Abstract:
Who do we think we are? This single question initiated every phase of the research and execution of THE
GROWING TREE, a musical thesis project about our identities, how they affect us, and where they come
from. The goal of theatrical songwriting is to take the audience on a journey, from beginning to end, in
which something has been discovered over the course of a song. This project is a musical experimentation
in which I have attempted to capture a moment of discovery, relating to the theme of identity, in the form
of song. All these discoveries have been inspired by real-life interviews with people of varying
backgrounds and experiences, all with a different idea of what identity means. In the end, the project has
become a culmination of what it means to come into one’s own self, and how that story can be translated
when passed on to new people and forms.
