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Kintsugi Studios & Publications

MUSIC

Welcome to the music and recording studio!

Below you'll find a list of my compositions as well as some works that are in progress. Recordings of me as Ceramic Personali-Tease will be coming soon!

Contact me for re-voicing, commissions and reporting a performance.

Compositions

Chamber                 Choral-SATB                Choral-SSAATTBB                 Choral-SAATB   ​             Piano Solo

CHAMBER

Cat in a Sunbeam

Kanklés

Meditation music for the kanklés (Lithuanian folk stringed instrument) commissioned by Emilija Karaliūtė.

Dear J, Dear A

Poem by Andrew Burton

Arrangements: Small Ensemble (Soprano, Violin, and Cello)

JWPepper, My Store

EnneaMuse: Suffering and Wholeness

Treble Voice and Piano

JWPepper, My Store

This 9-song cycle goes through each of the nine enneagram points. The songs explore the suffering and the healing for each point. Songs include One: Perfectly Imperfect, Two: Connections, Three: Ninety Seconds, Four: Deep, Five: Step On Out, Six: Answers, Seven: Come on an Adventure, Eight: Teddy Bear in Combat Boots, Nine: Let There Be. The recordings have Mindy Eschedor on the piano, Andrea Leonard on vocals for songs Three, Seven, and Eight, and yours truly (Sarah McMahill) on One, Two, Four, Five, Six, and Nine. The recordings were originally used for an enneagram workshop that I co-led with Roland Legge in 2021. These songs had their Canadian premier April of 2022 in Kamloops, British Columbia. They were performed by contralto Theresa Takacs and pianist Dimiter Terziev.

Seasonal Snapshot: Summer (YouTube)

Piano, clarinet, cello, and claves

JWPepper, My Store

Twists and Turns of the Universe

2 Voices (Soprano, Tenor), Piano, Clarinet, Cello, and Claves

Not Available for Purchase

Privately commissioned as a wedding gift. Small ensemble of soprano, tenor, clarinet, cello, piano, and claves.

Heart and Head: Family Dynamics Collection

Tenor saxophone, B flat clarinet, and flute.

JWPepper, My Store

Dedicated to one of my nieces and my oldest brother.

Dance of the Reeds: Family Dynamics Collection

Viola and bass clarinet duo. 

JWPepper, My Store

Dedicated to my nephew and sister-in-love.

Lisa's Song: Family Dynamics Collection

Bassoon

JWPepper, My Store

In memory of my sister. 

Generations: Family Dynamics Collection

For 2 B flat clarinets and bass clarinet.

JWPepper, My Store

Dedicated to my nephew and in memory of my grandpa Don.

Generations: Tone Poem for Clarinet, Violin, and Cello

*This work was a winner in the 30x30x30 project competition undertaken by Soli Chamber Ensemble in 2024.*

Dedicated to my family and in memory of those who have passed.

JWPepper, My Store

Learning to Fly

Viola, Clarinet, Piano, and Body Percussion.

JWPepper, My Store

CHAMBER

Cat in a Sunbeam

Kanklés

Meditation music for the kanklés (Lithuanian folk stringed instrument) commissioned by Emilija Karaliūtė.

Dear J, Dear A

Poem by Andrew Burton

Arrangements: Small Ensemble (Soprano, Violin, and Cello)

JWPepper, My Store

EnneaMuse: Suffering and Wholeness

Treble Voice and Piano

JWPepper, My Store

This 9-song cycle goes through each of the nine enneagram points. The songs explore the suffering and the healing for each point. Songs include One: Perfectly Imperfect, Two: Connections, Three: Ninety Seconds, Four: Deep, Five: Step On Out, Six: Answers, Seven: Come on an Adventure, Eight: Teddy Bear in Combat Boots, Nine: Let There Be. The recordings have Mindy Eschedor on the piano, Andrea Leonard on vocals for songs Three, Seven, and Eight, and yours truly (Sarah McMahill) on One, Two, Four, Five, Six, and Nine. The recordings were originally used for an enneagram workshop that I co-led with Roland Legge in 2021. These songs had their Canadian premier April of 2022 in Kamloops, British Columbia. They were performed by contralto Theresa Takacs and pianist Dimiter Terziev.

Seasonal Snapshot: Summer (YouTube)

Piano, clarinet, cello, and claves

JWPepper, My Store

Twists and Turns of the Universe

2 Voices (Soprano, Tenor), Piano, Clarinet, Cello, and Claves

Not Available for Purchase

Privately commissioned as a wedding gift. Small ensemble of soprano, tenor, clarinet, cello, piano, and claves.

Heart and Head: Family Dynamics Collection

Tenor saxophone, B flat clarinet, and flute.

JWPepper, My Store

Dedicated to one of my nieces and my oldest brother.

Dance of the Reeds: Family Dynamics Collection

Viola and bass clarinet duo. 

JWPepper, My Store

Dedicated to my nephew and sister-in-love.

Lisa's Song: Family Dynamics Collection

Bassoon

JWPepper, My Store

In memory of my sister. 

Generations: Family Dynamics Collection

For 2 B flat clarinets and bass clarinet.

JWPepper, My Store

Dedicated to my nephew and in memory of my grandpa Don.

Generations: Tone Poem for Clarinet, Violin, and Cello

*This work was a winner in the 30x30x30 project competition undertaken by Soli Chamber Ensemble in 2024.*

Dedicated to my family and in memory of those who have passed.

JWPepper, My Store

Learning to Fly

Viola, Clarinet, Piano, and Body Percussion.

JWPepper, My Store

CHORAL

SATB

Dear A

Poem by Andrew Burton

Arrangements: SATB (recorded by First Readings Project directed by J. David Moore)

JWPepper, My Store

 

This Moment

Arrangements: Treble Solo (YouTube), SATB Choir (recorded by First Recordings Project directed by J. David Moore)

JWPepper, My Store

SATB WITH PIANO

You Are Earth

Based on the poem "What?" by A. Marcus

Arrangements: SATB with spoken solo and piano

My Store

SAATB

Unspoken Prayers of the Heart 

Arrangements: SAATB Choir, String Quartet

Dedicated to Living Table United Church of Christ in Minneapolis. 

JWPepper, My Store

SSAATTBB

I Honor the Place in You

Arrangements: Treble Solo (YouTube), SSAATTBB Choir (recorded by First Recordings Project directed by J. David Moore)

Premiered by One Voice Mixed Chorus January 20 & 21, 2024.

JWPepper, My Store

 

SSAATTBB WITH INSTRUMENTS

Everything and Everyone

Original Poem by Sarah McMahill, from Whispering Thunder (poetry book coming out winter 2024)

Arrangements: SSAATTBB with violin and cello

JWPepper, My Store

Tears of May (Soundcloud - recorded by First Readings Project directed by J. David Moore)

Poem by Andrew Burton

Arrangements: SSAATTBB with English Horn

JWPepper, My Store

PIANO SOLO

Summer Breeze (YouTube)

Originally written for solo piano in 1996 and recorded for the first time in 2023.

Autumn Twilight (YouTube)

Originally written for solo piano in 1996 and recorded for the first time in 2023.

Undoing of the Three

"Undoing of the Three" is inspired by an earlier composition for voice and piano about enneagram type 3. This fast-paced solo piano version is constantly in motion like the typical three. The right hand shows off its ability to leap and dance around and doesn't let mistakes stop them from moving forward. As the three keeps on doing and doing without pause, more mistakes are made until something "undoes" them and they crash; they are made to slow down. You'll hear those mistakes as occasional dissonance early on in the music. The dissonance increases before the "glissando crash" at the ending.

Premiere by Fidan Aghayeva-Edler on August 31, 2024 during her 24-hour piano marathon.

St. Elisabeth Kirche Berlin, Germany

https://www.elisabeth.berlin/de/kulturkalender/24-stunden-piano-marathon-mit-fidan-aghayeva-edler-und-mareike-hein?fbclid=IwY2xjawEozYZleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHUR9H2iBTUyHLcgge1P9icBMbfnEAs93pTl_JkFy4eExyjxOSAS90ntNoA_aem_WrYRfqQO1Z5Lj8qtM86MTA

Works-In-Progress

1. The compositions that I did in middle and high school, I wrote by hand. I'm currently notating those compositions into music software. 

2. Multiple songs based on the poetry of award-winning Canadian poet, theater artist, and activist Andrew Burton. I met him at the 2023 Winnipeg Folk Festival. 

3. Multiple songs based on the poetry of friend and Turkish neuroscientist, Özgü Işık Hafızoğlu.

4. Multiple songs based on the poetry of friend and enneagram colleague, Rev. Nhien Vuong

5. Multiple songs based on the poetry of Canadian author and founder of The Awakened Company Catherine Bell

6. 
Greenwood Rising
I learned about the Tulsa Race Riot Massacre in 2021. I was (and am) horrified by what happened in 1921. I was appalled to learn that this part of our history was actively hidden from public knowledge. I was part of a multi-church initiative to educate people about it that occurred November of 2021. I knew that I needed to do more than just a workshop. This is a multi-movement piece for SATB chorus and several instruments. 

7. 
Ho'oponopono Prayer
I learned about the Ho'oponopono Prayer middle of June 2022 and was struck by the power of repeating these phrases: "I am sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you." Ho’oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian practice for forgiveness and reconciliation. It’s more than the prayer alone; it's a process of making things right in your relationships -- with others, ancestors, the earth, yourself. It’s the act and intention of holding a space for reflection, repentance, forgiveness, and gratitude. I'll be doing one for solo voice and another for SATB chorus.

Ceramic Personali-Tease

In my debut album as Ceramic Personali-Tease, I'll be "teasing" you with a range of sounds coming from my voice, clarinet, piano, Nord grand, synthesizers, various drums, baritone ukulele, and more! 

Album in Progress:

Hide and Go Seek/Olly Olly Oxen Free

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