UC San Diego

As a singer of contemporary classical music, working with composers on the creation of new repertoire is a large part of my artistic output. While working to create new pieces for the classical voice is an exciting adventure, it also requires a great deal of intellectual and artistic exploration, creativity, and problem solving. For my dissertation project, I spearheaded a commissioning project of new repertoire written for my unique individual voice, culminating in a live performance and resultant audio and video documentation. This paper serves to discuss the ideas behind the commissioning project, the strengths and challenges of the individual pieces, and to shed light onto the process of working in the creation and premiering of new classical vocal repertoire.