Biography
Full of striking rhythms and expressive melodies, Carolyn’s (she/her) music bridges multiple styles through lyricism and orchestration. Her works have been performed throughout North America and Europe by ensembles including the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the South Puget Sound College Orchestra, and soloists from the Vancouver Opera’s New Works project.
Carolyn was featured on the inaugural concert of the up-and-coming chamber orchestra Symphony 21. She was also chosen as one of eight composers commissioned to write for HEARINGS: the opening concert of Fear No Music’s Justice (Just Us) season.
Carolyn has also been a participant in festivals such as Art Song Lab, working with Rodney Sharman; Vancouver Pro Musica’s Sonic Boom Festival working with Dorothy Chang, Owen Underhill, and the Erato Ensemble; Uzmah-Upbeat International Summer School in Croatia, working with Joel Hoffmann; and the Oregon Bach Festival Composer’s Symposium as a composer and Vocal Fellow, performing under the guidance of Roomful of Teeth’s Estelí Gomez and workshopping her music with composer Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon.
Most recently, Carolyn has been working with Persisting Sound: a new music collective that seeks to perform works by underrepresented composers. Since co-founding the group with Savannah Gentry, Carolyn has worked as an administrator, music curator, composer, and performer.
Carolyn is also a singer/instrumentalist and poet, performing with ensembles like Eugene Opera, Portland Symphonic Choir, and the Oregon Bach Festival Chamber Choir (UO); and has several poems published with the East County Poetry Group.
She is currently a part of In Medio, Tabor Wind Ensemble, Persisting Sound, and The African American Requiem Choir; and is working on a collaboration with composer Drew Swatosh (they/them) on the Dead Fires Anthology for solo unaccompanied voice.
Carolyn holds a MMus in Composition from the University of British Columbia and a BMus from the University of Oregon, and has studied with: Jocelyn Morlock, Dorothy Chang, Stephen Chatman, Robert Kyr, David Crumb, and Terry McQuilkin.
Carolyn holds a MMus in Composition from the University of British Columbia and a BMus from the University of Oregon, and has studied with: Jocelyn Morlock, Dorothy Chang, Stephen Chatman, Robert Kyr, David Crumb, and Terry McQuilkin.