Songs of Becoming, an Art Song Cycle for Soprano or Mezzo-soprano Soloist and Chamber Orchestra

Abstract

This song cycle is scored for soprano or mezzo-soprano soloist and chamber orchestra. The text was written by the composer, and the principal theme of this work is growth and transformation. This is the one through-line of our lives, how one changes as a person in response to the myriad of our own experiences, both positive and negative. The first movement addresses personal growth and how it can be a difficult and painful process. The second movement plays with the motif of dreams. Dreams are discussed in a literal way, noticing occurrences in them that remind us that we are dreaming, but also as a way to escape the present through images/fantasies in our minds (daydreaming). Movements three and five are about burnout and depression, where movement five acts as a transformation, getting us out of these negative emotions. Movement four is a reaction to the desperate homelessness on the West Coast and how society deems the unhoused as below it. This cycle concludes with a musical setting of Look to this day, an ancient Sanskrit poem. This was chosen because it offers a remedy to the many issues addressed in the previous movements: to look to the present and find solace in the now, understanding that our lives are short and should be cherished.