Program notes:

I have had the good fortune of collaborating with two wonderful people and artists on this project. Having known Natalie Janssen from our undergraduate years in Colorado, I knew that she was the person for whom to write this song cycle. For the text, I sought out a graduate student in the creative Writing Department at USC and luckily connected with Jennifer Dobbs. I didn’t give Jennifer any direction for the subject matter of the poetry; rather, the three of us met together and Jennifer asked us for some of
our favorite words.

From these words, she provided me with poems that have an incredibly strong and identifiable voice. Her text reveals the pure and raw beauty of its subject matter. The musical setting of these poems is always a direct response to the text. Often the vocal line is driving force of all other musical elements. My position as the glue between Jennifer’s words and Natalie’s voice was exciting if not a bit daunting. Regardless of the result, the experience of this project was extraordinarily valuable for me, and I certainly hope that this is not the last time I work with these artists.