Composing in (and out of) the Sonic Body

Abstract

This document is a commentary on a portfolio of compositional works and represents a declaration of the artistic values brought to bear on my creative process. My compositional work largely derives its foci from a critique of my experiences across two decades as a professional singer of contemporary opera and chamber music. Addressing the embodiment of music-making, I develop the concept of the sonic body to identify the range of sounds generated from within the human body. Particular attention is paid to vocal and breath sound and their role in restoring the connection between mind and body as it pertains to musical experience. This research draws upon theorists such as Nina Eidsheim, Bruce W. Holsinger, and Gregory Weinstein, and on composers Peter Ablinger and Maryanne Amacher. The music that emerges from the Western classical tradition continues to invite robust arguments against the dismissal of embodied knowledge; the compositions and research presented here—richly informed by my accumulated expertise as a singer—makes a unique contribution to the development of these arguments.