This post is the program note I wrote for the first concert of CAIC’s 2020 Collaborative Works Festival, Women of the Baroque, which will be broadcast October 9-11, 2020.

…Despite this false narrative, women have been composing music for centuries, relentlessly pushing against the oppressiveness of the musical patriarchy. As we commemorate the centenary of women’s suffrage in the United States through song for this year’s festival, it’s important to acknowledge that this milestone achievement was just one victory in the worldwide centuries’ long struggle for equal rights for women that continues today..

Writing the other day, I noted that one of the most trying aspects of this extraordinary time of pandemic is not knowing when this period of sheltering in place will end. The not-knowing when we can resume outside life as a society and when it will be safe again to gather with loved ones can make this time feel as if it is suspended…

In the wake of these past few weeks’ Brett Kavanaugh shenanigans, and as we draw nearer and nearer to the upcoming midterm elections, many people are reflecting upon the incredibly divided state of our nation in these times. With senators vowing to campaign against each other…

I often tell people that the only real reason I sing is because it is that was the only way I could make a living as a professional musician. My initial dream was to be a member of the Chicago Symphony's second violin section (I loved playing inner voices), but when I began exploring singing after having been bit by the drama bug…