JAE.CI
Lyric soprano and songwriter Jae Carelli shares their story through Homeward Bound: A Korean Adoptee Exploring the Longing for Belonging, examining the seven core issues of adoption. Featuring new classical works by American composers—including Samuel Barber, Tom Cipullo, Carlisle Floyd, Bo Königsmark, and Matthew Jihoon Pelligrino—Jae contextualizes these pieces within their personal adoption journey.
Interwoven with selections from their debut EP American Doll, the performance explores themes of loss, loyalty, control, identity, abandonment, trust, and shame through both music and storytelling. Jae challenges the narratives that silence international and transracial adoptees and critiques for-profit systems that exploit children, offering a performance that is at once poignant, humorous, and deeply human. The program moves fluidly between classical and contemporary commercial vocal techniques, reflecting the duality of Jae’s Korean and Italian-American heritage.
The New York premiere featured Nick Guerrero on piano and keys, Tonie Nguyen on guitar, Hari Nandu on bass, Jen Ho on violin, and Zac Swanner on drums. The Boston premiere featured Julian Drummond on piano and Alia Gribbon on violin.
Homeward Bound premiered to sold-out audiences on May 1, 2025, at Nancy Manocherian’s The Cell Theatre in NYC, and on June 7, 2025, at Somerville Music Spaces in Boston.
Selections by American Composers
The Trees on the Mountains from Susannah by Carlisle Floyd (abandonment/rejection)
Can’t Go Home by Matthew Pellegrino (loss and grief)
Suspicion by Bo Konigsmark (trust and intimacy)
Alone in the Universe by Bo Konigsmark (shame and guilt)
How to get Heat without Fire by Tom Cipullo (control and mastery)
Ain’t it a Pretty Night from Susannah by Carlisle Floyd (identity and home)
Knoxville: Summer of 1915 by Samuel Barber (loyalty and family)
Transit (abandonment and rejection)
Sugar (loss and grief)
Fireflies Bite Too (trust and intimacy)
Born A New (shame and guilt)
American Doll (control and mastery)
Electric Connection (identity and belonging)
Blood in the Water (loyalty and family)