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Program Notes

“O Mistress mine” is one of my earliest choral compositions that I worked on with David Conte at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. I am indebted to David for his emphasis on craft and technique. The goal with this piece, as with much of our lessons together, was to fully embody the intent of the poet—to serve the text with the music. Divisi is almost nonexistent in the piece and the prosody of the text translates very naturally to the music. While overall a straightforward work, there are nonetheless unique harmonic detours handled skillfully with idiomatic voice leading. And while my later choral works would evolve in their innovative features, the value of composing non-divisi, text-centric choral music cannot be overstated.