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.

Sept. 2022 - Jan. 2023 (for SAT voices)

Is the fierce and ferocious tiger scared of anything in this world? What could it be? Inspired by Pansori, a traditional Korean genre of musical

storytelling, this piece seeks to tell the story of the Korean folk tale about a tiger that mistakes a dried persimmon for a terrifying, unearthly beast. The word “dried persimmon” is left in Korean (곶감 / “gojgam”) to bring out the foreign nature of the character.

Commissioned by The May Festival for CINKOA: CINCINNATI KOREAN CHOIR.

World Premiere by CINKOA at 25 for 25: A New Time for Choral Music on March 19th, 2023.

illustrated by Satoko Kitagawa