The American hymn tune Poor Wayfaring Stranger has no defined origin, but was sung before the Civil War.  This tune has maintained relevance for several centuries with its relevance to nearly every American demographic, depicting a lone person walking this earth in search of someone or something (including different religious deities), an attempt to find peace and ease.
Written in July of 2025, Wayfaring Children is a set of seven variations for bassoon and piano on this hymn tune, depicting the lives, loves, fears, and completely avoidable deaths of queer youth.  This piece intends to fill the audience with joy, sorrow, and compassion.  Two contemporary techniques are used — timbre trills (rapidly alternating between multiple fingerings for the same note, resulting in a bubbling or gurgling quality) and multiphonics (using fingerings that produce multiple notes at the same time, often sounding like screaming).
Wayfaring Children is designed to make performers and audiences uncomfortable, with the hope of inspiring everyone to hold their loved ones a little tighter.  LGBTQ+ youth who are loved and actively supported by their families are 40% less likely to try to kill themselves.
If you need compassionate help, The Trevor Project can be reached at any time.  Call them at 1-866-488-7386, text them at 678678, or go to: thetrevorproject.org/get-help/

My grandfather, Vincent James LaMonica (1921 – 1985), who I was named after, was an opera singer and organist, and wrote a large collection of songs. I never met him, as he passed away almost a decade I was born, but there’s always been some form of connection. Around 2017, after the passing of my uncle, my dad and I got a hold of the collection of songs, and I started to play through them on my grandfather’s upright piano in my spare time. I always knew I would find a way to present his music, but never knew how. When I pieced together my second Master’s recital for the spring of 2019, I realized that I would have a chance to fit a recital concept around presenting these songs, but I knew I couldn’t simply play another set of songs alongside the already-programmed works by Schubert and Still; I had to find a different way to present them.
This Sonata Vocalise is comprised of three classical form movements: a Sonata, a Verse-Chorus, and a Rondo. The first movement uses melodic content from two songs: Want You to Know and It Girl. These are among “our” favorites (Want You To Know being my absolute favorite). There were more copies (hand-written!) of these two than any other in the collection, especially of It Girl (definitely his favorite). The two songs fit together so well that I felt obligated to present them together! The second movement is primarily based on a song called Crying, but also draws from two other songs, Your Believing Heart and Hurt, I’m So Hurt. Finally, the third movement Rondo is based on three songs. The primary A theme comes from I Fell In Love Again With You, the B theme comes from Connecticut Cutie, and the C theme and accompaniment are directly from Until Tomorrow, You’re Mine. The piano part from the C theme may sound familiar – it is used as the opening material in the first movement. To compliment that, the very end of the third movement should sound familiar, quoting Want You to Know.
This piece was dedicated to my father, Ronald James LaMonica, who did not know this was happening until the day of the performance (April 6th, 2019). At the time, I wrote in my recital program: “I love you Dad, and I’m so glad you’re healthier than ever. This premiere performance is dedicated to my Great Aunt Jo (my father’s aunt), who passed away in February of this year, sharp as a tack at 97.” I am so grateful that he heard this performance, as he died on December 24th of that year.

The one-movement Sonatina for bassoon and piano is based on a 12-tone row that emphasizes half-step connections. With half steps being a crucial component of traditional tonal harmony, this approach blends the creativity of serial composition with traditional aesthetics. The falling pitches form patterns of major thirds followed by minor seconds, creating a fluid motion between false tonics. Changes in rhythm combined with inversions create a constant sense of rising and falling throughout the work, which are further emphasized through dynamics and tempi. The Sonatina moves through different grooves, dances, and gentle moments to explore this pattern of ascent and descent. The piece ends in the result of this constant descent, using the lowest pitches of the piano and bassoon, involving an extension to the instrument. The ending pitches form a tritone, but are designed to feel as sonorous as a slow cadence. The work involves incredible technique inspired by the talent and musicianship of one of my dearest friends, Emily Olmstead.