I am beyond excited to be local composer-in-residence for piano-phenom Miki Sawada’s amazing project, Gather Hear, the Massachusetts edition. And it’s coming to a MA city (maybe near you?) in May!

Miki is traveling the 50 states with a piano to perform in community gathering spaces instead of concert halls, to find a shared humanity across political and socioeconomic lines in this divided country. This time she is touring her home state—and mine—of Massachusetts.

I wrote a piece exclusively for Gather Hear Massachusetts. It was inspired by artist Candy Chang’s “Before I Die” public art project, where murals are put up in public spaces with the phrase “Before I die, I want to…” and passers-by complete the sentence in chalk. It is about spontaneous community making through public art, and gently invites us to ponder our death and mortality - something we as a society are not very comfortable doing. My composition will involve audience participation, and is a moment for collectively contemplating death, which has pervaded our lives in the last year.

This tour is funded by grants from New Music USA and various Massachusetts Cultural Council programs. The tour also relies heavily on individual donors; please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the fundraiser here.