About the Project

a note from Ann-Marie

I’m proud to announce the recording and world premiere of the first work I’ve ever commissioned: When I Bleed: a cycle on chronic pain, with words by Maggie Bowyer and music by Felix Jarrar. This art song cycle was born from a desire to show up to classical music fully in my own skin and to shine light on endometriosis, a life-altering and often misunderstood chronic disease.

The project began in July 2024, when I spent the summer recovering from diagnostic surgery. After years of hearing 'your scans look normal' and 'be less stressed,' doctors finally found and excised visible endometriosis lesions and scar tissue. My last terrified thought before anesthesia was, 'What if they don’t find anything?' They did. Recovery brought both relief and the difficult realization that the pain I’d carried for years was real. Endometriosis is not just a bad period. It is daily, wide-ranging pain that has changed the shape of my life. 

Not yet ready to return to singing, I turned to books and found When I Bleed by poet Maggie Bowyer. I read it again and again that summer, often in tears. In those pages, I felt seen. I reached out, received permission to set the text, and began building this project from the ground up.

From the start, Felix and I had conversations to shape a piece that highlights the most expressive and beautiful parts of my voice while keeping the text clear and central. The cycle holds emotional contradictions. Anger, sorrow, joy, laughter, and resilience all coexist in this space. Brendon Shapiro has been there to provide invaluable insights as I worked through each draft musically. 

Now, a year and a half after those first emails, the score is complete. When I Bleed: a cycle on chronic pain will be recorded in Spring 2026, with a digital release and recital performance to follow in the Fall.