Symphony No. 2 for Baritone, Winds, and Percussion was commissioned and premiered by Matthew George and the University of St. Thomas Wind Ensemble. The initial ideas for the piece grew from my perception that musical theater generally has a distinct ability to immediately connect with listeners, and I hoped to create a sort of hybrid between this approach and more traditional art music.

The subject matter for the piece unfortunately grew from one of the darkest portions of my life, during a time in which my marriage disintegrated and my grandmother passed away. At the time, I truly felt as though I was losing everything, and these experiences inspired the text for the vocal soloist in the symphony, tracing an emotional progression across four movements through disbelief, pain, and anger toward ultimate acceptance and peace. The second movement is a lullaby dedicated to my older children, Emily, Noah, and Adeline.