"Fortitudine" with the Nashville Ballet

In 2019, I was commissioned by the Nashville Ballet and The Centennial Park Conservancy to write my first piece for dance. I was paired up to work with the incredible and lovely choreographer, Mollie Sansone. The first time we met to talk about our collaboration was in February 2020 at High Garden Tea. As we all know, so much changed in the months that followed, and our piece was postponed indefinitely. In May 2021, we heard the piece was back on, and since then, Mollie and I have been working our little butts off creating this art for you. It’s about the fact that change is difficult and painful. It’s about the oppressive disconnection we have experienced from one another. It’s about the reality that our connection is the key to our freedom. 

I am so proud of the months of work we have put into this and so proud to call Mollie Sansone my friend. I am so grateful to my dear friends Joshua Dent, Kaitlyn Raitz, Nicole Neely, and Kristin Weber for believing in me and lending their talents and time to bringing this music to life, Stephen Lamb for engraving the parts so beautifully, Lydia Luce and Lockeland Strings for all the coordination help, and Justin Tam for putting my name in the pot in the first place. 

Our piece runs February 11-13 and 18-20 in Studio A of The Martin Center for Nashville Ballet. Click the image below for info and tickets.

Everyone Has A Podcast in Quarantine

Like many other self-employed musicians, I’ve been taking an extended, forced break from live performing and in-person recording, trying to navigate the unemployment system, and doing my best to stay educated & safe while supporting the recent Black Lives Matter protests across the country and world. I hope y’all are doing the same, in your own ways.

Just before quarantine started, though, my dear friend Lauren Lowen and I started a Star Trek podcast called Into the Wormhole with Larissa and Lauren. It started as some silly nerd time, but we’ve been finding ourselves discussing some more important and currently relevant Trek related topics as of late. I thought I’d post it here, just in case anyone is still visiting my website, and since I haven’t posted here in about a year, LOL. We can still be creative while staying home and staying safe!

Produced by We Own This Town.

Art is by Lauren.

Theme song is by me and Dan Sommers, with Kristin Weber on violin. Listen below!

Theme for the Star Trek podcast "Into the Wormhole with Larissa and Lauren"

Echo at The Parthenon featuring The Nashville Chamber Music Series

I’m thrilled to be premiering a brand new string quartet written just for the Athena Room at The Parthenon. I’m one of four composers on the concert who have created pieces of music tailored to the 7 second delay in this incredible space.

I chose to write about the myth of Echo in which Hera, after discovering that Echo is protecting her philandering husband, Zeus, curses the half nymph to only repeat the last thing she has heard. It is about how easy it is to strip away ones’ autonomy and individuality when they no longer have a voice.

The Centennial Park Conservancy has done an incredible thing with this concert series, I hope that y’all come and support it on Sunday, September 8th!

"Lihim" at Lockeland Strings

My sweet friend Lydia Luce puts on a salon for local composers here in Nashville, and asked me to perform my cello quartet, “Lihim”, at this Saturday’s concert! Getting the original crew back together - Joshua Dent, Melodie Chase, and Austin Hoke. This will make for the 3rd performance of this piece since it was written, as Joshua took it to the Cello Springs Festival this month as well!

Hott Minute Sci Fi Hotties Parts I & II

My friends Ashley & Jamie have a hilarious podcast called “Hott Minute”. My little band Poly made a theme song for them last spring, and this fall they asked me to guest on their nerdiest episode yet to talk about my favorite sci fi hotties!

Listen to my podcast dreams come true in Parts I & II (fyi, explicit content y’all):

Parker Gispert "Sunlight Tonight"

My friend Emery Dobyns entrusted me to write and record cello arrangements for Parker Gispert’s (of The Whigs) debut solo album this past year, and I’m super excited that it’s been released today. I recorded all the cellos in my little home studio, mostly while wearing soft clothes and begging the cats to be quiet.

You’ll hear me on “Too Dumb To Love Anyone”, “Do Some Country”, “Volcano”, and “Caught In The Moonlight”. Available on Spotify, iTunes, and Apple Music.

Nashville Concerto Orchestra Season Opener!

This coming Saturday, October 6th at 3pm will be the first concert of the Nashville Concerto Orchestra’s 2018-2019 season! Roger Wiesmeyer and I had started to curate our concerts a little more deliberately, and this one is specifically highlighting Nashville’s dynamic community of cellists.

This program is built around Nashville Symphony cellist Keith Nicholas. Keith has been consistent and generous in donating his time to the NCO and other projects. When asked what solo he might want to play with the support of a full orchestra, he described a little piece from an otherwise "lost" cello concerto by Ottorino Respighi that lives under the name "Adagio con Variazone" (Adagio and Variations). The piece was a particular favorite of his father's, who will be attending the concert. 

The Respighi will be paired with the gorgeous Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 for soprano and cello choir by the great Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. This music seamlessly blends the style and counterpoint of Bach with the folkloric elements of Brazilian music. Our featured soloist will be soprano Jessie Nielson. 

Lastly, I will be debuting my own cello quartet, “Lihim”, at this concert. My dear friends Joshua Dent, Austin Hoke, and Melodie Chase will be at my side to premiere this piece. I’m so proud and so excited to perform it in front of our lovely audience!

I hope to see some friendly faces there! See the poster below for more details (again, masterfully designed by Dan Sommers).

Live in Studio C

I was so fortunate to be asked by the lovely Colleen Phelps to perform two of my compositions on Nashville Public Radio’s 91.1 program “Live in Studio C”. I brought some lovely and talented friends with me, and we performed a string quartet I wrote as an overture to Erin Rae’s new album “Putting on Airs”, and a cello quartet that I’ve been toiling over for years that I’m calling “Lihim”. Click the link below to hear me and my dear friends Kristin Weber, Zach Casebolt, Bobby Chase, Joshua Dent, Austin Hoke, and Melodie Chase play these two new pieces.

New Releases This Week

I'm so excited to have been involved in two new releases this week by dear friends. I did string arrangements and played cello for Mercy Bell, fellow Filipina and fantastic singer-songwriter; and Dave Paulson, who I've been making music with here in Nashville for the past 10 years. Below you'll find Mercy's song "Home" (arrangement and cello by me, violin by Kristin Weber) and Dave's song "My Old Man" (arrangement and cello by me, violin and viola by Avery Bright).

HOTT MINUTE THEME SONG!

My dear friends Ashley Spurgeon & Jamie Bradley started a podcast several months ago called Hott Minute. They'd been talking about doing it for years, and I'm so glad they finally made it happen because I am OBSESSED with it. They're both hilarious and super intelligent women, and they spend an hour talking about things they think are hot. It's *real talk* one of the only non-Star Trek podcasts that I listen to on a regular basis.

They asked my little band Poly to write them a theme song a couple months ago, and after watching many episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Judy Garland Show, and several listens through the Sinatra/Basie album "It Might As Well Be Swing", this is what we came up with.

When their producer (and Nashville's creative deus ex machina) Michael Eades sent us this video, I literally started laugh-crying as I watched the sheer joy on the faces of these two women who I love so dearly. I'm so freaking proud of you, Jamie & Ashley. Couldn't have done it without my Poly partner-in-crime Dan Sommers playing approx. one billion instruments, and my darling Kristin Weber slaying those golden violin parts. JOY JOY JOY SO MUCH JOY CONGRATS ON SEASON 1!

Madisen Ward & the Mama Bear "Everybody's Got Problems"

Madisen and Ruth have become dear friends of mine since working on their first album years ago. They're releasing an EP this summer called "The Radio Winners", and I'm so happy to have contributed some cello to their music once again. The first single is a song called "Everybody's Got Problems", produced by powerhouse Nathan Chapman. The video recently premiered on Rolling Stone's website, and you can see the article here. Check out the video below - you'll catch some little glimpses of me here and there from their recent show at Exit/In here in Nashville.

NCO's Final Concert of '17/'18 Season!

THIS SATURDAY! It's our last concert of the season, y'all, and it's gonna be a banger. This one is special to me, because we're donating our proceeds to YEAH, the nonprofit responsible for Southern Girls and Tennessee Teens Rock Camps in Nashville and Murfreesboro. Here's more info!

Mozart in Nashville is pleased to present the final performance of the Nashville Concerto Orchestra's 2017/2018 season.

Please join us this Saturday, June 2nd at 3 pm at West End United Methodist Church, 2200 West End Ave Nashville 37203.

We are so pleased to have the new artistic director of ALIAS Chamber Ensemble, Alicia Enstrom, with us to perform the world premiere of her new piece, “Frenzied Whispers" for Solo Violin, Orchestra, and Electronics (orchestrated and conducted by Stephen Lamb).

Dr. Matthew Phelps, music director of West End United Methodist Church and frequent guest conductor, will be the featured soloist for Ravel's Piano Concerto in G. This moving concerto will be conducted by Vanderbilt graduate Dean Whiteside, who is currently a conducting fellow at Michael Tilson Thomas' New World Symphony. 

The performance is free to the public, though a love offering will be gratefully received to benefit Youth Empowerment through Arts & Humanities, Inc. (YEAH). YEAH is a nonprofit charitable youth arts organization whose mission is providing Nashville teens with a safe learning environment that will empower them not only in the arts, but in life skills, volunteerism, and community service, helping them build community through music. For more information, visit http://www.yeahrocks.org.
 

As always, fantastic poster design by Dan Sommers.

POLY TOMORROW NIGHT!

Super excited to play with my itty bitty band Poly tomorrow night (4/20) in support of our friends Pale Houses. They made an EP and I sang on it and it is VERY GOOD. Also playing are Patrick Damphier and Kyle Andrews!

My Cheesemonger Wrote About My Jars

If you know me, you know that I've been working for the past few years to dramatically reduce the amount of plastic waste I produce. Guys, it's really hard. Pretty much all cheese at the supermarket comes either wrapped in plastic, or in some kind of plastic tupperware. Chicken, beef, pork, fish - they all come in styrofoam and plastic wrap (not to mention they all probably come from factory farms). This is one of the many reasons why quite a few "zero-wasters" are also vegan.

I'm not vegan. I was a vegetarian for several years, but after I started losing large patches of hair, I went to my doctor TERRIFIED, and she told me that I'm very B-12 deficient. She advised me to take supplements and start eating red meat again (which is one of the only natural sources of B-12), and my hair started to grow back. 

When I started trying to reduce my plastic waste, it seemed like buying meat & cheese was nearly impossible until I realized that I had overlooked the one amazing resource we have where I live in East Nashville: Porter Road Butcher.

First of all, their meats are locally sourced, humanely raised, and never exposed to hormones or antibiotics. The first time I brought my own jars in no one batted an eyelash. They started saving these HUGE olive jars for me, and now I use them to marinate things like short ribs. Sometimes they take pictures of my jars and post them on their Instagram, and now, their cheesemonger, Mark Bilbrey, has written a lovely post for his blog about reducing waste and how jars are a great way to store cheese!! Click the button below to read Mark's blog:

Jake Wesley Rogers "Sanctuary"

Today, Jake premiered the video for his song "Sanctuary", a gorgeous recording which I contributed cello to a couple years ago. I'm so excited for Jake, he's been working his little tail off on his craft and on this EP and going to Belmont at the same time. Congrats, buddy! Knock 'em dead at SXSW!

SHE'S A REBEL IV

I'm honored to once again be the String Director and Arranger for She's A Rebel: A Girl Group Tribute Show. The women involved are always of the highest musical caliber, and it's always such a treat for all of us not to be the only lady in the room. We've expanded to 2 nights this year - and they'll definitely both sell out. Get your tickets while you still can! 

Portrait by Kathy Sams Wariner.

NCO Winter Concert 2/17

Excited to announce that the next Nashville Concerto Orchestra concert will be on Saturday, February 17th at 3 pm at Christ Church Cathedral on Broadway in Nashville! 

Program:

Bach : Brandenburg No. 6 featuring Kristin Wilkinson & Marie Winget, violas

Combs/Strasser : Appalachian Rhapsody featuring Matt Combs, fiddle

Click the poster below to reserve tickets through Eventbrite: 

As usual, amazing poster by Dan Sommers.

Kaitlyn Raitz Took My Picture

She's a fantastic cellist of all genres, and she's great with a lens, too. Kaitlyn came to my house yesterday afternoon and we listened to 90s R&B while she took pictures of me in my home studio/office.

Check out her other work at kaitlynraitzphoto.com, and check my photos page for more from our shoot yesterday!

WINTER WONDERLAND OUT NOW

I'm so proud of the work I get to do with Sarah Darling. She's a gem of a person and one of the most talented singers I know. I produced 4 songs on her brand new Christmas record, "Winter Wonderland", out right now! It'll fill you with holiday cheer.

Winter Wonderland, an album by Sarah Darling on Spotify

I produced and wrote string arrangements for:

1. Santa Baby

2. White Christmas

4. Winter Wonderland

8. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

XOXO to Cheyenne Medders (guitar), Micah Hulscher (piano/Rhodes), Rachel Loy (bass), Jason Cheek (drums), Avery Bright (violin/viola), Kristin Weber (violin), and Dan Sommers (percussion)!

Little Bandit's "Christmas Alone"

My dear friend Alex Caress of Little Bandit invited me to contribute cello and vocals to this lovely holiday EP. Available for download now, click the image below!