About
Elijah’s Story:
Elijah is a composer, conductor, arranger, producer, and vocalist from Rochester, NY, dedicated to creating genre-synthesizing works -pulling from classical, choral, musical theater, folk, jazz, R&B, and pop- to empower audiences to recognize shared humanity.
Elijah has always had a deep love for music. Born with a mild form of Cerebral Palsy (CP) impacting the coordination on his right side, Elijah was put into music therapy at 2 years old, banging on instruments and exploring sound before he could talk. He learned how to harmonize through singing and performing with his father, creating harmony lines by ear, and performing for "Old Time Music Night" at his church.
As a teenager, Elijah developed an interest in musical theater, music production, and composition. He participated in over 30 community and youth theater productions throughout middle and high school. Using GarageBand on his iPod, he began transcribing the orchestrations of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton in 8th grade. He posted them to YouTube as karaoke tracks under the moniker of “Musical Remedy”. In the same year, he also created his first composition - a simplistic Wind Ensemble piece that he wrote for his school’s band. Elijah continued to write, arrange, and perform music throughout high school, receiving high recognition along the way. “Bed of Roses” was nominated for the 2017 Hollywood International Songwriting Competition, “Falling Slow” and “If Only” were honorable mentions in the 2019 All-Eastern Composition Competition and All-National Electronic Composition Competition.
In 2018, Elijah made his first venture into music directing and founded “Remember the Love”, a benefit concert created in honor of his friend Michael Lynch, a 13-year-old boy who was struck by a car while walking to school and died of his injuries. He directed the concert until he graduated high school in 2020, and served as the event coordinator until its last performance in 2022. This involved rehearsing musicians, scheduling rehearsal/performance spaces, and arranging/programming music. All proceeds went to “Classic Michael Lynch”, which gives money to college-bound seniors who’ve participated in theater. Since then, Elijah has worked as a music director with several theater companies, including Terry Fyke's Main Street Players and A Magical Journey Thru STAGES.
In 2024, Elijah graduated magna cum laude from St. Olaf College with a B.M. in Composition. During his time at St. Olaf, Elijah served as the music director for Ole Ave Vocal Jazz, the teaching assistant for the composition department, and was the second artistic director for Spiritus Novus, a student-run choir that performs compositions by St. Olaf students. Elijah was also a member of the Viking Chorus, Chamber Singers, a section leader of the St. Olaf Chapel Choir, and collaborated with Synergy Musician's Collective as a conductor. In the spring of 2023, Elijah conducted the St. Olaf Chapel Choir for the premiere of his setting of Ellen Bass's The Thing Is. The piece was a part of the Chapel Choir's spring oratorio concert where they performed Mozart's Requiem in collaboration with the St. Olaf Orchestra, led by Dr. Chung Park and guest conductor Ralph Johnson.
In April of 2024, Elijah premiered his new oratorio, The Things They Don't See (TTDS). TTDS is a continuation of the "Remember The Love" concert, telling the story of Michael through the community that lost him. His work on the piece began in late spring of 2022 by gathering memories of how community members knew him, and anecdotes on how they processed their grief over his passing. The following fall, Elijah began setting the stories he'd gathered to music. The piece was completed during the summer of 2023 due to the generous financial support of the Lynn and Mary Steen Fellowship.
In May of 2026, Elijah graduated from Indiana University at the Jacobs School of Music with an M.M. in Composition. During his time at IU, he was a member of NOTUS under the baton of Dr. DiOrio. He participated in the 48-hour composition symposium, writing for the Switch Ensemble, where he was required to write and complete a piece within 48 hours of receiving a prompt. For his unison part-singing work, “Limitless”, he was commissioned by the Jacobs Virtual Academy- a program hosted by the Jacobs School that offers lessons to students in low-income communities at no cost to them. He was selected as a winner of the IU “New Voices” contest for his orchestral work, “Churning”. His master’s degree also saw the completion of the “Able” piano suite, a work for solo piano exploring virtuosity through the lens of disability. The work grew from a close artistic collaboration with pianist Jacqueline Rasmussen, supported by a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $6,000 from 50 backers.
Currently, Elijah is continuing his studies at the University of Michigan, pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Music Composition. His studies are focused on investigating and formulating robust compositional pedagogy to better serve students. He works as a conductor with various choirs and teaches private lessons through his own studio.
When not studying, composing, performing, or listening to music, Elijah can be found spending time with friends and family, going for walks outside with his dog Solo, playing video games, and collecting vinyl.
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Elijah is a composer, conductor, arranger, producer, and vocalist from Rochester, NY, dedicated to creating genre-synthesizing works - pulling from classical, choral, musical theater, folk, jazz, R&B, and pop - to empower audiences to recognize shared humanity. Reviewer David Canfield wrote of his orchestral work "Churning" that it "convinced the listener that the composer was taking him on the only possible path."
Born with a mild form of Cerebral Palsy (CP) impacting the coordination on his right side, Elijah was put into music therapy at 2 years old, banging on instruments and exploring sound before he could talk. He learned how to harmonize through singing and performing with his father, creating harmony lines by ear, and performing for "Old Time Music Night" at his church.
In 2018, Elijah founded “Remember the Love”, a benefit concert created in honor of his friend Michael Lynch, a 13-year-old boy who was struck by a car while walking to school and died of his injuries. He directed the concert until he graduated high school in 2020, and served as the event coordinator until its last performance in 2022. All proceeds went to “Classic Michael Lynch”, which gives money to college-bound seniors who’ve participated in theater. Since then, Elijah has served as a guest conductor for the St. Olaf Chapel Choir and Synergy Musicians Collective, the choir director for John Knox Presbyterian Church’s Chancel Choir, the music director of Ole Ave Vocal Jazz, the second artistic director of Spiritus Novus, and worked as the music director/pit conductor for productions of The Music Man, Footloose, and Seussical.
As a composer, his music has been performed by the St. Olaf Chapel Choir, Spiritus Novus, the Switch Ensemble, Vox Medicinus, the IU Symphonic Orchestra, and the Jacobs Virtual Academy. “Bed of Roses” was nominated for the 2017 Hollywood International Songwriting Competition, “Falling Slow” and “If Only” were honorable mentions in the 2019 All-Eastern Composition Competition and All-National Electronic Composition Competition, and “Churning” was a winner of the 2025 IU “New Voices” contest for orchestra.
In 2024, he completed his first oratorio, The Things They Don’t See, which was made possible through the Lynn and Mary Steen Fellowship, funding student-driven community-based projects. Telling the story of Michael Lynch’s passing, the piece combines ethnographic methodologies with the oratorio genre, creating a community-engaged piece that focuses on grief and the unique pathways to healing. The “Able” piano suite, a work for solo piano exploring virtuosity through the lens of disability, grew from a close artistic collaboration with pianist Jacqueline Rasmussen, supported by a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $6,000 from 50 backers.
Elijah graduated from St. Olaf College in 2024 with a B.M. in composition and received an M.M. in composition from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. During his time at IU, he participated in the 48-hour composition symposium, writing for the Switch Ensemble. For his unison part-singing work, “Limitless”, he was commissioned by the Jacobs Virtual Academy - a program hosted by the Jacobs School that offers lessons to students in low-income communities at no cost to them. Currently, Elijah is pursuing a D.M.A. in composition at the University of Michigan, with a special interest in composition pedagogy. He works as a conductor with various choirs and teaches private lessons through his own studio.
Elijah’s artistic voice has been shaped through vocal study with Taylor Day, Kelly Walsh-Lackey, James McKeel, Dr. Luke Williams, and Dr. Emery Stephens, piano study with Mary Kipp and Andy Calabrese, compositional study with Dr. Justin Merritt, Dr. Timothy Mahr, Cary Ratcliff, Dr. Henry Dorn, Dr. PQ Phan, and Dr. David Dzubay, and music production study with Doug Zogby.
When not studying, composing, performing, or listening to music, Elijah can be found playing video games, spending time with family, going for walks outside with his dog Solo, and collecting vinyl.
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Elijah is a composer, conductor, arranger, producer, and vocalist from Rochester, NY, dedicated to creating genre-synthesizing works - pulling from classical, choral, musical theater, folk, jazz, R&B, and pop - to empower audiences to recognize shared humanity.
His music has been performed by the St. Olaf Chapel Choir, Spiritus Novus, the Switch Ensemble, Vox Medicinus, the IU Symphonic Orchestra, and the Jacobs Virtual Academy. In 2024, he completed his first oratorio, The Things They Don’t See, a community-engaged piece that focuses on grief and the unique pathways to healing.
Elijah graduated from St. Olaf College in 2024 with a B.M. in composition and received an M.M. in composition from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Recently, he was selected as a winner of Indiana University’s “New Voices” contest for his orchestral work, “Churning”. Elijah has also recently completed a collaborative project with pianist Jacqueline Rasmussen, the “Able” piano suite - a work for solo piano focusing on virtuosity through the lens of disability.
Currently, Elijah is pursuing a D.M.A. in composition at the University of Michigan. He works as a conductor with various choirs and teaches private lessons through his own studio.
When not studying, composing, performing, or listening to music, Elijah can be found playing video games, spending time with family, going for walks outside with his dog Solo, and collecting vinyl.