"The Oak" by Riley Ferretti. Performed by the University of Louisville Collegiate Chorale, and Conducted by Dr. Kent Hatteberg. Winner of the 2021-2022 KMEA Collegiate Composition Competition. The Oak at its surface level describes the life of a tree and how it changes throughout the seasons. However, when looking deeper, the true meaning starts to unfold into something powerful. The Oak feels as if it is advising the reader by showcasing the beauty that is life, while also reminding us that as we age, all we will have left is ourselves. Live thy Life, Young and old, Like yon oak, Bright in spring, Living gold; Summer-rich Then; and then Autumn-changed Soberer-hued Gold again. All his leaves Fall'n at length, Look, he stands, Trunk and bough Naked strength. - Alfred Lord Tennyson Website: https://www.rileyferretti.com/

Deep Sea Cables was workshopped and performed by Ekmeles in residency at the University of Florida. Charlotte Mundy, soprano Elisa Sutherland, mezzo soprano Timothy Parsons, countertenor Gregório Tanigiuchi, tenor Jeffrey Gavett, baritone and director Steven Hrycelak, bass The wrecks dissolve above us; their dust drops down from afar, Down to the dark, to the utter dark, where the blind white sea-snakes are. There is no sound, no echo of sound, in the deserts of the deep, Or the great grey level plains of ooze where the shell-burred cables creep. Here in the womb of the world, here on the tie-ribs of earth Words, and the words of men, flicker and flutter and beat, Warning, sorrow and gain, salutation and mirth, For a Power troubles the Still that has neither voice nor feet. They have wakened the timeless Things; they have killed their father Time; Joining hands in the gloom, a league from the last of the sun. Hush! Men talk to-day o'er the waste of the ultimate slime, And a new Word runs between: whispering, "Let us be one!" -Rudyard Kipling Website: https://www.rileyferretti.com/

Performed by the University of Louisville Cardinal Singers and Conducted by Dr. Kent Hatteberg. Soloist- Emma Pinkley Come when the nights are bright with stars Or come when the moon is mellow; Come when the sun his golden bars Drops on the hay-field yellow. Come in the twilight soft and gray, Come in the night or come in the day, Come, O love, whene’er you may, And you are welcome, welcome. You are sweet, O Love, dear Love, You are soft as the nesting dove. Come to my heart and bring it to rest As the bird flies home to its welcome nest. Come when my heart is full of grief Or when my heart is merry; Come with the falling of the leaf Or with the redd’ning cherry. Come when the year’s first blossom blows, Come when the summer gleams and glows, Come with the winter’s drifting snows, And you are welcome, welcome. -Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) Composer Note: When I first came across this text, the simplicity in the message was so strong and forward that it stuck with me, and I needed to write for it. As I was in the early stages of its composition, I couldn’t help but think of all the emotions underlining such simple and communicative words. Through my writing, I hope to convey that same passion and care. Website: https://www.rileyferretti.com/

For hand-built light (photoresistor) instrument and MaxMsp The trees are forming hands to cloak the sky with pillow whispers, until the soft equilibrium behind laughing eyes departs down the moon dark world. -Paul Cameron Brown

‘I have so many selves, I cannot contain them all’ is based on the idea that people often display different facets of their personality, behavior, and identity depending on their social context or situation. However, when these various social selves become too divergent or cause a sense of fragmentation in one's identity, it may lead to confusion or disconnection. Finding a balance between being authentic and adapting to social situations is a continuous process and struggle that I wanted to represent through the different instruments and sounds competing for dominance, as they represent each self clamoring for attention. Two hour Improvisation/Etude in Ableton using LABS Website: https://www.rileyferretti.com/

Christina Rossetti's poem 'In an Artist's Studio' delves into the ideas of the objectification of women in art. This relationship of the woman's manipulated image through the artist's lens gave an interesting opportunity to explore how to attempt to replicate these ideas of manipulation in the voice. The voice can give much information to the listener. From the timbre to the diction to the range, we can determine many preconceived notions about someone's background. The same idea can apply to the appearance of someone, and when this appearance is manipulated in favor of someone's ideals, will we notice it? In this piece, it is apparent that we notice it, just like how we notice it in Rossetti's poem. One face looks out from all his canvases, One selfsame figure sits or walks or leans: We found her hidden just behind those screens, That mirror gave back all her loveliness. A queen in opal or in ruby dress, A nameless girl in freshest summer-greens, A saint, an angel — every canvas means The same one meaning, neither more or less. He feeds upon her face by day and night, And she with true kind eyes looks back on him, Fair as the moon and joyful as the light: Not wan with waiting, not with sorrow dim; Not as she is, but was when hope shone bright; Not as she is, but as she fills his dream. -Christina Rossetti Using:Max MSP Website: https://www.rileyferretti.com/

Fractus was workshopped and performed by Longleash in residency at the University of Louisville, as part of the Fall 2019 and Fall 2020 iterations of UofL’s New Music Festival. I wanted to create a piece that while very delicate and fleeting, but still had a very strong core. I felt that the perfect image of this was a fractus cloud.  I wanted to give the image of looking up into the sky, and slowly watching as a cloud drifts into separate ways, while still keeping its beauty. Instrumentation: Violin, Cello, Piano 2020 Website: https://www.rileyferretti.com/

Video from: @tardibabe Through the Microscope was conceived through my own interest in microbiology and what can be seen through the microscope. When I discovered the Instagram account @tardibabe, I knew I had to at least attempt to compose a few pieces to the videos I watched. Each video focuses on a different organism and my personal interpretation of them through electronic music. Sharing these videos with the audience is integral to the performance, not only because I wrote the pieces specifically for them, but it helps to show the reason as to why I composed what I did. Through the Microscope - 2022 I-Stentor Coeruleus II-Cyanobacteria III-Spirostomum IV-Amoebae V-Peritrich Ciliates Website: https://www.rileyferretti.com/