It started when I stumbled on the article in the Guardian by Brigid Delaney where the author wondered what her female ancestors may have excelled at. “Writing or singing, sewing or poetry; did they draw, or did they paint?” She continues, “I have to guess because they left nothing behind but their bloodline.” This article resonated with me, and I thought about my own Japanese female ancestors. I imagined the lives of those women who I had never met – even pictures of most of them don’t exist – and their creative voices I have no way to trace. And this thought eventually led me to wonder what it was like to be a female artist in their generation. So I looked for clues for my question in the work of women writers. In 2020-21, I wrote music to the texts of Emily Dickinson, Virginia Woolf, Mary Shelley, Sappho, and Akiko Yosano, who left behind their strong voices despite the professional obstacles that they might have had by being women artists in their generation. Each text I humbly set music to touched my heart somewhere deep. I feel related to these writings because of my own experience as a woman and because I admired their bravery and because their beauty simply moved me. I wanted to create their story from my perspective by composing music for their writings. 

Composed for Quince Ensemble. This work was supported by Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. Premiered by Quince Ensemble on March 18th, 2022 at Kracum Hall, Carleton College.