Honored to have received the awards for excellence in both Jazz Band and Contemporary Ensemble (composition)! Thank you to all my music teachers at Sinatra for helping me get to this point, especially Mr. Ricks and Mr.Lieberson, respectively for each award. I hope to make good on what you’ve taught me at SUNY Purchase in the fall!
I composed the intro for this!! Thanks mom, looking forward to the remix 🙂
My first reading with the American Composers Orchestra, under the direction of the amazing and wonderful composer Kevin James. Conceived in early 2016, this piece focuses on extended string techniques, mainly using the cello as a drum. It begins with a dissonant chorale, easing into an E minor chord before delving into the meat of the piece. The 5/4 groove in the cello beating and viola ostinato creates a bright and jolly feeling, before descending into greater lengths of screaming dissonant violin hell. A brief transitional period leads to a restatement of the chorale from earlier, followed by a light pizzicato section that slowly builds up into a driving viola rhythm and even more cello drumming. I finally restate the original “chorus” with counterpoint in all instruments, since the cello seemed to be getting closer to a percussionist at this point, before ending it on a cheerful note. While this is one of my older pieces and I have some qualms about my lack of theoretical knowledge at the time and the cohesiveness of the piece, it is still one of the pieces that I am the most proud of, and I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
At the beginning of this year, I joined an organization called the CAT Youth Theatre. Up until that point, I have had very little luck in fitting in such a new environment, after moving to New York City from south Florida. CAT gave me friends that I will know for the rest of my life, and I will always appreciate that.
The value of what CAT does cannot be overstated. Even if you aren’t typically involved in theatre, the playbuilding activities used by CAT to write/act in it helps people from all walks of life to come out of their shells, get to truly connect with one another. It’s been a very formative experience for me, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
This all culminated in Walls, an original show devised by the company. It has been a long couple of months filled with rehearsals, but it all paid off in the end. Thank you to all the directors, especially Helen. You do incredible work for young people, and that is not lost on me.
