Kalia first heard my work when she was partnering with the Minnesota Opera for the commission of an adaptation of her novel The Song Poet. She took on the job of librettist, a new role for her, and helped choose me for the composition of the work. We spent many hours together crafting the opera for its premiere with Minnesota Opera in 2023. I was honored to not only collaborate with her, but also her father Bee Yang, the song poet himself and subject of the book.
Since the opera premiere I have commissioned her to write several texts for me. She has two sections in the multimedia symphony Here I Am, and I recently commissioned her to condense a short essay into a poem for my new multimedia symphony Creation. Kalia has also commissioned me to compose music underneath her children’s books “Caged” and “The Rock in My Throat.” Helping to share her stories with the world is an incredible honor.
Kalia is a McKnight, Soros, and Guggenheim fellow.
Jocelyn
