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EMPLOYMENT
Assistant Professor, Composition and Theory, Wellesley College (beginning September 2009)

EDUCATION
Ph.D., Music Composition and Theory, New York University (defense date: May 8, 2009)
M.M., Classical Composition, Manhattan School of Music (2002)
B.A., Music (magna cum laude), Barnard College at Columbia University (2000)

DISSERTATION
“The Luminous Noise of Broken Experience: Synaesthesia, Acoustic Memory, and Childhood Sexual Abuse in the Late 20th-Century United States”
(Winner, 2008-09 NYU Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship)
Advisor: Jairo Moreno
Committee: Suzanne G. Cusick, Ana María Ochoa Gautier, Elizabeth Hoffman, Avital Ronell

PUBLICATIONS
“‘Those Songs’: Acoustic Synaesthesia and Traumatic Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse.”
Forthcoming in a volume on music and trauma, edited by Fred E. Maus.

“The Smiling Eyes” for youth chorus and percussion. Boosey & Hawkes, 2004.

HONORS, AWARDS, AND GRANTS
Dean’s Dissertation Fellowship, New York University (2008-09) (Tuition and stipend)
Honorable Mention, 2007 Lise Waxer Prize, Society for Ethnomusicology Popular Music Section
Finalist, 2008 Gaudeamus Prize, Amsterdam, Netherlands (September 2008)
Nominee, First Annual Jezek Prize, Either/Or Ensemble (Fall 2008)
Invited Speaker, 2008 Music and the Brain Symposium, Stanford University (May 2008)
Residency Scholarship, Atlantic Center for the Arts, David Lang, Master Artist (April-May 2008)
Featured Emerging Composer, 2008 Electronic Music Foundation (EMF) Festival (May 2008)
Banff Centre Winter Career Development Residency Full Scholarship (January-March 2008)
Finalist, Columbia University Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellowship (2008-09)
Finalist, 2008 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards
2008 ASCAP Plus Award
New York City Opera VOX 2007 Contemporary Opera Readings (May 2007)
Honorarium, New York City Opera (May 2007)
2007 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award (Honorable Mention)
Student Travel Grant, NYU Graduate School of Arts and Science
2007 ASCAP Plus Award
New York City Opera VOX 2006 Contemporary Opera Readings (May 2006)
2006 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award
Student Travel Grant, NYU Graduate School of Arts and Science
NYU Graduate Forum Fellowship (2006-2008)
2006 ASCAP Plus Award
American Music Center Composer Assistance Program (CAP) Grant
Residency Scholarship, Atlantic Center for the Arts, David Rakowski, Master Artist (May 2005)
American Music Center Composer Assistance Program (CAP) Grant
Prix de Composition, Conservatoire Americain, Fontainebleau, France
Prix Tournon-Branly de l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Fontainebleau, France
Scholarship, Conservatoire Americain, Fontainebleau, France
Henry M. MacCracken Fellowship, New York University (2003-2008) (Tuition and stipend)

PRINCIPAL COMPOSITION TEACHERS
Formal Study: Louis Karchin, Elizabeth Hoffman, Mario Davidovsky, J. Mark Stambaugh, Nils Vigeland, Jonathan Kramer, Tristan Murail, Sebastian Currier, Paul Moravec

Residencies and Master Classes: David Lang, David Rakowski, Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe, Evan Ziporyn, Meredith Monk, Jonathan Berger, Brett Dean, Calliope Tsoupakis, Richard Ayres, Alvin Curran, Michael Czjakowski

UNIVERSITY-LEVEL TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Spring 2007
New York University College of Arts and Science, Department of Music
Teaching Assistant and Grader: Harmony and Counterpoint 2
Jairo Moreno, Professor

Fall 2006
New York University College of Arts and Science, Department of Music
Teaching Assistant: Harmony and Counterpoint 3
Louis Karchin, Professor

Spring 2006
New York University College of Arts and Science, Department of Music
Preceptor: Morse Academic Plan, “Expressive Cultures: Sounds”
Suzanne G. Cusick, Professor

Fall 2005
New York University College of Arts and Science, Department of Music
Teaching Assistant: Harmony and Counterpoint 3
Ryan Dorin, Instructor

Spring 2005
New York University College of Arts and Science, Department of Music
Preceptor: Morse Academic Plan, “Expressive Cultures: Sounds”
Edward Roesner, Professor

Fall 2004
New York University College of Arts and Science, Department of Music
Preceptor: Morse Academic Plan, “Expressive Cultures: Sounds”
Stanley Boorman, Professor

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
International
Feminist Theory and Music (FTM) 9, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada
Paper Presentation: “Those Songs: An Acoustic Reading of Childhood Sexual Abuse.”
June 9, 2007

International Conference “Technologies of Memory in the Arts,” Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
Paper Presentation: “Synaesthesia, Sesame Street, and a 1980’s Hair Band: The
Fragmented Musical Testimony of a Traumatic Memory.”
May 18, 2006

National
Feminist Theory and Music (FTM) 10, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Paper Presentation: “and there’s always music in the air: Synaesthetic Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse and the Audiovisual Incest Language of Twin Peaks.”
May 31, 2009

Music and the Moving Image, New York University Steinhardt School of Music
Paper Presentation: “‘The Residue of an Unassimilable History’: Synaesthesia, Media Memory, and the Trauma Aesthetics of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Late 20th Century Television and Radio.”
May 28, 2009

Society for Ethnomusicology 53rd Annual Conference, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
Roundtable Participant, “The Pitfalls of Scholarship on Music and Violence.”
October 25, 2008

Society for Ethnomusicology 52nd Annual Conference, Columbus, OH
Paper Presentation: “Dear Mr. Jesus, Just Don’t Ask Me What it Was: 80’s Pop Songs,
Child Abuse, and Acoustic Memories of Sexual Violation.”
(Honorable Mention, 2008 Lise Waxer Prize, Society for Ethnomusicology Popular Music Section)
October 26, 2007

UCLA Echo Conference: “Music and the Self,” University of California at Los Angeles, CA
Paper Presentation: “Those Songs: An Acoustic Reading of Childhood Sexual Abuse.”
June 2, 2007

Graduate Students in Music (GSIM) 10, CUNY Graduate Center, New York, NY
Paper Presentation: “Echoes, Timbres, and Synaesthesia: The Luminous Noise of Childhood Sexual Abuse.”
April 21, 2007

Graduate Student Conference “Conversations: Music Scholarship Unbound,” University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, MI
Paper Presentation: “Synaesthesia, Trauma, and Musical Memory: A Broken
Acoustemology of Sexual Violence and Survival.”
February 17, 2007

Society for Ethnomusicology 51st Annual Conference, University of Honolulu, HI
Paper Presentation: “I’d Cringe When it Came on the Radio: Synaesthesia, Pop Songs, and Childhood Sexual Abuse in 1980’s America.”
November 18, 2006

Regional
MACSEM (Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology) Annual
Conference, Columbia University, New York, NY
Paper Presentation: “The ‘Sweet Trauma’ of Sesame Street: A Television Soundtrack to Childhood Sexual Abuse in Late-20th Century America.”
Presented as part of the panel “Music and Childhood in the Contemporary United States”
March 29, 2008

INVITED LECTURES
Department of Music, Columbia University, New York, NY
Invited Lecture for Undergraduate Seminar “Survivor Songs: Music and Trauma”
Joshua Pilzer, Professor
December 2, 2008

Life After College Series, Summer Pre-College Program, Barnard College, New York, NY
Invited Lecture: Life as a Young Composer and Music Scholar
July 9, 2008

Music and the Brain Symposium, Stanford University, CA
Invited Presentation: “Drippy Mauve Organs, Thick Opaque Guitars, and Other
Sonorities of Shame: Synaesthesia and Acoustic Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse”
Jonathan Berger, Symposium Director
May 17, 2008

Department of Music, Columbia University, New York, NY
Invited Class Lecture for Graduate Music Seminar “Music and Sexuality”
Ellie Hisama, Professor
November 8, 2007

Life After College Series, Summer Pre-College Program, Barnard College, New York, NY
Invited Lecture: Life as a Young Composer and Music Scholar
July 10, 2007

Southern Methodist University, Department of Music, Dallas, TX
Guest Presentation of Compositions
March 27, 2007

Department of Music, New York University, New York, NY
Invited Class Lecture on Composition for Undergraduate Music Course “The Art of Listening”
Michael Beckerman, Professor
February 20, 2007

Department of Music, New York University, New York, NY
Invited Class Lecture for Undergraduate Music Course “Music and Society”
Ana María Ochoa Gautier, Professor
October 6, 2006

Department of Music, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY
Invited Class Lecture for Undergraduate Music Course “American Music”
Megan Jenkins, Professor
May 3, 2006

COMMISSIONS AND CURRENT PROJECTS
New Short Opera (2010) commissioned by Rhymes With Opera
To be premiered in Baltimore, New York, and North Carolina, dates TBA

New Work (2009) for recorder and electronics
Commissioned by Erik Bosgraaf, recorder player
World Premiere: Amsterdam, Netherlands, date TBA

“Highway Mass” (2008) for soprano, tape, amplified ensemble, and robots
Commissioned by Ensemble Robot with funding from the LEF Foundation
World Premiere (Kyrie only): International Festival of Arts and Ideas, New Haven, CT, June 15, 2008

“beautiful // fragment” (2007) for flute, electronics, and video
Commissioned by Janet McKay, flutist
World Premiere: Sydney Conservatory, Australia, October 23, 2007 (Janet McKay, flute)
New York Premiere: Roulette, May 19, 2008 (Jessica Schmitz, flute)
Sydney Conservatory, Australia, December 11, 2007 (Janet McKay, flute)
The Flea Theatre, New York, May 20, 2008 (Jessica Schmitz, flute)
University of Queensland, Australia, October 23, 2008 (Janet McKay, flute)

“I Refuse to Mourn” (2006) for amplified percussion octet
Commissioned by the Voices of Change New Music Series
World Premiere: Southern Methodist University, March 26, 2007

“Gratitude Pose” (2007) for two sopranos and strings
Commissioned by Avital Ronell
World Premiere: “Remembering the Life and Work of Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe,” NYU German Department, March 24, 2007

“Home” (2007) for bass and electronics
Commissioned by Eleonore Oppenheim, bassist
World Premiere: Yale University, February 19, 2007 (Eleonore Oppenheim, bass)
The Monkey, New York, April 20, 2007 (Eleonore Oppenheim, bass)
Chelsea Art Museum, November 8, 2007 (Eleonore Oppenheim, bass)

“Champagne Red and a Slow Freeze” (2003) for organ
Commissioned by Maxine Thevenot, organist
World Premiere: Washington National Cathedral, June 23, 2003 (Maxine Thevenot, organ)

“The Smiling Eyes” (2002) for youth chorus and percussion
Commissioned by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City
World Premiere: 92nd Street Y, April 14, 2002
Recorded on Vital Records by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City, 2003.

SIGNIFICANT PREMIERES AND PERFORMANCES
“Light Message” (in progress) (2008-09) a chamber opera for soprano/piano soloist, video,
electronics, and audience
Composed for Megan Schubert, soprano
Partial Premiere: The Stone, New York City, July 30, 2008 (Megan Schubert,
soprano/piano; Jenny Olivia Johnson, video and electronics)

“Leaving Santa Monica” (2005), a chamber opera for soprano, mezzo, and amplified ensemble
Finalist, 2008 Gaudeamus Prize
Winner, 2006 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award
Selected for performance at the New York City Opera VOX 2006 Festival
European Premiere: Asko/Schönberg Ensemble, Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam, September 3, 2008
Orchestral Premiere: New York City Opera, Skirball Center for the Arts, May 7, 2006
Chamber Premiere: ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble), Merkin Hall, April 27,

“The Endings” (2006-07) an amplified chamber opera with video
Honorable Mention, 2007 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards
Selected for performance at the New York City Opera VOX 2007 Festival
Orchestral Premiere: New York City Opera, Skirball Center for the Arts, May 12, 2007.
Chamber Premiere: ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble), Merkin Hall, April 26,
2006

“Dollar Beers (Redondo Beach ’96)” (2006) for voice and amplified ensemble
Composed for the 2006 Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival
World Premiere: Bang on a Can Summer Festival, MASS MoCA, July 21, 2006
NY Premiere: Corey Dargel/ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble), Merkin Hall, April 30, 2007

“Little Lotte Let Her Mind Remember” (2006) for string quartet
World Premiere: Arditti String Quartet, New York University, March 26, 2006

“the yellow” (2005) for amplified chamber ensemble and five voices
Composed for the Gaudeamus International Young Composers Meeting
World Premiere: orkest ‘de ereprijs,’ Center Gigant, Apeldoorn, Netherlands, February
11, 2005

“Lucy Songs” (2004) for mezzo-soprano and amplified chamber orchestra
World Premiere: Alarm Will Sound, Skirball Center for the Arts, May 7, 2004

“Witnessed” (2002) for orchestra and tape
World Premiere: Manhattan School of Music Symphony Orchestra, February 22, 2002

(Information about other compositions and performances available on request.)

COMPOSITION MASTER CLASSES, RESIDENCES, AND FESTIVALS
Gaudeamus New Music Week, Amsterdam, Netherlands (September 2008)
Finalist, 2008 Gaudeamus Prize
Public performance of “Leaving Santa Monica” by the Asko/Schönberg Ensemble

Atlantic Center for the Arts, Composition Residency (April 2008)
Awarded partial residency scholarship
Composition lessons with David Lang

The Banff Centre, Winter Composition Residency, Alberta, Canada (January-March 2008)
Awarded full residency scholarship to begin composing a new chamber opera
Composition lessons with Jonathan Berger and Brett Dean

Bang on a Can Summer Festival of Music (Summer 2006)
Composition lessons with Michael Gordon, David Lang, Meredith Monk, and Julia
Wolfe

Atlantic Center for the Arts, Composition Residency (May 2005)
Awarded partial residency scholarship
Composition lessons with David Rakowski

Gaudeamus International Young Composers’ Meeting, Netherlands (February 2005)
Finalist for the 11th Annual YCM Prize
Composition lessons with Richard Ayres, Alvin Curran, Martijn Padding, and Calliope
Tsoupakis

Conservatoire Americain de Fontainebleau, France (Summer 2004)
Awarded partial scholarship from the Fontainebleau Foundation
Composition lessons with Andre Bon and Allain Gaussin
Winner, Prix de Composition
Winner, Prix Tournon-Branly des Beaux-Arts

Aspen Music Festival and School (Composition Program, Summer 1997)
Composition lessons with Michael Czjakowski

SELECTED PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE
Studio Drummer, indie rock band Renminbi, for new EP (scheduled release: June 2009)
Percussionist/Keyboardist, laptop duo Winter Company (2007-present)
Drummer/Vocalist, indie rock band Renminbi (2003-2005)
Percussionist/Pianist/Composer, Columbia University MFA Production of Federico Garcia
Lorca’s “Blood Wedding” (April 2003)
Percussionist/ Composer, Columbia University MFA Production of Eve Ensler’s “Vagina
Monologues” (February 1999, February 2000)
Percussionist, Timpanist, and Section Leader, Columbia University Orchestra (1996-1999)
Percussionist/Keyboardist/Composer, Synaesthetic Theatre (1996-1997)
Percussionist, International Chamber Orchestra of Idyllwild Arts Academy (1995-96)

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND SERVICE
Co-Founder, Special Interest Group on Music and Violence, Society for Ethnomusicology (2008)
Member and Fellow, New York University Graduate Forum (2006-08)
Secretary, First Performance (New York University Composers Collective) (2006-07)
Volunteer, NYU Symposium on the Life and Work of Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe (Spring 2007)
Student Representative, Search Committee for New Faculty Hire, New York University
Department of Music (Spring 2006)
Volunteer, Society for Ethnomusicology 50th Annual Conference (Fall 2005)
Volunteer, Feminist Theory and Music 8 (Summer 2005)
President, First Performance (New York University Composers Collective) (2004-2006)
Student Representative, Search Committee for New Faculty Hire, Columbia University
Department of Music
Co-President and Co-founder, Columbia New Music, Columbia University (1999-2000)
Personal Assistant, Composer Chou Wen-chung (1998-2003)

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers): Writer Member
ASCAP: Publisher Member (Jenny Olivia Juice Music)
American Musicological Society
American Composers Forum
College Music Society
International Alliance of Women in Music
Society of Composers, Inc.
American Music Center
Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS)
Society for Ethnomusicology (Co-Founder, Music and Violence Special Interest Group)
Society for Ethnomusicology Popular Music Section
Society for Ethnomusicology Gender and Sexualities Taskforce