Projects

Quartet for An Aspiring Gymrat is a theatrical chamber work for piano quartet and narrator that

examines the seductive clarity of self-improvement as a shield against grief. With a background in

theatre, I wanted to create a piece that functions like a play, where music shares the stage and

intensifies the inner monologue rather than simply accompanying it. The narration’s bravado and

ironic self-awareness mask deeper feelings of inadequacy and loss, while the music exposes what

the language refuses to hold: exhaustion, fragility, and the ache beneath relentless striving.

At its core, Quartet for An Aspiring Gymrat traces a young man’s attempt to outrun heartbreak by

reshaping himself into someone he believes will finally be enough. The cycles of strain and

repetition mirror his fixation on discipline and external validation, each musical return tightening

the grip of obsession even as the underlying sadness remains unchanged. Yet threaded through

that momentum is the quiet, persistent presence of his sister, steadfast even when met with

distance, whose patient support creates the conditions for something the gym cannot manufacture:

acceptance. The work ultimately bridges compulsion and confession, suggesting that while

transformation pursued for approval can deepen isolation, healing becomes possible when one

allows themselves to be seen, accompanied, and known.

This work will be premiered April 18, 2026 at 10:30am in Kresge Theatre at Carnegie Mellon University.

"Wall Cloud Above Lake Hefner" is a solo flute and piano piece about the feeling of an approaching storm above and otherwise calm lake in Oklahoma. A wall cloud is an ominous, horizontal cloud

that appears in the distance, spanning the whole of the skyline and turning the sky before it yellow or pink. Where I am from, it is one of the first indications of impending tornadic activity. Interestingly, what may seem scary to someone outside of the region is actually incredibly peaceful to witness. The typically dry air grows humid, everything stills, and a great sense of calm sets in as the wall cloud moves in. Although the storms that follow are intense, they always subside and the world returns to a serene state once again. This piece is structured as an exchange between the waves of Lake Hefner in the piano accompinament, and the approach, arrival, and dissipation of the wall cloud in the flute line. In addition to this interplay, the piece shifts between binary and ternary feels with similar motives repeating at often irregular intervals, mirroing the way in which the waves of the lake may look the same but are constantly adapting to the environment around them.

This work will be premiered on Gill Derer's solo flute album to be released summer 2025. 

This untitled pierrot ensemble is in progress and set to be completed April 1, 2026. It is a mariachi-inspired piece drawing on my background as a violinist in a mariachi band. It will be workshopped by Pittsburgh's contemporary-music ensemble Nat 28.

This musical is set to be premiered April 28, 2026. In collaboration with Chris Renaud, it follows two characters as they attempt to visit all 52 roundabouts in New Hampshire.