News
Sandra was awarded a Research and Development Grant through the Arizona Commission on the Arts. She will be using the funds to write a children's opera about the Sonoran Desert. azarts.gov/news/30-arizona-artists-awarded-research-development-grants/
Collaborations
Sandra is currently collaborating with composer Laura Jobin-Acosta, a recipient of the Opera America IDEA Residency, for an opera about Doña Felisa Rincón de Gautier, Puerto Rico's first female mayor. This piece that will have its premiere workshop at Opera America on May 7th, 2022. For more information, visit our website.
Completed Stage Works
Everlasting Faint |
Synopsis
Mary Heaster questions the sudden death of her daughter when she is visited nightly by her spirit. Based on the true story of the first trial in history to be won based on the testimony of a ghost.
An Opera in 2 Acts
120 Minutes in Length
Music by Scott Gendel
A Commission for the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Premier Reading December 9th, 2023 at 3:00PM
Collins Recital Hall Tickets
Mary Heaster questions the sudden death of her daughter when she is visited nightly by her spirit. Based on the true story of the first trial in history to be won based on the testimony of a ghost.
An Opera in 2 Acts
120 Minutes in Length
Music by Scott Gendel
A Commission for the University of Wisconsin-Madison
Premier Reading December 9th, 2023 at 3:00PM
Collins Recital Hall Tickets
COVID Bake-Off
Synopsis
Lilly, an up-and-coming celebrity baker, has been invited to go toe to toe with her nemesis Bobby V. in a baking competition. Her reputation, her business and a large cash prize are on the line. It's the day before the competition and Lilly has had no taste or smell because of COVID.
Comedic Opera in 1 Act
20 Minutes in Length
Music by Monica Chew
Premier October 7th, 2022 - Performance Link
Lilly, an up-and-coming celebrity baker, has been invited to go toe to toe with her nemesis Bobby V. in a baking competition. Her reputation, her business and a large cash prize are on the line. It's the day before the competition and Lilly has had no taste or smell because of COVID.
Comedic Opera in 1 Act
20 Minutes in Length
Music by Monica Chew
Premier October 7th, 2022 - Performance Link
Cantata for the Asylum Seeker
Synopsis
In a declamatory style that is fitting of a cantata and the nightly news, a newscaster (tenor soloist) proclaims the ongoing issues of the migrant crisis. The recitative for each movement conveys a step in the process for migration to America under the asylum system. These are paired with choruses and solos, vignettes of the people who are making the journey to seek safety in America.
1 Hour in Length
In a declamatory style that is fitting of a cantata and the nightly news, a newscaster (tenor soloist) proclaims the ongoing issues of the migrant crisis. The recitative for each movement conveys a step in the process for migration to America under the asylum system. These are paired with choruses and solos, vignettes of the people who are making the journey to seek safety in America.
1 Hour in Length
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The Beneficiary
Synopsis
Ellis is on the phone with her girlfriend Akeema, discussing the success of her mother’s recent visit. She has been estranged from her mother since coming out to her. The next call she receives is from her sister, Nora, with some unexpected news.
Opera in 1 Act
10 Minutes in Length
Music by Charles Zoll
Ellis is on the phone with her girlfriend Akeema, discussing the success of her mother’s recent visit. She has been estranged from her mother since coming out to her. The next call she receives is from her sister, Nora, with some unexpected news.
Opera in 1 Act
10 Minutes in Length
Music by Charles Zoll
La Vista
Synopsis
Based in Southern California during the boom years of the 1880's, Pascualita suffers from sleep paralysis, a condition where she awakens at night and is unable to speak or move. Owen is a sleepwalker and suffers from night terrors. The two are psychically connected and communicate in their impaired states, each thinking that they are being haunted by the other. Their inevitable meeting will reveal the truth about their reality.
Opera Novela in 3 Acts
Music by Scott Gendel
Based in Southern California during the boom years of the 1880's, Pascualita suffers from sleep paralysis, a condition where she awakens at night and is unable to speak or move. Owen is a sleepwalker and suffers from night terrors. The two are psychically connected and communicate in their impaired states, each thinking that they are being haunted by the other. Their inevitable meeting will reveal the truth about their reality.
Opera Novela in 3 Acts
Music by Scott Gendel
Poetry for Art Song
Come Again: Poems Based on Recurring Dreams
Come Again: Poems Based on Recurring Dreams is a new set of poems intended to be set as a song cycle for singer and piano. Each poem in the cycle is based on actual recurring dreams and examines the unusual nature of this phenomenon.
Cycle of 8 poems
Cycle of 8 poems
Speak, But Don't Speak: Diminished Women
The concept for this A Capella piece is based on the times that we have felt discounted as women, whether it be emotionally, mentally, or physically. The prologue sets up the idea of the value of asserting our views, but only if we are being listened to. The refrain throughout the piece reminds us we are often encouraged to speak out, but easily silenced. The epilogue concludes that these attempts to silence us don’t go unnoticed.
7 Minutes in Length
Premiere 3/4/2021
Written in collaboration with the Arizona Women's Collaborative.
7 Minutes in Length
Premiere 3/4/2021
Written in collaboration with the Arizona Women's Collaborative.
Stories
Photo used under Creative Commons from Alex Lehner
