I’m Rachel J. Peters, a composer, lyricist, and librettist of numerous operas, musicals, concert works, scores for plays, songs, and…zero albums. Though I call New York City home, I know it’s not the center of the universe, and I love bringing my writing to audiences everywhere. Professional adventures to date include world premieres at:
• top conservatories such as Oberlin and MDW Vienna
• Caramoor’s giant outdoor theatre (with a score featuring a barfing cat)
• the Rocky Mountains with live horses
• a Utah parking lot during a power outage
• an aviation museum
• elementary school cafeterias all over the Midwest
• on Zoom from an empty bank in rural Pennsylvania
• an archipelago with the Arctic Philharmonic
And that's barely even counting the many other normal places you'd expect to see a show.
Performances happen, then poof: they evaporate. I’m fortunate to have some live archival recordings as proof. But if you search for me on any music streaming platform, there’s only a song here or there on someone else’s compilation. No professional recordings that are entirely my own work.
If you can’t find me, then I can’t connect with you. Recording I Have Songs will change that.
Pianist and conductor Alan Johnson has been my rock since 2013. His dizzyingly impressive roster of collaborators includes Philip Glass, Anthony Davis, Michael John LaChiusa, Libby Larsen, and so many more. Mezzo-soprano Kate Tombaugh became my muse in 2018. She has garnered acclaim for her range of roles in works from Hansel and Gretel to Ariodante to Annie Get Your Gun, to the murderous unbaked baguette villain in my own opera, Companionship.
Together, Kate and Alan enjoy touring a set of my earlier songs all over the country. But I hadn’t written those songs expressly for them, and they deserved fresh material. We three are making significant transitions in our lives, and I bet you’ll agree that the world has changed a lot lately. Now I’m paying tribute to the fearless truth-seeking and truth-telling artists who lit the way for me. These new songs fall between the cracks of opera, showtunes, cabaret, and indie singer/songwriting of the 1960s-1990s. With humility, tenacity, and plenty of absurdity, I’m asking big, tough questions in my own voice, not filtered through any theatrical characters. And I have the best possible team to convey them.
We've just concluded our pre-game house concerts to test drive the new material. And now you can watch the whole thing here!
Here's what some audience members had to say:
"Wow, I'm so glad I came to your concert today. Your songs are amazing. Your music is lush and moving and original, your lyrics are precise and vibrant and oh so satisfying. I'm your newest fan. Wishing you all the best with this project, I really think your songs deserve to be heard, for both their impeccable craft and what they have to say."
--Sean
"You have so many wonderful songs. The new ones are so needed and gave me inspiration for continuing to resist however I can." --Lynne
We are excited to record I Have Songs, an EP of three older favorites (featured in this video) plus four new songs reflecting these shifts in ourselves and in our culture. Your support will cover recording production and distribution costs, publicity, and compensating Kate and Alan for their incomparable artistry.
I know it's more common to fundraise for creative projects on other platforms. But those are structured as all-or-nothing gambles, and while we know we have a wonderful community already rallying around us, the simple truth is that for this project, nothing is not an option. We invite you to help us here to document the results and share them with the world, and we will be sure to keep you up to date and part of our entire path to release!
Upon request, anyone who donates $25-$49 receives the digital music from Volume I of I Have Songs: The Rachel J. Peters Songbook. Any donor above $50 receives both volumes.
Organizer
