~ Follow me on Instagram @1girl88keys ~
May, 2024
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I graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Music with my Master's degree in Piano Performance with Kathryn Brown.
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May, 2022 ~ I'm a graduate ~
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It was extra special to have the opportunity to perform at my own graduation ceremony! With the Pressez Quartet, I performed Matthew Ober's arrangement of Lili Boulanger's D'un matin de printemps (1:13:35).
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December 2021 ~ I had the privilege of premiering my own composition with the Pressez Quartet!
What a journey this was!
Originally my only intent was to take a music composition class with Dr. Robert Gibson for fun, as I had taken a class with him in the past and I wanted to learn from him again. As it happened, this was the maiden voyage of his music composition class for non-majors. Since Dr. Gibson knew I was registered for the class, he ran various ideas by me and I acted as a sounding board before the class launched. He also knew that over the summer I was involved in the NSO's Summer Music Institute with the Pressez Quartet. Eventually, these two areas of interest merged and Dr. Gibson developed the brilliant idea of having the entire composition class compose for the Pressez Quartet, culminating in a concert of premieres at the end of the semester. I was more than excited about this idea. It was a beautiful process for so many different reasons.
Firstly, each composer had the opportunity to hear their music for real, experience the rehearsal of their music, practice giving feedback to actual performers, and ultimately have their music performed publicly. Dr. Gibson told us throughout the semester that composing music is just half the job; the real culmination of a composer's work consists of the actual performance and experience of the music. It is beautiful that every composer in the class was able to experience this process.
As performers, we also had the excitement of performing music that had never been played before and the privilege of hearing each composer's personal connection to their work, their inspirations for it, and exactly how they wanted it to sound. It was a learning process also in terms of exploring the score, giving suggestions for improvement (both in practical and artistic terms), and trying to produce the sounds that each composer wanted to hear.
Below is an excerpt from my composition, Nature Mirrored.
Originally my only intent was to take a music composition class with Dr. Robert Gibson for fun, as I had taken a class with him in the past and I wanted to learn from him again. As it happened, this was the maiden voyage of his music composition class for non-majors. Since Dr. Gibson knew I was registered for the class, he ran various ideas by me and I acted as a sounding board before the class launched. He also knew that over the summer I was involved in the NSO's Summer Music Institute with the Pressez Quartet. Eventually, these two areas of interest merged and Dr. Gibson developed the brilliant idea of having the entire composition class compose for the Pressez Quartet, culminating in a concert of premieres at the end of the semester. I was more than excited about this idea. It was a beautiful process for so many different reasons.
Firstly, each composer had the opportunity to hear their music for real, experience the rehearsal of their music, practice giving feedback to actual performers, and ultimately have their music performed publicly. Dr. Gibson told us throughout the semester that composing music is just half the job; the real culmination of a composer's work consists of the actual performance and experience of the music. It is beautiful that every composer in the class was able to experience this process.
As performers, we also had the excitement of performing music that had never been played before and the privilege of hearing each composer's personal connection to their work, their inspirations for it, and exactly how they wanted it to sound. It was a learning process also in terms of exploring the score, giving suggestions for improvement (both in practical and artistic terms), and trying to produce the sounds that each composer wanted to hear.
Below is an excerpt from my composition, Nature Mirrored.
I am involved in SMI@Home 2021!
Each year, the National Symphony Orchestra hosts a month-long summer music institute for solo instrumentalists and chamber groups. The Pressez Quartet is thrilled to be taking part in SMI@Home 2021!
View our culminating recorded performance via the Kennedy Center's YouTube channel here:
I performed with my piano quintet at Universalist National Memorial Church on May 19th, 2021!
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It was a unique experience to finally perform for a live audience again! It has reminded me just how much I value live classical music and sharing it with others.