White Picket Fence (2024)
for flute, bass clarinet, violin, and cello
Duration: 5-7 minutes
Program notes:
White Picket Fence delves into the unraveling of the American Dream, focusing on the isolation and disconnection felt in 21st century suburbia. While the white picket fence is often used as a symbol of stability and success, it simultaneously mocks us by standing as a pilar (or fence) representing something unachievable by most people. Growing up, my family moved
around a lot due to financial strains. With constant moving, it was often hard to build any sense of community where we lived. I
believe this to be a shared experience among many people in the American Middle Class. The consonance peeking out in sections of the piece serve as a temporary acceptance of reality. The ups in a series of ups and downs brought on by living life in this way. Being okay with where you both figuratively and literally. Finding
your version of success and stability in opposition to the one pushed by that fence.
A Tahoe Pastorale (2024)
for SSAA or SATB choir
Duration: 3 minutes
Program notes:
A Tahoe Pastorale was written primarily in a hotel room in South Lake Tahoe, California. After premiering my Missa Brevis Sacramentum just a few months earlier, I decided to pause choral writing altogether to focus on orchestral score study and a multi-percussion project. However, the quiet allure of winter in Tahoe and my growing fascination with Cecil Effinger’s Four Pastorales for oboe and chorus drew me back to the choral medium.
The text of A Tahoe Pastorale weaves together two poems by poets from Amherst, Massachusetts—Emily Dickinson and Helen Hunt Jackson—both born in 1830. Despite their shared birthplace and birth year, these two poets led vastly different lives. Dickinson famously lived as a recluse, publishing almost none of her poetry during her lifetime, while Jackson became a prominent writer and advocate for Native American rights, with an active literary and public life. The interplay of these distinct voices within the work reflects both the contrast and harmony found in the natural and emotional landscapes that inspired the piece.
Initially, I considered naming the work An Amherst Pastorale to honor the poets’ shared origins. However, since I have never been to Amherst, the piece evolved to reflect the place that sparked its creation—Lake Tahoe. The stillness of its snow-covered terrain and its towering pines shaped the music, offering a setting that feels both rooted in nature and deeply introspective.