This is a collection of chamber ensemble works composed between 2011-2017. Below are the program notes for each piece. All downloads include PDF scores for each piece.

For Vincent Chin (2017):
For Vincent Chin was commissioned by Access Contemporary Music for the Golden Triangle in Chicago, IL for Open House Chicago, an annual architecture festival. On June 19, 1982, Vincent Chin was beaten with a baseball bat by Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz. Because they mistakenly thought Vincent, a Chinese American, was Japanese, Ebens and Nitz accosted Chin at a club in Highland Park, Michigan. Vincent was at the club for his bachelor party. After a heated exchange, Ebens and Nitz searched for 30 minutes, eventually tracking Chin to a nearby McDonalds parking lot. With no escape, Ebens and Nitz bludgeoned Chin nearly to death. After four days in a coma, Vincent died on June 23, 1982 - four before his wedding. Initially, Ebens and Nitz were given no jail time, but rather three months of probation and a fine of $3,000. By 1987 all charges against Ebens and Nitz were cleared.

Considered the beginning of the pan-ethnic Asian American movment, the murder of Vincent Chin has become a rallying point for the Asian American community. Realizing that we all face similar oppression, Asian Americans have become more and more unified. Unfortunately, tragedies such as the murder of Vincent Chin are often catalysts for change. Vincent Chin's murder was not the first, nor will it be the last, anti-Asian hate crime. As a first generation Filipino-American, I see acts of racism, everyday.

For Vincent Chin is not somber, in tone, however. Through timbral exploration, For Vincent Chin evokes a reverent tranquility. Attempting to find peace, For Vincent Chin investigates the tone/noise spectrum, searching for balance. Sonorities moan and timbres crack before settling. I find no better place to premiere this work than the Golden Triangle, an inviting space full of pan-ethnic, Asian antiques and artifacts that reminds us of the history that must be preserved and the new life that comes from such memories.

Flare (2014):
Flare was composed for Allison Offerman, using her favorite extended techniques as the basis for the material. These techniques are combined with one another and transform into different sounds over the course of the piece. The end result is the expansion and contraction of these sounds with sudden bursts of energy that quickly fade away.

Fingerprint Skin Graft (2013):
A skin graft is a type of surgery where skin is transplanted from one section of a patient to another section of the same patient (autologous), from a genetically identical individual to another (isogeneic), from the same species to the same species (allogeneic), from two different species (xenogeneic), or from replacing with synthetic material (prosthetic).

The same procedure occurs with the pitch material of Fingerprint Skin Graft, shifting from a diatonic set [024579E], to an increasingly more chromatic aggregate by means of the a slow introduction of the complement [1368T] until the completion of the aggregate. The visceral melody that sits on top is unique every time that it appears, but similar enough to appear analogous, like a fingerprint.

a frayed, jute whipping knot (2012):
a frayed, jute whipping knot was written for the Akropolis Reed Quintet’s “Unraveled” composer’s project. A “whipping knot” is a binding oftwine around the end of a rope to prevent the fibers from unraveling. If, however, the knot is created using a frayed piece of jute (a naturalfiber) then the whipping knot may not stay intact, no matter how strong or secure the knot or fiber is. The piece begins very small and simple,gaining momentum as the piece progresses, developing into an unstable, stammering frenzy.

A Certain Shade of Sertraline (2011):
This piece represents different states of mind that are associated with depression and other mental illnesses’. The terms used include: depressed, manic, schizophrenic, stressed, and paranoid. The following is a definition of those terms:
Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts that affect the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way on thinks about things. A depressive disorder is not the same as a passing blue mood. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be wished away. People with a depressive disease cannot merely “pull themselves together” and get better. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or
years. Appropriate treatment, however, can help most people with depression.
Manic: Refers to a mood disorder in which a person seems “high”, euphoric, expansive, sometimes agitated, and hyper-excitable, with flights of ideas and speech.
Schizophrenia: One of several brain diseases whose symptoms that may include loss of personality (flat affect), agitation, catatonia, confusion, psychosis, unusual behavior, and withdrawal. The illness usually begins in early adulthood.
Stress: Forces from the outside world impinging on the individual. Stress is a normal part of life that can help us learn and grow. Conversely, stress can cause us significant problems.
Paranoia: A thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion.
Sertraline is an anti-depressant used to treat many of these symptoms, most commonly, depression.