Melanie Hammet has a long history of composing sets of songs that explore, describe, and illuminate a story, theme, or experience. Beginning in 1983 with "Coming Of Age," a musical about the trials of adolescence ("Puberty Blues;" "That's Not The Way It's Supposed To Be") and most recently with LIFE SENTENCE, a set of music inspired by the story of an innocent man who spent 18 years in prison, Hammet has set her artistic focus on musical examinations of the woes and the wonder the world offers us.

With each documentary, whether it be the soundtrack for a theatre piece or a free-standing song cycle, Hammet explores facets of each subject from the micro--the moment after a judge sentenced Clarence Harrison to life in prison---to the macro----the impact of public space on the health of a community.

Composing songs that interlock across a common landscape, Hammet creates a vertical and horizontal musical opportunity, enabling a listener to go deep and long.

BULLETPROOF

STACEY ABRAMS

 

LIFE SENTENCE