Los Elefantes también Rezan (2019)

10 minutes
short operatic scene for soprano, tenor, and piano
libretto by Sergio Augusto

Written for Bad Penny Opera’s 48-Hour Opera Project, this piece was composed in 30 hours, then performed the next day. The world premiere was performed by Bahareh Pouresalmi, Sergio Augusto, and Nina Horvath at Club Hollywood North, Vancouver, BC, on June 21, 2019.

Synopsis: Lifelong friends and fellow orphans Conchita and Miguel meet unexpectedly when the only toilet in the monastery “mysteriously” stops working.  

Art Song Lib (2012)

Art Song Lib

 (2012)

for Singer, Pianist, and Scribe

text by Ray Hsu

Written for and performed by Phoebe MacRae and Rachel Iwaasa as part of VISI Art Song Lab 2012.

I have collaborated with Ray Hsu on a number of projects, including the founding of Art Song Lab, an innovative program that teams composers with poets as part of the Vancouver International Song Institute's SONGFIRE festival in partnership with the Canadian Music Centre.

For those of you who don't know our work, it is an understatement to say that we skirt the status quo... We started this project in a café, Ray asking, 'what can we do that would be awesome?' Knowing that we were writing for soprano Phoebe MacRae (a goddess of musical comedy) and pianist Rachel Iwaasa (who can rise to any challenge), our answer was to turn the entire experience of a madlib into an art song. Integrating audience suggestions into the song, no two performances will be the same!

Click here for a PDF of the Score.

Valley Candle (2009)

Valley Candle (2009)

for Soprano and Piano

instrumentation: soprano, piano

text: Wallace Stevens

duration: 5 minutes

written for Rachel Mallon

Click here for a PDF of the Score.