About the ProjectThe [HER]self Project is a unique commissioning initiative with the goal of writing exclusively for the female speaking percussionist, and in most cases, from the female perspective.
My initial interest in contemporary solo pieces for the voice began with Alexis Lamb's piece The Yellow Wallpaper for solo vibraphone and voice. After spending months playing, analyzing, and presenting on the piece, I realized that percussion repertoire written with the female voice in mind was extremely limited. This sparked my enthusiasm for speaking percussion as it applied to gender and how we use societal gender roles to determine what makes a piece's performance "effective". The HER[self] project was premiered on November 8th, 2024 at my second solo DMA recital in Austin, Texas. The recital featured four world premieres by Alexis Lamb, Sophie Mathieu (with text written by playwright Emma Watkins), Sebastian Zhang and Sam Wheeler. Each piece incorporates innately female experiences through the lens of contemporary percussion. |
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Meet the Composers
Alexis Lamb Sam Wheeler Sebastian Zhang Sophie Mathieu Emma Watkins