JAE.CI
In Homeward Bound, Korean adoptee, lyric soprano, and songwriter Jae Carelli tears into the myth that adoption is simply a happy ending.
Part confession. Part concert. Part reckoning.
Through fierce storytelling, new classical works, and songs from their debut EP American Doll, Jae confronts the seven core issues of adoption: loss, loyalty, control, identity, abandonment, trust, and shame.
The result is a genre-bending performance that moves between the precision of classical voice and the rawness of contemporary songwriting—reflecting the collision of Jae’s Korean and Italian-American identities, and a life shaped by being told where they belonged before they ever had a say.
Featuring works by American composers including Samuel Barber, Tom Cipullo, Carlisle Floyd, Bo Königsmark, and Matthew Jihoon Pellegrino, the classical repertoire becomes something more than a concert: a lens through which Jae examines their own story.
Interwoven with original songs from American Doll, Jae challenges the narratives that have long silenced adoptees—and confronts the systems that can turn children into commodities.
And underneath it all is one deceptively simple question:
Who gets to decide where you belong?
BOOKING
For booking inquiries, please use the contact form on this website.
Homeward Bound: Control and Mastery
The Pocketbook (Tom Cipullo) and American Doll (JAE.CI)
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)