Fields

Composition; Electronic Music; Theory
 

Profile

My recent work strives to engage 21st-century culture, seeking experiences that are unique to the Digital Age. Specifically, I have been reflecting on two contrasting perspectives, which coexist in modern society—one, a strong affinity for technology and its capacity to transform culture, and two, a need to cultivate genuine human interaction outside of any digital environment. In my compositions, these perspectives manifest as both acoustic and electronic music. My acoustic music embraces expressivity with a dynamic, physical performance style, while finding inspiration in electronic and mechanical sounds. I am drawn to the rich detail that these types of sounds offer; and I love the challenge of finding a genuinely musical way to express them with acoustic instruments. In my electronic work, those same modern perspectives inspire an acoustic sense of energy and physicality within the sonic palette of electronics. These pieces explore the value of conjuring human effort in a digital space—where almost all sounds are equally effortless to generate. By merging these two sonic worlds, I hope to create an experience that embraces human expressivity, while expanding its potential.
 

Recent Courses

Composition Seminar: Music and Technology
 

Selected Honors and Awards

American Academy of Arts and Letters – Charles Ives Fellowship (2023)

Tribeca New Music Festival – Young Composer Competition Winner (2023)

Ensemble Ipse – Call for Scores Selected Composer (2023)

Guggenheim Foundation – Fellowship (2022)

Orchestra of St. Luke's – DeGaetano Composition Institute Selected Composer (2020)

Bergamot Quartet – Call for New Works Commissioned Composer (2020)

Red Note New Music Festival – Composition Competition Winner (2020)

Copland House – CULTIVATE Fellowship (2019)

Foundation for Modern Music – Robert Avalon Competition First Prize (2019)

Ensemble Écoute – Composition Competition Winner (2019)

Four Corners Ensemble – New Vision Composition Competition First Prize (2019)

Barlow Endowment for Music Composition – Commission for violin solo (2018)

Cabrillo Festival – Composers Workshop Composer Fellow (2018)

ASCAP – Morton Gould Young Composer Award (2018)

Civic Orchestra of Chicago – New Music Workshop Call for Scores Selected Composer (2018)

Left Coast Chamber Ensemble – Composition Contest Winner (2018)

Columbus Symphony – Call for Scores Selected Composer (2018)

ISCM World Music Days – Selected Composer (2018)

Salvatore Martirano Memorial Composition Award – Second Prize (2018)

Quartet Nouveau – Composition Competition Winner (2018)

National Federation of Music Clubs – Emil and Ruth Beyer Composition Award Winner (2018)

Minnesota Orchestra Composers Institute – Featured Composer (2017)

Mizzou International Composers Festival – Resident Composer (2017)

Albany Symphony – Composer to Center Stage Reading Session (2017)

Boston New Music Initiative – Commissioning Competition Winner (2017)

Frame Dance – Composition Competition Winner (2017)

North Carolina New Music Initiative – Orchestral Composition Competition Winner (2017)

New York Youth Symphony – First Music Program Commission (2016)

Aspen Music Festival – Susan & Ford Schumann Center for Composition Studies Fellowship (2016)

Lake George Music Festival – Composition Competition Winner (2016)

Kaleidoscope – Call for Scores Selected Composer (2016)

Cornell Council for the Arts – Grant Awardee (2016)

American Composers Forum – Subito Grant (2015)

Locrian Chamber Players – Call for Scores Selected Composer (2015)

American Composers Forum – Subito Grant (2014)

Symphony in C – Young Composers Competition Winner (2014)

Castleton Festival – Young Composers Forum Winner (2013)

McKnight Foundation – Visiting Composer Residency and Artist Fellowship (2012)

Ohio Federation of Music Clubs – Collegiate Composers Competition First Prize (2012)
 

Selected Recent Compositions

Thread (2022) for marimba
Commissioned by Benjamin Fraley

Arcade (2021) for string quartet
Commissioned and premiered by the Bergamot Quartet and Towson University

Cloak (2021) for viola
Commissioned by the Orchestra of St. Luke's           

Trace (2021) for piano and percussion
Commissioned by Brianna Matzke and Chris Graham as part of the Response Project        

Fleet Feather (2020) for violin, bass clarinet, and percussion
Commissioned by F-Plus Trio

Lantern (2020) for orchestra
Commissioned and premiered by the Orchestra of St. Luke's

Filament (2019) for violin
Commissioned by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, premiered by Hajnal Pivnick

Splinter (2019) for piano trio
Commissioned by the CULTIVATE Festival at the Copland House

Tether (2019) for mixed quintet
Commissioned by Ensemble Écoute as part of their Composition Competition                                   

Kindling (2018) for pierrot plus percussion
Commissioned by the Boston New Music Initiative as part of their Commissioning Competition

Vinyl (2017) for orchestra
Commissioned and premiered by Alarm Will Sound for the Mizzou International Composers Festival                      

Mosaic (2016) for orchestra
Commissioned and premiered by the Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra

Sunburst (2016) for piano quartet
Commissioned by the New York Youth Symphony

Synthetic Twin (2016) for percussion quartet
Commissioned and premiered by the Kansas University Percussion Group

Cenotaph (2016) for mezzo-soprano and piano
Commissioned and premiered by Rachel Calloway and Xak Bjerken

Lightpipe (2016) custom electronic instrument           

Rift & Shade (2015) for string quartet
Premiered by the Locrian Chamber Players           

Cloud Lattice (2015) for marimba
Commissioned and premiered by Ji Hye Jung           

Flicker (2015) for piano 
Commissioned and premiered by Holly Roadfeldt

Fade (2015) for oboe or clarinet and tape 
Written for and premiered by Mattie Peck  

Dichotomy (2014) for clarinet and electronics 
Written for and premiered by Derek Bermel

Prism (2014) for percussion quartet and electronics 
Commissioned by the American Composers Forum, Philadelphia Chapter                     

Aggregate (2014) for euphonium and brass band
Commissioned by Joel Collier

Nattang (2014) custom electronic instrument
Commissioned by the American Composers Forum, Philadelphia Chapter                     

Metropolitan (2013) for orchestra
Written for the Castleton Festival Orchestra

Field Lines (2013) installation piece
Commissioned by the McKnight Foundation                       

Ephemeral Empire (2012) for strings
Commissioned by the CCM Concert Orchestra

Ferrous (2012) fixed-format audio and video                       

Metropolitan (2011) for piano
Written for and premiered by Ian Scott           

Alluvion (2011) for two bassoons (2011)
Written for Benjamin Peck, premiered by Benjamin Peck and Ryan Romine