man Kangaroo
Medium or high voice and piano; text adapted by Lacy Gonzalez Browne from Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories
How the kangaroo got its legs and tail
Selection, call for scores, Research on Contemporary Composition, University of North Georgia, 2019
Selection, call for scores, Music by Women Festival, 2018
Listen.
Open Your Mouth
High voice and piano; text adapted from Proverbs 31:8-9 and I Chronicles 28:20
Open your mouth for the voiceless, for the desolate... defend the rights of the poor...
(low voice versions available)
Selection, call for scores, Juventas New Music Ensemble: Freedom of Speech concert, 2019, and Calliope’s Call: Songs of Unity concert, 2019
Listen.
The Oxen
Medium or low voice, piano, and bells, text by Thomas Hardy
Reflecting on belief around Christmastime; potentially appropriate for both secular and sacred contexts
(also arranged for SATB choir, piano, and bells; appropriate for unison choir)
Padrenuestro
High voice and piano; traditional text (Spanish language)
The Lord's Prayer
Soothe! soothe! Soothe!
Tenor and piano, text excerpted from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass
"Close on each wave soothes the wave behind... Yet my love soothes not me, not me"
Winner, call for scores, Music by Women Festival, 2018
Listen.
Thursday
Soprano (or medium-high voice) and clarinet, commissioned by Whistling Hens, text by Edna St. Vincent Millay
And if I loved you Wednesday / Well what is that to you? …
Listen.
To A Wronged Queen
Four sopranos (or medium-high voices), a cappella
”Lay aside your crown, bend yourself to grief, but never to shame.”
Commissioned by Tara Sandlin for “I Smiled As I Died,” a recital exploring faith, feminism, and grief, inspired by the stories of Jeptha’s daughter and Vashti
The voiceless
High voice and piano; or soprano, mezzo, and tenor trio and piano, commissioned by Connecticut Yankee Chorale, text by Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Alas for those that never sing, / But die with all their music in them!"
(also arranged for SAB choir and piano)
where you go
Solo voice; or medium or high voice and piano, composed for the wedding of Lacy and Michael Browne, text from Ruth 1
Commitment and love
(Also SATB a cappella choir and soloist)
Listen.
With One Another In Love
High or medium voice and piano, text adapted from Ephesians: 4 and 1 John: 4
A wedding song. “Be humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
Words and images of Edvard Munch
Song cycle for mezzo-soprano, speaker, and piano
I. The Kiss, mezzo-soprano and piano
II. Young Girl on the Shore, speaker and piano
III. The Voice, mezzo-soprano and piano
IV. Ashes, mezzo-soprano and speaker
V. Madonna, mezzo-soprano, speaker, and piano
The writings of Munch that accompanied his paintings set to music; meant to be performed alongside images of his works
Theater
Incidental music for The Glass Menagerie (Williams)
Violin and piano
Incidental Music for The Good woman of Setzuan (brecht)
Nine singers, piano, saxophone, and improvised trap set
I thought the earth remembered me: Being Moss
Recorded music and live voice; for collaborative theater piece led by Carmen C. Wong; banished? Productions, Capital Fringe Festival, Washington, DC
Narrative the Build We
Collaborative theater piece including recorded music created with Bruce McKaig and Abby Zan; Source Festival, Washington, DC
Random
eelgrass
Fixed media (modified soprano voice); text by Edna St. Vincent Millay
"No matter what I say, / All that I really love / Is the rain that flattens on the bay, / And the eel-grass in the cove"
Winner, call for scores, District New Music Coalition’s New Music DC, 2020
Listen.