Selected Works
Opera/Music + Theater
Waking the Witch
An immersive, one-act chamber opera for solo countertenor, mezzo-soprano, or contralto and Pierrot+ ensemble
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.
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, International Alliance of Women in Music 2020 Annual Concert
Selection, call for scores, New Music on the Bayou’s Summer Veiller 2020
Selection, call for scores, 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.
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."
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
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
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
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…”
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
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)
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.”
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?
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)
Choir: Women's or 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
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
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
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: Men's
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
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
Selection, call for scores, Calliope’s Call: Songs of Unity concert, 2019
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
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? …
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)
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