for reed quintet (oboe, B-flat clarinet, alto saxophone, bass clarinet, and bassoon)

“oblivion” was composed for award-winning West Coast reed quintet Splinter Reeds during their 2021 residency with Western Michigan University. The piece was composed with abstract thematic direction during a period of burnout and writer’s block, but thankfully, I was thrilled with the results as I received part recordings from the brilliant performers and completed the mixing process. Today, it stands as a piece that reminds me to push through apathy and uncertainty, and to trust that my efforts are valuable.

For score perusal/purchase, please visit https://www.jdreevesmusic.com/scores/p/oblivion-2021

Recorded by Splinter Reeds in March, 2021.

oblivion (2021)

Premiered with a solo performance by Jadie on October 14, 2021, this improvisatory work for fixed media and voice(s) reflects on experiences of turning toward nature for emotional healing and wellness.

Group performance given and recorded on February 28, 2023.

under Her cover (2021)

for voice (soprano) and viola

This vigorous setting of "Market Maze" from Elsa Gidlow's On a Grey Thread (1923) was recorded by soprano Lindsay Nichols and violist Eric Szanto in April of 2022. When discovering and reading this collection, believed to be North America's first published volume of openly lesbian love poetry, I was inspired to set selections for voice and to share this beautiful piece of queer history in the concert space. 

For score perusal/purchase, please visit https://www.jdreevesmusic.com/scores/p/market-maze-2022

Recording premiered April 3, 2022.

Market Maze (2022)

for piano

“By Design” was composed for a reading by Michael Zutis in the spring of 2022. As an exercise in letting go, I decided to use an indeterminate structural approach where musical fragments branch into split paths, leaving form up to chance or the performer’s own design. This MIDI rendering contains most of the work's fragments to serve as a demonstration of its stylistic range.

For score perusal/purchase, please visit https://www.jdreevesmusic.com/scores/p/product-5-yaekd

By Design (2022)

for treble chorus, piano, viola, and water glasses

“glory be to all” was commissioned by conductor Evan Stoor in the Fall of 2021 for his graduate choral conducting recital, and it was premiered the following spring by Western Michigan University’s treble chorus, Anima, under his direction. The recital featured Vivaldi’s Gloria as a focal work and paired it with contemporary pieces in hopes of recontextualizing the prayer from a modern aesthetic and perspective. When invited to honestly respond to the prayer through my writing, I found strength in using prayerful language while remaining true to my own values.  This work seeks to explore the connecting themes of faith, community, and power; more specifically, it encourages reflection on the divisive consequences that arise when value systems and their organizers are left unchallenged.

For score perusal/purchase (treble or mixed chorus), please visit https://www.jdreevesmusic.com/scores/p/product-4-ktx6h

Lyrics:
May your reverence be not without question,
For His omniscience allows us this freedom.
Tend to the petitions of your neighbors,
And share power with all in need of mercy.

May the kingdom, and the power, and the glory be to all in need of mercy.
May your praise, and your blessings, and your adoration be to all in need of mercy.
May the glory be to all in need of mercy,
And may peace be to all on earth who breathe.

Premiered by Anima, Kennedy Taylor Dixon (viola), and Chris Gray (piano) on April 9, 2022.

glory be to all (2021)

for mixed chorus (SSAATTBB) and strings (2,1,1,1)

“I want to tell you” was composed for the Western Michigan University Chorale, a remarkable chorus I was fortunate enough to sing with throughout my undergraduate studies at WMU under direction of Dr. Kimberly Dunn-Adams. The lyrics feature a combination original fragments, instructions sourced from mental health organizations, and a text message from my mother. They are set to explore struggles with maintaining mental health, shifting from fragility toward overwhelm with dense polyphonies of instructions, and finding release in moments that emphasize wellness through connection and support systems.

For score perusal/purchase, please visit https://www.jdreevesmusic.com/scores/p/product-3-bfctc

Lyrics:
(original text)
I want to tell you
these words that live inside of my mouth, 
slipping off the edge of my tongue.

(National Alliance on Mental Illness, "Navigating a Mental Health Crisis")
Listen to the person. 
Express support and concern. 
Keep your voice calm. 
Ask how you can help.
Be patient.

(National Institute of Mental Health, "Caring for Your Mental Health")
Set goals and priorities. 
Stay hydrated. 
Make sleep a priority. 
Focus on positivity. 
Stay connected.

Seek professional help if you are experiencing 
severe or distressing symptoms
that have lasted two weeks or more.

(NAMI)
[Pay attention to:]
social withdrawal,
irregular expression of feelings, 
inability to perform daily tasks, 
isolation from work, school, family, friends...

(text from my mother)
I want to help.

I love you and want to help you grow 
in a healthy and positive way 
that will serve you for years to come.

Performed and recorded by the WMU Chorale on April 4, 2023.

I want to tell you (2023)

for solo voice, mixed chorus (SSAATTBB), and piano

“Follow the Rose” was composed for vocalist Syd West, a dear friend and incredible trans musician/baritone vocalist who commissioned the piece. We collaborated on the creation of the lyrics while ideating a project that explores transness in the concert space. I hold this song close to my heart, as it was written during the early stages of my own transition as a transfem person. It was premiered with me as the soloist at my senior recital on March 15, 2024, and then performed by Syd at OutFront Kalamazoo’s Trans Day of Visibility Concert on April 6.

For score perusal/purchase, please visit https://www.jdreevesmusic.com/scores/p/follow-the-rose-2024

Lyrics:
In my dreams
I am home
and I know you more truly,
but I wake and remember
I'm alone with a stranger
whose eyes dissect me
as I look in the mirror.

So follow the rose,
its stem
to the ground.
Follow the road;
let go.

Floating in a sea of bodies,
with thousands of eyes and faces,
numb as I drift through spaces,
never truly there,
searching for parts and pieces
to make myself whole.

What are we looking for
as we look in the mirror?
If I close my eyes,
will it be clear?

Follow the rose,
its stem
to the ground.
Follow the soul;
reform.

Follow the rose
and bloom.
Burst forth and thrive.

I'll reshape my skin and bone,
build a home,
and find myself within a dream in my life
where I'm exactly as I am.

Premiered and recorded by Jadie Reeves and the Blossom Choir on March 30, 2024.

Follow the Rose (2024)

for wind symphony, featuring singing wall sculptures by Dr. Lisa Coons and Steven Pierce

Upon being selected as the 2023 winner of Western Michigan University’s Large Ensemble Competition, I received the opportunity to compose a new work for performance by the WMU Wind Symphony. Reflections was created as a sonic self-portrait in three connected miniatures using motives that had been circling my mind in the months leading up to its conception, and it frames them with postminimal influence while exploring techniques that blur the grids of rhythm and meter. It begins and ends with performers brushing their hands across their bodies, drawing the physical self to thematic focus and encouraging meditation regarding bodies as ever-changing.

For score perusal/purchase, please visit www.jdreevesmusic.com/scores/p/product-2-dsdhf

I. Image
II. Metal
III. Pool

Premiered and recorded by the WMU Wind Symphony on February 18, 2024.

Reflections (2024)

A string quartet in 3 movements, written for the Irish Composition Summer School 2024 and workshopped by the Ficino Ensemble

3 Photos Of A Waxwork Bird

My name is Jadie (she/they) and I’m a Chicago-based artist specializing in composition and vocal performance. Although aesthetic interests vary, my music tends to live in a postminimal world with thematic focus toward identity, healing, and vulnerability in the concert space. Thanks for exploring/listening to my work :)

Roosevelt University '26 | Graduate Assistant, Composition
Western Michigan University '24 | Presidential Scholar in Music

Market Maze (2022)

Jadie Reeves

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