I studied composition at the California Institute of the Arts with Michael Pisaro and Art Jarvinen, and completed an undergraduate degree in music at Bates College (where I studied ethnomusicology and wrote a senior thesis on Chinese music). I also studied for four years with the pioneering jazz pianist Lee Shaw—herself a student of Oscar Peterson’s—and was a two-time New York State All-State jazz piano finalist.
My compositional practice borrows widely from classical and jazz idioms, utilizing minimalist, serialist, spatial, and aleatoric methods. I am interested in making instruments sound unlike themselves, and combining sounds at the limits of genre. I have lectured on my compositional practice at colleges and universities.
A brief composition reel follows. It includes excerpts from 1) an octet for violin, trumpet, trombone, saxophone, piano, guitar, bass, and drums—with the composer at the piano; 2) a trio for violin, cello, and piano (and beeping); and 3) a study (demo) for limitless lead instruments and piano accompaniment (performed on trumpet, flute, and two pianos).
