My journey as a composer started in 2003, during my senior year studying Vocal Performance at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. I was a member of a student-directed choir, Schola Cantorum. With that choir being such a foundational part of my life as a young choral musician, I was inspired to write two pieces for that group: an SATB setting of Ave Verum Corpus, and a TTBB setting of a John Keats poem, When I have fears that I may cease to be. Those two pieces were premiered in a concert by Schola Cantorum on December 9, 2003.
After graduating, I moved to Indianapolis and sang in several groups, including the Christ Church Cathedral Chancel Choir, Indianapolis Opera, Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, and Intimate Opera of Indianapolis, among others. Although I did not continue composing directly after college, I had always cherished the memories of writing and premiering those pieces at DePauw.
After decades of establishment as a professional choral singer, in 2024, I was going through some old music and came across those two pieces. I took them out and played them on the piano, and was pleased to discover that they still remained up to my professional standards that I could proudly share as my own. I decided to bring the setting of Ave Verum Corpus the the Cathedral Choir, and that piece received a long overdue liturgical premier.
I decided to modernize the engraving on those two pieces and publish them, and through that process, I fell in love with composing again. After decades of experience performing choral music of many genres, I have gained a vast repertoire of influences to draw upon, and have been inspired to continue writing new music.
In 2026, I started entering my compositions into competitions and began getting some recognition. In February 2026 I won the Runner Up prize for the PRISM International Anglican Chant Competition for my Anglican Chant setting of Psalm 121. Then in July 2026 I won First Place in the Rocky Mountain Chamber Choir Call for Scores: From Page to Voice, for my setting of the Langston Hughes poem, After Many Springs.
Learn more about my music here.