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To Kathleen, for mixed choir
Written for a significant other while she was studying abroad, this more accessible six-part setting of Edna St. Vincent Millay's love poem begins with a simple unison theme, slowly blossoming twice towards the centerpiece of the text: "you." I picked this text, because, like my S.O., Edna St. Vincent Millay is a strong feminist figure. Millay was known for riveting recitations of her writings, which were filled with politicized topics — unabashedly evoking hetero- and homosexual themes, the power and strength of women, and other progressive ideas for which she was passionate. |
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Flying at Night, for mixed choir
Flying at Night was conceived during a time in which I had very intense writer's block while working on an as of yet unfinished Mass for a cappella choir. I woke up in the middle of the night, bothered by my lack of inspiration, and began scouring the internet for poems on themes around night, hoping one would grab my attention. When I came across Pulitzer Prize winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser's Flying at Night, I knew this was the text I was looking for. |
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Lux Aeterna, for mixed choir
In January of 2018, Dr. Robert Natter, Director of Choral Activities at the Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College, approached me about writing a piece for their Spring 2018 Tour, he asked me to set the Lux Aeterna text, fitting with with the "Light and Darkness" part of their theme of Transitions. When I knew I was setting the Lux Aeterna text, I had decided that this needed to be a piece dedicated in memory Zach Misleh. Zach was a classmate of mine at DeMatha Catholic High School who tragically lost his life at the age of 19, in June of 2017. |
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Our Father, for mixed choir
The Our Father came to fruition because I one day realized, in the middle of a church service, that while there were plenty of beautiful settings of the Lord's Prayer in Latin and in other languages, I hadn't yet heard many settings of the English text. I decided during the church service that Sunday morning that I would set the English text of the famous Christian prayer, Our Father. |
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Kyrie, for mixed choir
This piece for moderate-level choirs is a simple but beautiful setting of the Kyrie text from the Mass. Building on alternating themes, the piece develops into a climax in waves of sound, pulling back into a modal ending featuring the altos. |
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