Saltblue & Other Missing Memories

Saltblue & Other Missing Memories emerged from the song, “Home and still homesick,” which was commissioned in 2023 by the National Association of Teachers of Singing and Cincinnati Song Initiative, with major support from Lori Laitman. Over the past few years, I have grown increasingly uncomfortable with the questions, “Where are you from?” or “What is your hometown?” so much as to actively dread them in introductions. What are people really asking? Where was I born? Where have I lived the longest? Where does my family live now?Where do I live now? Or where have I most recently come from? While I was composing this cycle, not one of these answers was the same. A pastiche of various texts from Charlotte Mew, Carl Sandburg, Sara Teasdale, and Nicole Yackley, the cycle tells the story of a young protagonist struggling to understand how physical, temporal, and metaphorical distances shape our perceptions of home. Ultimately, Saltblue & Other Missing Memories emphasizes the importance of personal connection to our overall sense of well-being.