I have always been fascinated by the life cycle of stars, and that was the inspiration for this piece. Fusion traces the chaotic life of a star from red giant to white dwarf. As the core of the star becomes hotter and hotter due to nuclear fusion, the intensity of the piece increases until a “supernova” occurs, leaving only a peaceful white dwarf behind. This piece experiments with extreme contrast to demonstrate the chaotic fusion occurring in a, quite literally, noiseless space. I had a lot of fun writing this spasmodic piece!

Fusion, for solo viola

In this sonnet, Shakespeare’s discussion of the relationship between winter and summer intrigued me. Despite winter bringing “bareness everywhere,” the flower’s “substance still lives sweet.” In my interpretation of this poem, I focused on this dichotomy through harmonic structure. The beginning of the piece is simple in tonality, but as the poem describes winter, the harmonic language becomes increasingly dissonant. When the discussion of summer returns, the harmonic structure echoes the simplistic beginning, adding embellishing tones, reflecting summer’s increased beauty after the poet has experienced winter. Writing this piece reminded me that we so often take simple things for granted, which is especially potent during this quarantine. 

Sonnet V - William Shakespeare
Those hours, that with gentle work did frame
The lovely gaze where every eye doth dwell,
Will play the tyrants to the very same
And that unfair which fairly doth excel:
For never-resting time leads summer on
To hideous winter and confounds him there;
Sap cheque'd with frost and lusty leaves quite gone,
Beauty o'ersnow'd and bareness every where:
Then, were not summer's distillation left,
A liquid prisoner pent in walls of glass,
Beauty's effect with beauty were bereft,
Nor it nor no remembrance what it was:
But flowers distill'd though they with winter meet,
Leese but their show; their substance still lives sweet.

Never-Resting Time, for SATB Choir

This piece is about finding one’s center of self. The world around us is constantly evolving and so are we, but sometimes, the process of evolution can bring us further away from the core of who we are. Whether it’s the current state of our country or the fight within ourselves, sometimes we must pull further away from this “core” in order to find the center again. Center takes the listener on this journey.

Center, for brass quintet

I have always said that I am inspired by every genre from metal to Mozart. String Quartet No. 666 combines exactly those two things; it is a heavy metal string quartet, composed entirely using metal composition techniques. It contains three riffs, inspired by the Swedish metal band, Meshuggah, and makes use of rhythmic processes outlined by theorists Gregory R. McCandless and Guy Capuzzo. In addition, I played with applying timbral shifts, largely inspired by the work of theorist, Megan Lavengood. As I have studied metal music more and more, I have grown to love and appreciate the incredible musicianship and compositional intellect that so many extreme metal bands exhibit. In short, I hope SQ666 inspires you all to become “metalheads,” but, most importantly, I hope you enjoy listening to this piece as much as I enjoyed writing it!

String Quartet No. 666

Inspired by the words of female activists, "What we do with the ashes" focuses on the current state of our country and the constant targeting of marginalized groups of people that is finally beginning to be brought to light by the media. The cycle begins with Greta Thunberg’s statement, “Our house is on fire.” However, that fire extends far beyond the metaphor for climate change; our world is on fire. As the cycle continues, that “fire” continues to burn. It expresses the anger and frustration, the desperate hope, and the necessary sense of humor that so many Americans have experienced in these past few years amidst so many global and national crises. Writing this cycle began as an outlet for me to communicate the overwhelming anger, fear, and frustration I have felt throughout 2020-21. However, I hope it also serves as a reminder that we can create change. It is our job and our duty to do more than just acknowledge the pain around us; we must take action!


I. Our house is on fire

Our house is on fire.
We don’t have time to sit on our hands as it burns.


II. A movement is only people moving

The future depends entirely on what each of us does every day
A movement is only people moving.
People moving to put out a fire
That never really stopped burning.


III. Rise

Freedom!
How inspiring.
But what does it mean?
The freedom to burn in a house still on fire?

I’ll tell you what Freedom is to me.
No fear.
Fear is a disease that eats away at logic and makes us inhuman.
So we must all become dauntless.
Goddesses of disobedience.

Change takes courage.

Our house is still burning
Burning to ash,
Burning to dust.
But it will rise
Like dust, we will rise.


IV. The truth will set you free

The truth will set you free
But first it will piss you off.

We have been trained to speak softly and carry a lipstick
While washing clothes and cooking meals,
But we’re coming down from our pedestal and up from the laundry room.
And if they don’t give us a seat at the table, we’re bringing folding chairs.
As it’s so often been said, a woman’s place is in the House…
the House of Representatives.
It’s radical,
But radical simply means "grasping things at the root.”
So, we invite everyone to help us,
And caution that no one can stop us.
Because we’re no longer accepting the things we cannot change,
We’re changing the things we cannot accept.
And we cannot accept that our house is on fire.


V. We can create transformational action

We can create transformational action.
We weren't at the Last Supper, but we’ll be at the next one.
Because our house is on fire
And we can create transformational action.

On the pulse of this new day
Our flames still burn,
But we all have a choice.
So when the fire is finally dead,
May we have the grace to spread the ashes with an even, steady hand
And give birth to a richer soil for every seed.
Time is on the side of change,
And we can create transformational action.

Laura Lisk, mezzo-soprano
Kristin Scioneaux, piano

What we do with the ashes, for voice and piano

In 2016, a huge flash flood occurred between Tangipahoa and East Baton Rouge Parishes, damaging approximately 110,000 homes. Many of the families affected were my friends. When they described the events of the flood, the powerful image of black water blotting away the ink of family photos, carrying memories away, and leaving inky, tear-like streams in its path stayed with me and drove my piece. Through Dark Waters, I attempted to recreate the events of the flood and give voice to the impact it had on the communities of the Baton Rouge area.

Hannah College Stuff

Dark Waters, for SATB Choir

When researching World War I, I came across a poem by a French soldier, Albert-Paul Granier. The war was incredibly gruesome; trench warfare gave way to disease, and mustard gas killed brutally. Yet, when faced with the unfathomable realities of the war’s terror, Granier turned to music, the simple Andante movement of the 7th Symphony, to soothe his soul and bring him comfort. In this simple setting for voice and cello, I wanted to bring Granier’s powerful message to life through music itself.

Jessica Branas, soprano 
Raudol Palacios, cello

The Andante, for voice and cello

Growing up, I owned many VHS tapes and watched countless Disney movies, listening to the THX theme before each one. In VHS, I simulate this magical, childhood experience, beginning with a mock THX theme right before my movie theme begins. As the VHS tape continues to play, it fast forwards, rewinds, pauses, and more while the plot of the movie advances. Later in the piece, I use many extended techniques to simulate the blue lines that often distort VHS tapes’ images, the strange sounds tapes make when fast forwarding or rewinding, and the “fuzzy” quality tapes often exhibit. Throughout the piece, my VHS tape becomes more and more distorted, and, eventually, it unravels and falls apart. Through VHS, I hope to bring the fantastical adventures I remember as a child from the screen to the stage.

Performed by members of the Constantinides New Music Ensemble at LSU

VHS, for string quartet

Over the past several years, I have lost four grandparents to Alzheimer’s or dementia. The difficult experience of watching them lose their way and forget my name over time was the inspiration for Aurora. 

As the selected winner of Megan Ihnen and Darrel Hale's Call for Scores at LSU, Aurora was premiered on April 1, 2019 by Ihnen, mezzo, and Hale, bassoon.

Aurora with Megan Ihnen and Darrel Hale

This piece was a part of a collaboration at LSU featuring texts from poet, Lynne Knight. "The Blue Lady" uses Knight's poem "The Book of Common Betrayals." 

Sarah Rees, soprano 
Patrícia Bretas, piano

The Blue Lady, for voice and piano

"i see a squirrel" is from Zig, a piece inspired by my exuberant dog, Ziggy. Each movement depicts a different side of Ziggy's multifaceted personality. The piece was written as a part of the Charlotte New Music Festival and performed by the incredible ensemble, Transient Canvas. 

Amy Advocat, bass clarinet 
Matt Sharrock, marimba

Zig - iii. i see  a squirrel

"thunderstorm" is from Zig, a piece inspired by my exuberant dog, Ziggy. Each movement depicts a different side of Ziggy's multifaceted personality. The piece was written as a part of the Charlotte New Music Festival and performed by the incredible ensemble, Transient Canvas. 

Amy Advocat, bass clarinet 
Matt Sharrock, marimba

Zig - ii. thunderstorm

"little big dog" is from Zig, a piece inspired by my exuberant dog, Ziggy. Each movement depicts a different side of Ziggy's multifaceted personality. The piece was written as a part of the Charlotte New Music Festival and performed by the incredible ensemble, Transient Canvas.

Amy Advocat, bass clarinet 
Matt Sharrock, marimba

Zig - i. little big dog

Dedicated to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Hollyn Slykhuis, trumpet.
 
Written in 2019, "Free to Be" focuses on the landmark case, Weinberger v. Weisenfeld (1975). This case opened a new legal door for women in the U.S. Spearheaded by the voice of Ginsburg, "Free to Be" combines the words of many strong, empowered women who have achieved things people said could never be done due to gender biases and the traditional patriarchy. The trumpet joins these empowered voices, mimicking the syllabic rhythm of important phrases, such as Ginsburg’s title phrase “free to be.” I am grateful for the voices of the women included in this piece (Chimamanda Adichie, Angela Davis, Mo’ne Davis, Janet Guthrie, Nancy Lieberman, Megan Rapinoe, Sally Ride, and Malala Yousafzi) and to the many others who continue to promote equal rights for women. May RBG and her strong, tenacious spirit live on through their voices.

Free To Be - dedicated to Justice Ginsburg

Played by:
Keenan Smith, oboe
Janghyun Thomas Kim, clarinet
Hayoung Cho, violin
Catherine Chen, viola
John St. Cyr, double bass

About:
"Listen!" was written for the Planchette Quintette and illustrates the lack of attention that is paid to historically underrepresented groups. The piece is based on various rhythmic interpretations of the phrase “Listen to me!” The phrase begins strong and forte, but as the piece progresses, “society,” slowly covers the phrase, manifested by less accenting and a disjunct theme. As the voices realize they are being silenced, they cry out “You’re not listening” at the climax of the work, in a last attempt to be heard. However, they are, once again, drowned out by the voices of “society” until the opening theme becomes nothing but a knocking, rhythmic figure. This work serves a reminder to myself and the audience that there are thousands of people who are not considered or heard by the larger population, simply because they are a smaller percentage, and sometimes, we must listen; the size of the voice should never constitute the size of its value.

Hannah Rice

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