Synesthesia is a relatively common neurological trait that combines the experience of two senses at once. Meaning “joined sensation”, synesthesia can link an individual’s visual or auditory cues, physical feelings, tastes, and scents, causing the presence of one to trigger another. I personally have multiple types of visual synesthesia, including chromesthesia, where I see color with music. As a musician and composer, this fundamentally shapes my experience of music and my compositional process. In my presentation I discuss my own pieces and how I use synesthetic color to create both musical and visual landscapes.

keywords:  music, synesthesia, color, psychology, neurology

""Firebomb: A War-Torn Rhapsody"" is a wind ensemble work inspired by Operation Meetinghouse, the devastating 1945 firebombing of Tokyo that claimed approximately 100,000 civilian lives and left the city in ruins. Through dramatic dynamic contrasts and emotional intensity, the piece aims to reflect both the horror of the inferno and the enduring human suffering captured by survivors’ accounts. Through the use of MIDI recordings and score analysis, I will discuss the compositional artifacts that went into Firebomb, including extended techniques that replicate air sirens, fog horns, and dropping bombs. The idea for this piece was further developed by field research at the Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage in Tokyo, Japan, over the summer of 2025.

I wrote ""Firebomb: A War-Torn Rhapsody"" to honor those who were tragically affected, while inviting reflection on the moral cost of war and promoting hope for a more peaceful future. More often than not, these events are overshadowed by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in contemporary education. I believe that it is important that we share these stories and give perspective through the lens of those that were affected by these events.

keywords:  Music Composition, Creative Process, Japan, World War II, Wind Symphony