I’m thrilled to have been commissioned by the Music on the Bruce festival to compose a new work for soprano and string quartet, premiering this August. I’ve been collaborating with Artistic Director Sarah Pratt-Parsamian to bring this work to Ontario’s breathtaking Bruce Peninsula—a setting that deeply informs the music itself.
It feels especially fitting that the work reflects the natural beauty of the land and the ways it sustains us – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. For this project, I’ve set the powerful text Petrichor by Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm. The poem unfolds in five parts, offering an ideal structure for a cycle of five miniature songs. Kateri’s writing is a profound meditation on ancestry, ecological grief, and resilience where love endures across generations and even through collapse, grounded in sensory memory, ritual, and a quiet, defiant human connection. Composing this music has felt like a deeply spiritual experience, and I hope that sense of depth and reflection carries through to audiences.
It’s always a privilege to collaborate with extraordinary artists in bringing a new work to life. I’m very much looking forward to working with vocalist Joanna Diindiisikwe Simmons, alongside Sarah, violinist Shane Kim, violist Caitlin Boyle, and cellist Rachel Desoer.
Many thanks to the SOCAN Foundation and private donors for their generous support of this commission.
If you find yourself on the Bruce Peninsula from August 25–30, I highly encourage you to attend Music on the Bruce—it promises to be a truly special experience.
