“musings from the chapel steps”

This may be a bit redundant, as I included something similar in the newsletter section of the website; however, this page gives more insight into the making of the song. Which I know you’ve all been hankering for. “musings from the chapel steps” got released on all streaming platforms on July 18th, 2025, and I hope you continue to listen to it!

Before I introduce you to the inspiration behind the piece or the people who made the song musically possible, we need to acknowledge all the individuals who have helped me become the artist I am today.

• One of the music professors at Bates, Asha Tamirisa, met with me over Zoom while I was in Dublin and agreed to conduct this independent study with me upon my return. She was incredibly helpful and gave me so many ideas for this project and my thesis for next year!

• Another very important person in this endeavor was Simon Klompus, who took the album cover photo and footage for the music video. He has also listened to at least thirteen different versions of this song over the past few months and still tells me it sounds good. 

• And of course, all of my wonderful friends and family who have helped me along the way. My friends for keeping me sane while I spent hours upon hours in the Olin Sound Studio. My family for listening to my music since I was a wee ukulele player, and for never pulling punches on advice (I love you guys so so much and I will write a happy song someday, I swear). 

Now, to introduce the incredibly talented musicians who made this song as good as it will sound in your ears in a few days.

• Ava Clancy for being a BEAST on the bass. 

• JB Whiteley for writing and flawlessly playing my new favorite drum line. 

• Jeremy Felton for being the fiddler I could actually only dream about. 

• Fletcher Libre for shredding on the electric guitar (and putting up with all of my melodic requests). 

• And last but CERTAINLY not least, the person who has been with me through all of my music making, Morris Raskin. 

Thank you all endlessly. 

The song is called “musings from the chapel steps,” and I wrote it during my freshman year at Bates College. The song came to me after a night out. I was on my way back to my dorm when I heard music coming from Gomes Chapel, so I walked in and found a few of my friends playing their guitars very loudly. So, I sat and listened, drinking a lot of water from my water bottle. Then, I went home and wrote a bunch of lyrics down. The song came to me in parts. I wrote a little bit after that night, a little bit in LAX after visiting my cousins for March break, and the song eventually came together. I performed it for the first time at a Bates VCS Student Showcase in December of my Sophomore year, and it was a hit! As most things tend to be when you write a song about a building on campus that everyone in the audience knows. 

Lyrically, this song is one of my favorites for a few reasons. For those of you who know me, you know that I am not a religious person. So why then did I write a song where I say the word “God” so many times? And why did I specify God’s gender? Honestly, I don’t have a great answer for that other than it sounded good to me (and I have been societally conditioned to refer to God as a male figure - I am not a fan of this conditioning), and by the time I started asking myself these questions, those lyrics of the song had already embedded themselves in my brain. I digress. 

“Musings,” as I have begun affectionately calling it, does not have the standard verse-chorus-verse-bridge structure that a number of my songs have. It is much more a stream of consciousness with a repeating chorus-like thing (“I don’t much believe in God, but if he’s up there, I hope he likes the music). Honestly, I think I’d been listening to a LOT of Ethel Cain. That must have been where all of the religious iconography came from. 

While I was abroad in Dublin, I started thinking about my music thesis and came to the conclusion that I wanted to write and produce an album. To do that, I needed a little help with production, so I emailed Asha Tamirisa and asked if she would be willing to support such a project. She was more than helpful when I returned to Bates, and we spent about an hour a week working through the problems I was encountering. 

Once the song had been written and I started producing, I began thinking about the arrangement. I wrote parts for the guitar and piano, then hit a wall. What I needed was more cooks in the kitchen. I realized that I wanted as much live music in the recording as possible, so I began reaching out to my musician friends for help. Thus began some of the most fulfilling moments I had throughout this project. Bringing my friends into the studio, hearing their ideas for the piece, and working together to get it done were some of the most beautiful moments I’ve had in a long time. Every musician I spent time creating with, whether their contributions made it into the song or not, taught me a great deal about communicating my vision and knowing when to steer the creative process and when to step back and let things unfold. 

Music is a collaborative art, and it feels incredible to be able to share this with all of you through this song. To keep you on the edge of your seat and waiting for more, I am very excited to announce that at the end of my senior year, I will be releasing a full-length album. The working title (although I haven’t written much of it yet) is going to be “teatime.” I want the album to be an exploration of how collaboration impacts music. But that is very much in the works, so in the meantime, stream my songs! Tell me how much you love them (or don’t love them)! Give me ideas for other songs! All this to say, thank you for your support and your attention. I love you all.