I’m so honored to have teamed up with musicians Zosha Di Castri, Olivia De Prato, and Alice Teyssier to create “Matricalis.”

Matricalis is a project and community hub that reflects on the impact of motherhood on individual musicians. Through podcast episodes, collaborative pieces, and open discussions, Matricalis seeks to tackle one of the final “taboos” in the professional music world. We hope to openly explore the transformative nature of becoming a mother as an artist, considering both the logistical challenges, as well as the profound ways creativity can change, encouraging us towards new ways of thinking and doing.

Our name comes from the Latin matricalis (/maː.triˈkaː.lis/), meaning “of or pertaining to the womb or matrix” (matre meaning mother). Matricalis is also the root of the musical term madrigal.

We hope this website will serve as a network, a community, a platform, a place for creative connection and artistic exchange, a place where we can talk openly and honestly, and make meaningful changes for the future.

How we met …

The four of us met and connected because we were all working on very similar projects at the same time in 2020 and we felt inspired by each other’s work. It seemed like the perfect time to share experiences and join forces. Currently living in Vienna (Olivia), New York (Zosha and Alice) and New Jersey (Allison) and still unable to meet in person, we connected over Zoom and brainstormed ideas on how to create a larger platform on the topic of motherhood and artistry that can help our community and future generations. By founding Matricalis, we hope to reach out to a wide community of people, share resources, and build a broader support system.

Check out Matricalis for more info!

Composers Now announces IMPACT. Each installment in this series offers a composer the opportunity to reflect on one’s creativity, influences, pathways, and responsibility as a living artist in our ever-changing world. Designed for the virtual space, every session shares a composer’s essential thoughts directly with you, the audience, in the safety and comfort of your own place. These commentaries, interwoven with performance videos and other materials, articulate a creator’s IMPACT.

Super excited to announce that I’ve been selected as one of the composers for the Toulmin Fellows and Creators. Read on for more info on this exciting opportunity. Thank you to my family at National Sawdust!

The Center for Ballet and the Arts & National Sawdust Partnership is a one-year collaboration that supports 45 appointed female, trans, and nonbinary composers and choreographers, with the aim of creating new works in the virtual medium.

The program aims to help these individuals develop their skills, create and present new work, and build a community of like-minded artists that will meaningfully advance their careers. The program will support five “Toulmin Fellows” and forty “Toulmin Creators.” Each will receive a package of financial, intellectual, and creative resources to support development of new work.

Both Fellows and Creators will be provided with professional development in the form of 20 master classes and seminars on such topics as intellectual property, improvisation, and arts criticism. They will also receive access to National Sawdust’s (NS) Digital Knowledge Hub, which will share and document NS’ extensive mentorship program to accompany its digital stage.

The Toulmin Fellows will spend the winter in residence at CBA and the spring at NS, building toward participation in NS’ Digital Discovery Festival (DDF). They will also receive mentorship from established arts practitioners and scholars who offer deep knowledge and experience in their mediums. They will provide Fellows with personalized feedback, career support, and connections to their robust professional networks.

The forty Toulmin Creators will participate in DDF and/or in seminars offered to CBA’s community of artists and scholars.

Thank you to the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation for making this partnership possible.