Alooooooha! I’m an Alaska-grown, Maui-based composer, arranger, and orchestrator new to film and learning fast. Building upon my strong foundation in professional music, I recently scored a mid-production film teaser for Andrew H. Brown (Tribeca award-winning documentary feature director), leading to a successful Meet-Market funding pitch at London's Sheffield DocFest 2024. I’m seeking to develop new friendships in film, as I highly value the collaborative process and what is possible when great people make great art together.
My music has been performed by the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Utah Symphony, and performing artists such as concertmaster violinist Iggy Jang, innovative American conductor John Devlin, ukulele superstar Jake Shimabukuro, Grammy-nominated Hawaiian slack-key guitarist Makana, Hawaii’s all-time top selling female vocalist Amy Hanaialiʻi, internationally touring soul singer-songwriter Ron Artis II, Nā Hōkū award-winning cellist Joshua Nakazawa, classical and pop violinist Rachel Saul, Emmy-nominated folk-rock band Streetlight Cadence, renowned experimental pianist Mabel Kwan, internationally acclaimed saxophonist Stephen Page, operatic mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski, published poet Patrick Haas, and conductor and Fulbright Scholar Kira Omelchenko. Past influential teachers include composers Dr. David Gompper, Dr. Robert Fleisher, Dr. David Maki, Fr. Kevin Waters, and pianists such as Italian concert-pianist Alessandra Ammara, legendary Chicago jazz-pianist Willie Pickens, Dr. William Koehler, Greg Presley, and Maria Allison.
My music has been performed live in settings ranging from traditional to experimental to popular, for audiences of a few to thousands, in numerous countries such as Italy, Germany, UK, Argentina, Korea and major US cities such as New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Salt Lake City, Honolulu and more.
Beyond composing, I’m a classical and jazz pianist, improviser, and multi-instrumentalist with experience managing, contracting and recording world-class professional musicians. My PhD in Music Composition (2015) from the University of Iowa, intensive studies and musical leadership training during my Research Assistantship at the Center for New Music, and real-world practice, all serve to inform my various modes of creation, scalable in technical complexity and emotional goals.
Seattle Symphony and Makana performing my orchestra arrangement
Field recording at the mouth of Resurrection Creek in Hope, Alaska
Experimental instrumentation co-creation with percussionist Christopher Sande recording in the Electronic Music Studios of the University of Iowa
Film scores typically carry the responsibility to serve and amplify the larger vision, both in the moment and across the entire unfolding of the story. As an experienced composer, I have the capacity to lean on multiple methods, which include creating textural music more felt than heard, shaping traditional melodic music to elicit emotion and rhythmic drive to push momentum, or expanding boundaries with experimentation and noise (including sounds recorded in the field myself). I can adjust musical style and production approaches in close collaboration with directors and stakeholders as the context demands artistically and within varying budgets.
In general, I'm happy to lead, work within a team, or humbly serve -- whatever contribution is needed to make for the best quality work, promote a positive atmosphere, and to help tell the story with as much innovation as desired. It is a privilege to create music and sound that connects the viewer to the story in such a unique way, and I look forward to helping achieve this for your project.