When it comes to writing for the voice, I am often used to writing my own text. However, upon mindlessly reading the secret blog of an older cousin, Marundu Muturi, I stumbled upon Raw Sugar and immediately felt connected to it in a way that it felt only right to set it to music.

At its core, Raw Sugar seems to be about feeling through the mundanities and growing pains of being young. Like a lullaby to oneself, the speaker is filled with the conflict of wrestling with discouragement against hope, as well as seeking hope in the midst of uncertainty. Raw Sugar is the voice of a young person’s journey to understanding themselves as beings in the world: hesitant, but hopeful. As the composer, my foremost hope is for the performers to have a fun time with the piece, not only singing what is on the page but ultimately connecting to it in a personal, visceral way.