I was born and raised in New Mexico (the background photos are from where I grew up). I began violin when I was seven years old, and double bass right when I started high school. I decided to be a composer around then because 1) it did not require performing as a soloist, 2) it was something you did on your own; 3) I wanted to be original. Composing was relegated to the art of dead white German men at my school. When I said I wanted to be a composer, people assumed that meant I wanted to write music for the movies or be a singer songwriter. And that was probably what I thought I wanted too, although I needed to learn much more about music to have any idea which direction I would choose. Where I grew up math and science were the gods, and music was a frivolous pursuit and the people that did know about music were into Bach or Brahms. People were and are unaware of the contemporary music of our time. And that is why as a composer, it is important to me to be aware of the rest of the world.
What I am interested in now includes:
- Baking cakes: Queen Victoria Sponge and Schwarzwälder Kirchetorte
- Being active! I hiked Wheeler Peak and Elbert Peak over the summer and have decided it is addicting as long as you don’t get altitude sickness. I love swimming, volleyball, and playing tennis.
- Spending time with my gorgeous companion, Abigail Blue, my adopted feline.
- Reading fantasy novels. I talk about this in my Listen Local interview. Now I am particularly interested in Brandon Sanderson’s work.
- Keeping up with the news. NPR and the New York Times are my main sources. I usually like whatever David Brooks has to say and I enjoy more nuanced editorials and discussion on current events.
- The Beatles! Check out this awesome podcast (Beatles Podcast).
- Gender studies! This grew from an experience in a composer seminar where, during a class discussion of an article about the composer Joan Tower, a colleague commented, 'I literally don’t understand why women have not composed as much as men. Why are there fewer women composers than men?' To me, he reflected naïve obliviousness to the feminine experience. While my answer to his question seemed obvious, I could not articulate it. In Caroline Heldman’s TED Talk “The Sexy Lie” she states that describing the feminine experience is like living in a red room your whole life and being asked to describe the color red. The answer is so complex and has so many subtleties that, at the time, I could not begin to describe the red room dynamic and its symptom of a woman composer minority. I want to understand this social dynamic and develop skills to better articulate its issues. I have explored different portrayals of femininity in the Eurovision Song Contest, examining the femininities European nations chose to represent their country in this competition. This experience has furthered my interest in gender studies to inform my musical voice.
Interesting articles about gender in composition:
No composer site is complete without a picture of their cat!
