When the Daffodil Blooms began as a portfolio piece my friend and collaborator, Joel Walley, and I worked on together in college.

From Joel’s notes:

“When the Daffodil Blooms is a world premiere musical that reimagines the myth of Narcissus and Echo for the modern age. It explores identity, connection, and self-perception through an experimental score and innovative storytelling, examining how we navigate love, attention, and reflection in a world of ever-increasing individualism.

The score for When the Daffodil Blooms is, in part, themes and variations from Tchaikovsky's "Waltz of the Flowers" from The Nutcracker, in part an exploration of Serialism in the vein of Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg, and in part entirely original. It is a musical challenge with an ultimate goal of storytelling, and a side quest of theatrical innovation and finding my own musical voice. Besides the music and technical writings of Tchaikovsky and Schoenberg, I have been inspired by the theatrical compositions of Dave Malloy, Anaïs Mitchell, and Tom Kitt, as well as the various musicians who have worked on this show including Sisterbot and Stephonne Singleton. There are so many intensely creative and talented musicians in Kansas City who I continue to learn from, and a rich history of music that guides me into the future.”