Classical Singer | Composer

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: Composition & Arranging: When I managed the church music program and its teenage music interns, my boss was putting together a concert with his community choir featuring works by American composers. He asked me to create a set of songs for the interns -- a group of 8 incredibly talented young women -- to sing for the concert. I arranged three Bob Dylan songs for them and the band that I put together (where I played keyboard). At the time, this was the biggest project that I had worked on and it showed me what I was capable of. Singer: My favorite gig of all time was when I was asked to sing the soprano solo for the Mozart Requiem for a festival at RPI in Rochester, NY. They had recently completed their new performance space which at the time was one of the top acoustically perfect spaces in the world. (It's exactly what you'd imagine from a bunch of audio engineers at a top engineering school with a massive budget). I had sung the Requiem many times - at least twice with the musical director previously - so I got to perform a favorite work, with a great director, in a beautiful space.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: I am continually building my own catalog of music primarily for sync work. I normally have 2 or 3 things that I'm working on at any given time.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: For instruments, analog is always best, but I love the many digital libraries available. They give us composers a way to put the music on its feet quickly and they allow for a lot of options for limited budgets and resource availability.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Making music with other people! Also, I love helping people realize their goals and dreams.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: Questions depend on the project/client, but I almost always ask: *What's the goal for the music? Demo, sync, radio release, something else? *What's the vibe? Do you have reference tracks? *How would you describe your sound/aesthetic? *What are some of your other music projects (if the client is new to me)? Custom and large jobs will also include a discussion about timelines and budgets.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: Have your goals clearly mapped out. The more information you bring to the table, the easier it is for providers to give you what you want on the first pass. If you aren't sure, then be honest. A good provider should be able to walk you through the options and help you settle on a direction before the work starts.

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: My path has not been linear. I started in tech, but was singing professionally on the side. (I have a degree from a prestigious science and engineering school). My voice coach was in her 80s and mentoring me for teaching, so when my daughter was born, I took the plunge and quit tech and started teaching voice. In the last 20 years, I performed all over New England, I built a successful voice studio, managed a church music program and its music intern program, worked as a music director at a local theater, and pivoted from "traditional" composition to composing in Logic. (I do both now). When the pandemic hit, I was able to move my studio online, where it remained - I have clients all over North America. Nowadays, I've reduced my student load in favor of writing and producing music.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: My tastes are really eclectic, but as a vocalist, I lean toward classical, musical theatre, art song, Americana, jazz standards, hymn arrangements, and pop music that can take a slightly heavier sound. (I think Billie Eilish is great, but her style of singing doesn't fit in my voice!) As a composer and arranger, my happy place is arranging vocals for groups of singers - choirs, small ensembles, etc. I also love creating world fusion music that pulls upon orchestral and world instruments. My composition library also has a number of pop/EDM instrumentals.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Two things: Experience - I've been making music professionally for close to 30 years (and performing/composing since I was a kid). I've been fortunate in my career to work in a variety of capacities and situations. I've created custom arrangements for several groups that I've directed and performed with - typically for singers & instruments (small orchestra or band). I've sung classic oratorio, opera, liturgical music (classic and "church band"), musical theatre, pop & folk music, Victorian parlor music, opera, operetta, and American & European art song. Joy - this may sound hokey, but I truly love what I do. I can't imagine what my world would be like if I wasn't making music every day. I'm most happy making music with other people -- fellow performers, my students, and my clients.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Regardless of the project, the first step is always a discovery call to discuss the goals and requirements. For non-teaching clients, I ask that send me what they have ahead of time - rough recordings, sheet music or lead sheets, MIDI files (for arranging and orchestration), reference tracks, etc. I prefer to review everything before the discovery call so I can be better prepared with questions. Once I know what materials I'm starting with and what the goals are, I'll prepare a quote that includes a timeline with deliverables. Once that's signed off, we'll get to work. Regardless of the type of project I'm working on, I check in with my clients frequently and send samples/scratch recordings. I find this cuts down on the need for revisions - it's easier to catch and fix something while it's still in the rough phases than having to redo a bunch of stuff at the end of the project.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: For tech, I run LogicPro X on a Macbook M1. For vocals, I own a Slate M1 Virtual Microphone system. I have invested in a variety of virtual instrumentations from Native Instruments, Spitfire, Sonuscore, and others. Because of this, I can create anything from a classical sound to a synthy EDM score and anything in between. Over the summer of 2024, I renovated a room in my house to create a true music studio. This included taking the walls and ceiling back to studs to install soundproofing and building custom sound panels for the walls. It was quite an undertaking, but it has allowed me to create cleaner tracks while not bothering the other humans that live in my house!

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: I always have a hard time answering this question. My musical interests are all over the map - figuratively and literally! I performed classically for several decades and have always been a big musical theatre nerd. One of my favorite gigs was a cabaret group called The Downhill Players - this group gave me the opportunity to sing all my favorite songs from all my favorite shows! So while I'll happily listen to Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Bernadette Peters, and Kelli O'Hara, my playlist also contains modern pop stars like Taylor Swift, EDM from Chemical Brothers and Moby among others, and tons of 80s. As a composer and arranger, I draw inspiration from Hans Zimmer, Moby, Trent Reznor, John Williams, Samuel Barber, Eric Whitacre, Morten Lauridsen, Ólafur Arnalds, and Nils Frahm. Not all at once, though! And there are many more names that I could add to this list.

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: I am a performer, composer, and educator. I work with my clients to realize their projects and goals. This looks different for each client, but my work includes: *Recording the vocals for a composer/songwriter, including tuning and processing. *Helping a lyricist write a melody for their words *Taking the basic elements of a song and arranging/orchestrating a fully realized demo *Write a custom instrumental piece or beat *Teaching my students how to do all of the above (I'm a voice & composition teacher!)