VOICE(S)/OPERA
HOW TO TELL A WOLF FROM A DOG
Instrumentation: baritone (G2 to F#4), piano
Duration: 3.5’
Program Note: In 2024, after being asked to set a collection of animal poetry by Duluth poet Louis Jenkins, I was commissioned an additional song based upon the Jenkins text, How to Tell a Wolf from a Dog. This song was commissioned by Barbara Brown and John Michel for baritone Ryan Wolfe on the occasion of his wedding.
Premiering: 2026, Saint Paul, MN (Ryan Wolfe, baritone; Carson Rose Schneider, piano)
(Recording unavailable)
OVERLORD
Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano (A3 to E5), piano
Duration: 5’
Program Note: 1st Prize winner in the 2024 Minneapolis songSLAM competition
Premiere: 2024, Minneapolis, MN (Emily Dussault, mezzo-soprano; Andy Fleser, piano)
MAY
Instrumentation: tenor (C3 to F4), piano
Duration: 1.5’
Program Note: May was commissioned by Rex Levang and John Michel, in memory of their old Minnesota Public Radio colleague, Bill Parker. Set for tenor and piano, the text is by late Duluth poet, Louis Jenkins.
Premiere: 2023, Saint Paul, MN (Steve Staruch, tenor; Casey Rafn, piano)
Steve Staruch, tenor; Casey Rafn, piano
ANIMAL SONGS
Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano (G3 to F#5), piano
Duration: 8’
Program Note: Animal Songs was commissioned by the Schubert Club for mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski, in honor of her parents, Deb and Rodney Presser. It is part of The Mad Moonlight Art Song Project, in which 14 Minnesota composers were asked to set for voice and piano 57 of the 62 poems in The Mad Moonlight–a collection of poetry by renowned Duluth poet Louis Jenkins.
Premiere: 2023, Saint Paul, MN (Clara Osowski, mezzo-soprano; Casey Rafn, piano)
Ode to a wombat
Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano (Ab3 to F5), piano
Duration: 4’
Program Note: TBD
Premiere: 2022, Winona, MN (Liz Pearse, mezzo-soprano/piano)
(Recording unavailable)
…AND THE SOUND IS THUNDER
Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano (A3 to G#5), alto flute, harp (alternate version available for mezzo-soprano, bass clarinet, piano, two percussion)
Duration: 7’
Program Note: “What do you know about sleep paralysis?”
That’s how this collaboration between myself and Minnesota playwright Rachel Teagle began. As we were in the early stages of what we wanted this piece to be, Rachel messaged that question to me, and touched upon something with which I have had significant experience. My first, most noteworthy episode occurred in college, waking up in the middle of the night to see an intensely bright light outside my 4th floor dorm room window. I was unable to move until the light faded away five minutes later.
…And the Sound is Thunder is a depiction of the waking nightmare and surreal experience of sleep paralysis.
Premiere: 2013, Saint Paul, MN (the dream songs project)
Seen/Heard Trio
SONGS OF COWBOYS AND HOBOS
Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano (B3 to A5), guitar
Duration: 21’
Program Note: In December of 2011, I was approached by mezzo-soprano Alyssa Anderson about composing a new work for her classical voice and guitar duo, the dream songs project. As we were deliberating on possible text sources for the work, Alyssa discovered information on an annual hobo convention held in Britt, Iowa, and upon discussing our mutual fascination with the hobo lifestyle, we agreed that this would provide an interesting subject for our collaboration. I began searching for texts on the topic of hobos, and stumbled upon the work of poet and author Henry Herbert Knibbs (1874-1945). He wrote eloquently about the hobo life (he even spent a two-year stint as a hobo in the early 1900s), but he was better known for his writings on cowboys, having written numerous western short stories, novels, and poems. As I delved deeper into his work, I discovered many of the themes in his writings overlapped, making it possible for me to create one cohesive song cycle focusing on elements of both the cowboy and the hobo.
Premiere: 2013, Saint Paul, MN (the dream songs project)
the dream songs project
FUMEUX FUME
Instrumentation: SSAATTBB chorus
Duration: 6.5’
Program Note: I came across the text for Fumeux Fume (Solage, 14th C.) while studying Renaissance music, and was immediately struck by the vivid imagery and wordplay. Because interpretation of the text led me to view the depicted character deep in thought, I sought to portray the course of his thought process. Starting with an initial thought (on a single pitch), and leading to more complex contemplations, the character alternates between moments of clarity and confusion, finally evaporating, himself, into a thoughtful haze.
Premiere: 2004, Greensboro, NC (UNCG Chamber Singers; Welborn Young, conductor)
UNCG Chamber Singers; Welborn Young, conductor