I am honored to receive the CHF Scholarship on behalf of the American Union of Swedish Singers. This year I had the honor of premiering my first flute concerto, Your Clouds are my Snow, featuring flutist Cheryl Zhang and conductor Kristofer Sanz in Washington D.C. I am incredibly lucky to work with such talented people, including an entire youth orchestra who commuted many hours just to attend rehearsals for new music.

A major turning point for me was in sixth grade when I suffered a concussion that put me out of school for nine months. I was unsure what my future would look like, as I had a chronic headache, and was not able to look at digital screens or ride in a car. At this time, I couldn’t even play piano as my ears were so sensitive to loud sounds. Fortunately, I was gifted a keyboard by my piano teacher, where I was able to turn down the volume and practice all day. After my practices, I would always improvise on the piano, and thus began my career interest in writing music.

The following year after I recovered, I started taking composition lessons in addition to piano. I joined fEar No Music, Chapter of NACUSA, and became the youngest member of Cascadia Composers. With the help of the Young Composers Project through fEar No Music, I wrote my first composition for an ensemble and had it performed by professional musicians. I fell in love with writing music, and having my own work performed live in front of me and the people I knew best.

Since that year, I have won the state of Oregon ten consecutive times for my music compositions through the NFMC and MTNA programs, been a national finalist three times, been featured on All Classical Portland radio, have accumulated my first YoungArts award, and have attended the Brevard Music Center (NC) and the Walden School of Music Summer Institute (NH). Additionally, I have performed in a number of settings, including Reed College, Portland State University, Chapman University, Willamette University, The Grotto, Portland Pianos, and the Polish Hall.

Most recently, I conducted my first orchestral composition, entitled Hidden Voices, with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. This was an incredible experience, as leading 60 people with a baton in Portland’s biggest concert hall is something I will never forget.

Aside from having these amazing opportunities, music is something that I am so grateful for, simply because so many people can relate to music in one form or another, and personally, it makes me feel less alone. I write music because I want to make people feel less alone. Almost all the music I write has some story or meaning, and as a person who deeply cares about other people, I want to connect with them.

In the program notes of my 2023 flute concerto I wrote:
“When you travel to a small town and visit for more than a couple days, you begin to learn pieces of their culture, their day to day activities, how they treat each other, and the qualities that make people who they are. You scrape the surface of a completely new life that you knew nothing about. I wish people were more vulnerable so more individuals could slip into the shoes of another person and understand more about what makes us different. The world is too big to live in your lane, and it is vital to understand our differences. Music is one of the easiest ways to slip into someone’s shoes. It is a symbolic way of communication that expresses and passes emotion like no other medium. It is such an incredible place to find beauty. From my experiences, one of the most important parts of living is to find beauty in everything.”

Currently, I have been attending Chapman University in person! I have been so blessed to study and collaborate with aspiring filmmakers my age, and it is a dream come true just to see my music in the theater. I am so grateful to the American Union of Swedish Singers for this outstanding award, and I am honored to put it towards something I love so much.

If you are interested in listening to my compositions, you can visit my music on my website at makcomposer.com.