I’m a musician and storyteller based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania striving to use my work in music and theatre to connect and impact people.
I write and arrange music, music direct ensembles and theatre productions, perform, produce, collaborate, and teach all with the intention of bringing life to authentic, powerful stories. I believe storytelling is an essential part of our humanity, helping us communicate, reflect, process, understand, heal, grow, and give. As a high schooler, I fell in love with music and theatre because of how freely they allowed me to express, be, and discover myself, and because of the unique power the mediums have to bring people together and remind us of who we are and all that we share. Now as a professional, I find deep purpose in working to use words and music to reach people, whether I’m telling my own stories or collaborating with others to build and share together. My hope is that I may say some things that people need to hear, and my pursuit is to put a little more light, a little more love, into the world each day.
Hello, world! I’m Tucker.
I’m a 2022 graduate of the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music, where I majored in Music Composition in the studio of the vibrant and fantastic Professor Nancy Galbraith. I also minored in Drama and Music Education, and the breadth of my studies, artistic work, and activities helped hone a multi-faceted skillset that allows me to contribute to projects of a wide variety of styles in a myriad of different roles. I was pushed to prove this true in my final year at Carnegie Mellon, where I completed three significant projects that I believe in many ways encapsulate my abilities and identity as a creative.
In Fall 2021, I served as the composer and music director for the world premiere of Power/Trip, a play adapted, written, and directed by the brilliant Anne DeMelo, in the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Directly following, I finished my debut orchestral work, Stepping with the Stars, a heartfelt, cinematic piece inspired by my many walks beneath the night sky, which was premiered by the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic in April 2022. Finally, in March 2022, I triumphantly brought to life Thoughts Drawn from Falling Water, a unique theatrical song-cycle telling my own story of growth, understanding, and finding peace after a major accident changed the course of my life.
Writing, building, and premiering these works was immensely impactful and inspiring for me, helping confirm the artistic courses I wanted to take moving forward. I hope to write more for the theatre as a songwriter, orchestrator, vocal arranger - even librettist - and music direct as often as possible. I also am looking forward to writing more instrumental music, especially in the context of scoring visual media.
While studying music and drama and focusing my efforts on those styles and pieces, I also developed my skillset in regards to my first musical love - contemporary a cappella. As a freshman in high school, I began teaching myself vocal percussion so I could join my sister in our school’s a cappella group. Ever since, I’ve been enamored by the style, its beautiful possibilities, and especially its organic, grounded sound that has helped form some of the deepest relationships and most extraordinary musical experiences of my life.
I attended A Cappella Academy as a teenager, where I was blessed to sing with young musicians from all over the world while being mentored by some of the greatest vocal musicians in the world, including Erin Bentlage, Tracy Robertson, Rob Dietz, Ben Bram, and Avi Kaplan. I founded my own high school group, Free Verse, as a senior, and then joined The Originals upon my entrance to Carnegie Mellon. I served The O’s as Business Manager, Assistant Music Director, and Artistic Director, and worked as a lead arranger for four years, co-arranging our 2019 ICCA Finals Set (4th Place), and our 2021 ICCA Set, which was recognized for Outstanding Arrangement. Some of those arrangements are featured on the group’s upcoming EP, portrait. Nowadays, I’m helping mentor Free Verse, currently directed by my brother, and working as a freelance arranger and clinician. In April 2023, myself and my arranging partner, William Torres Jr., were instructors at the Boston Sings A Cappella Festival, where we workshopped groups and taught a class on collaborative arranging. I’m looking forward to more opportunities to contribute to the vibrant a cappella community and helping groups bring their visions to life!
I believe I have much to give to the world in these creative spaces, and I’m so excited to learn, grow, and connect as much as possible while I create and collaborate. There’s so much exciting life to come, and many more projects on the horizon - stay tuned!
Thanks for checking out my site! I hope we can connect soon.
Many blessings.