June-July 2024 (for piano quintet)

Some Christmases ago, I asked Santa for Toothless the Dragon (from DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon”). Unfortuantely, my serious request went unanswered. As years passed, my disappointment became indifference—amusement at myself, even.

The concept of growing up mostly elicits a positive connotation; a google search defines it as to “advance to maturity; develop into an adult,” which suggests the glory of competence and autonomy. However, I recently learned the importance of maintaining our child-like-selves. As children, we indulge ourselves in fantastical worlds and pour time and heart into our limitless creativity. While we come to cement a clearer distinction between real existence and made-up wonder as we grow older, we must not let our understanding of reality become our belief of what is possible. Because the voices of our childhood may open doors we did not know existed.

Growing up does not mean that we must step out of our wonderland.

Written for the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival: recorded by Jusun Kim, Hannah Chaewon-Kim, Misha Amory, Nagyeom Jang, and Gloria Chien, with Grammy-Award-winning producer Alan Bise on Aug. 21, 2024.

Painting by Satoko Kitagawa

March 2024 (for SATB choir)

For the lovely Princeton University Glee Club seniors I'll miss dearly

In August 2023, I arrived on Princeton campus with high hopes, aspirations, and a flexible but calculated plan for my undergraduate years. What I wasn’t prepared for was the wonderful family of kind and inspiring peers in the Glee Club who welcomed me with open arms. I have never been upset at people for their age, but at Princeton, I have whined Why are you a senior?? Don’t leave meee... on a regular basis.

I decided that instead of brooding over the passage of time, which no one can control, my time would be better spent cherishing every rehearsal and conversations with my new friends and wishing them the best for the future.

“My wishes are ready to accompany you on your journey, and I have confidence in you.” Taken from one of the letters poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote to an aspiring writer, these words are my gift and token of gratitude for the Glee Club seniors. I hope that they will carry these words with them to whatever destination awaits after graduation.

Premiered at the Princeton University Glee Club Reunion 2024 event, sung by alumni members of the Glee Club on May 24th, 2024.

Jan. - March 2024 (for 2 violins and piano)

The original spark came during the tap-dancing-eggs sequence from the musical “Something Rotten!”, the spark of which was an image of two soft-boiled eggs trying to dance a tango together.

Soon after, I received news that an important musical figure in my life, a phenomenal bandoneon player who thought me the art of tango music, has recently been fighting cancer. Since then, I wrote this piece with him in mind. A piece with moments of uncertainty and lack of direction that always returns to the tango sound. Tango music will always be with you, in any shape.

Commissioned and premiered by Princeton University’s OPUS, performed with Allison Jiang (‘26) and Miriam Waldvogel (‘26) on May 2nd, 2024.

Illustrated by Satoko Kitagawa

April 2024 (for sinfonietta)

The third movement of The Scarlet Symphony, sinfonietta version
for the Albany Symphony’s “Orchestrating for the 21st Century” workshop (June 4-9, 2024)

A wild child’s erratic ballet that spirals out of control.

"O brook! O foolish and tiresome little brook!” cried Pearl, after listening awhile to its talk. “Why art thou so sad? Pluck up a spirit, and do not be all the time sighing and murmuring!” But the brook, in the course of its little lifetime among the forest-trees, had gone through so solemn an experience that it could not help talking about it, and seemed to have nothing else to say. Pearl resembled the brook, inasmuch as the current of her life gushed from a well-spring as mysterious, and had flowed through scenes shadowed as heavily with gloom. But, unlike the little stream, she danced and sparkled, and prattled airily along her course."

- Nathaniel Hawthorne (The Scarlet Letter)

Recording coming soon!

July 2023 (for solo violin)

This is a gift for Gil Shaham,

written with loving memories of performing the Barber Violin Concerto with Mr. Shaham in the National Youth Orchestra of the U.S.A. in celebration of NYO-USA’s 10th anniversary.

This is a sonic imagination of what Barber on a walk, in the midst of envisioning his Violin Concerto, would be like, with references to the memorable melodic materials from the piece.

I hope to forever remember and cherish Mr. Shaham’s bright, heartwarming smile and magical playing through this piece.

July 2023 (for alto saxophone)

With a feeling of anticipation, joy and flight, this is my piece to celebrate the beginning of a new chapter in life.

Commissioned by Caden Helmer and premiered at the NYO2 Chamber Music Extravaganza concert on July 13th, 2023 by Caden Helmer, Vivian Chang, Cadence Shevy, Isabelle Son, and Caleb Graupera.

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NEW: Orchestra Version!

Commissioned by The Little Orchestra Society for their show, Treblemaker’s History of Music (Sept. 30 & Oct. 1st, 2023).

July 2022 (for solo marimba)

A short piece written after a wonderful meting with a percussionist at the National Youth Orchestra of the USA 2022, Glenn Choe! I will never forget the way Glenn came up to me saying that he loves composers and collaborating with them. He made my day when he sent me this video today, keeping his promise that he would play this little piece for me someday. Thank you, Glenn :)

April 2023 (for cello and accordion)

I was moved to write this piece after reading “EPICAC”, the heart-wrenchingly beautiful short story by Kurt Vonnegut that features the fictional EPICAC computer, the largest and smartest on Earth built to solve hefty world issues. Through his interactions with the unnamed narrator, who wants to woo his sweetheart Pat into marriage, EPICAC learns to love and becomes infatuated with Pat himself.  

With the cello as the narrator’s voice and the accordion as EPICAC, this piece illustrates the unusual friendship of man and machine and its haunting ending.

Premiered at the Juilliard Pre-College Composition Senior Recital on April 22nd, 2023.

April 2023 (for solo trombone)

“In the origin, women were truly the sun, genuine human beings. Now, women are the moon. Living by the light of others and shining with a pale, sickly light, like the face of someone with an illness. We must now take back our sun that has been hidden away.”

- Hiratsuka Raichō

Commissioned and premiered by Grace Ng at her Juilliard Pre-College Senior Recital on May 6th, 2023.

illustrated by Satoko Kitagawa

『元始、女性は実に太陽であった。真正の 人であった。今、女性は月である。他に よって生き、他の光によって輝く、病人の ような蒼白い顔の月である。... 私ども は、かくされてしまった我が太陽を今や 取り戻さなければならぬ。』

- 平塚 らいちょう

Nov. 2022 - April 2023 (for four-hand piano)

Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis reimagined. Instead of spending the remaining days of his life suffering and caged in the mockery of what his life used to be as a human, what if Gregor jumped out of the window and flew away?

“Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheueren Ungeziefer verwandelt.
”

— As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

Premiered at the Juilliard Pre-College Composition Senior Recital on April 22nd, 2023.

illustrated by Nicole Balsirow