Composer
This is a new work for band, written for a consortium of schools in the upper midwest. The lead commissioner is Waubonsie Valley High School, directed by Mark Duker. (see recording below) Chamak Consortium Members (full list) Amador Valley High School – Jonathan GranthamConcordia College – Peter HabermanDowners Grove North High School – Jessen Smith & Brayer TeagueEvanston … Read more
***This work is not yet completed*** This will be a set of three songs in Hindi, setting the text of 15C Indian saint-poet Kabir. The cycle will be suitable for younger singers, and will be an entry point for singers to learn to sing in Hindi. One song from the cycle, Dhire Dhire, is currently … Read more
Program Notes original text by Melissa Studdard (all info coming soon) Recording (see video above) Text View/download the full text of We Are Love here: Special Performance Requirements We Are Love is a work designed for two types of choirs to perform together: a regular SATB chorus and a community chorus. While the community part … Read more
Program Notes ‘Say Your Name,’ a voting-rights cantata composed by Reena Esmail and written by Rebecca Gayle Howell. Here is the resilient story of a woman named Democracy, a woman battered by gaslighting and confusion. As she finds the courage to remember who she is, she learns what we all must: that to guard our … Read more
Program Notes Sandhiprakash(p/d), meaning ‘the joining of light’, is the term for a particular set of Hindustani raags that are performed at the moments of sunrise and sunset. In this piece for unaccompanied cello, the focus is on morning sandhiprakash raags Bhairav, Ahir Bhairav and Vibhas. I’m so struck by how differently the concept of … Read more
Program Notes Pranayam is a suite of short encounters with different types of active breath. The word pranayam literally describes ‘a harnessing of the life force’. Each movement is based on a specific breath pattern commonly used in yoga practice. Dirgh is a three-part inhale, expanding the belly, diaphragm and chest in succession. Kapalbhati is … Read more
Program Notes Wendell Berry’s beautiful sonnet begins with the line: “Who makes a clearing makes a work of art.” While this poem is about an actual clearing in the woods, Berry’s words made me reflect on how many ways there are to make a clearing — both outwardly and in our own souls — to … Read more
Program Notes I wrote this sonata at the beginning of 2022, as we began to find our way back to one another in-person, after years of separation and isolation during the pandemic. In this time of reconnection, there was so much to catch up on, so much to say — and yet I was struck … Read more
this work has not yet been written – all information forthcoming Program Notes Recording Special Performance Requirements Audio Guide Premiere/Performances Press/Reviews
Program Notes A setting of Pablo Neruda’s Sonnet 17 in the original Spanish, this setting matches the dark, evocative language of Neruda with a constantly shifting tonality of Raag Puriya Dhanashree. Recording Text The original poem and translation are available here. Premiere/Performances This piece was commissioned by Nirav Kamdar. Press/Reviews
Program Notes I am constantly drawn to the ‘dohe’ (couplets) of Kabir. His statements are pithy but their meanings are vast. They have been set and sung for hundreds of years in the Hindustani classical tradition, and they seem to meet each generation of performers and listeners in a unique way. This tiny couplet is … Read more
Program Notes This Violin Concerto explores the ancient concept of the Five Elements (space, air, fire, water and earth), through the modern lens of climate change. Each of these elements can be so uniquely beautiful and awe-inspiring when they are in balance with one another — and yet when they are out of balance, they … Read more