153
professional residencies each year. Although she has yet to write compositions without
titles (an idea she mentioned during a conversation with the author) many of her newest
pieces are quite abstract in nature. She has not completely abandoned programmatic
music, as the titles and program notes of several of her most recent pieces continue to
reflect her curiosity about the world around her. Whether she is composing with the use
of source material or setting out to write a primarily abstract composition, she continues
to be fascinated with both the role of the American vernacular in her music and the place
of her music in American culture.