Compositions

The Two-Headed Calf

This piece sets a well-known poem by Laura Gilpin, The Two-Headed Calf. This poem is often illustrated by artists; however, I hadn't heard a true musical composition of the text. So, I created one. The piece is written for soprano, mezzo, and woodwind quintet. Using the pastoral and bucolic timbre of the woodwind quintet, I composed a piece that sheds light and life on the beauty of nature, more specifically the freaks of nature. This piece is not published because the poem is not in the public domain.

Peaceful Waters: A Choral Reflection on Nature's Beauty

This piece is written for unaccompanied SSAA choir. I chose three texts by three female poets that highlight water and sunset to illustrate the beauty of nature. The poems are by Emily Brontë, Emily Dickinson, and Sara Teasdale. I used text painting in each of the three movements to highlight the beautiful poems.

The Awakening

I was introduced to the text for this piece during my wedding. Our officiant, Dr. Mark A. Boyle, read this poem while we passed our wedding bands around for a ring warming ceremony. I wrote this piece specifically for my senior recital. It is written for solo mezzo and piano. The poet, James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938), was a civil rights activist as well as a poet and songwriter. He wrote the text “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, which was set by his brother J. Rosamond Johnson, and is now known as the Black national anthem. He was a leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as well as a lawyer and diplomat. While writing this piece, I paid close attention to the natural flow of the text as well as the symbolism found in it.

This piece is dedicated to my lovely husband.

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This piece premiered on Sunday, November 17, 2024 at 4:00 pm.

The Question Carol

Dr. Mark A. Boyle offered for me to set one of his poems for my next composition. I chose to set his The Question Carol as a carol for Christmas time. The text asks questions surrounding the birth of Christ, which are eventually settled in the final verse. Mark A. Boyle is a prolific composer and poet in Greensburg, PA. He is the Director of Choral and Vocal Activities at Seton Hill University. This piece is written for a woodwind quartet and an SATB choral ensemble. I chose to utilize a woodwind quartet (flute, oboe, clarinet, and bassoon) for this piece to once again access their bucolic timbre. They have melodic material for the introduction and interludes, and hold pedal chords while the choir is singing. The choir has a repeating melody that is intended to be easily learned and performed, hopefully allowing the audience to hum the melody as they are leaving the performance.

This piece will be premiered on Sunday, December 8, 2024 at 2:00 pm.

sunsets

This piece is written for unaccompanied SATB choir. I wrote the poem for this piece in the Spring 2023 semester for a poetry assignment. It is a cinquain about sunsets and their inherently calming nature. This piece is a sound piece, focused more on creating colorful harmonies than a distinct melody. However, there is a fragmented melody that gets passed between voices.

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This piece is dedicated to Seton Hill University's Una Voce.