‘I compose music both spontaneously and “formally,” for a lack of a better term. I began seriously writing various kinds of extended notated music rather late in life: at around 18-19years of age, and it has stuck with me ever since’
‘I was familiar with Paul Laurence Dunbar's writing during my first years in elementary school, but only in recent years I have been revisiting his work, and I can relate to it nowadays given the current social climate in America as it relates to Black Americans. To put it simply, "Death" spoke to me as it is one of many pensive themes that, while universally linked to the COVID 19 pandemic, it is something that Blacks in America know all too well especially during this time, when one observes, for example, the increased frequency of unfortunate murders of unarmed Blacks and the injustices we have been experiencing over the course of the past century until now. This is of course only one of several social ills that we continue to deal with on a daily basis.’
‘In the same way that Dunbar's work reflects his life experiences, so too does my music reflect mine - well, those of Black Americans in general. The themes that I tend to explore in my music are very serious in nature, and it is critical to me that the music supports the text in the most direct way possible. Without getting concerned about the technical details in the music, the question that has most informed my choices has been: what does "Death" sound like to me while I'm reading the poem? How can I directly communicate this feeling to the listener through sound?’
