Natalie Draper ’07 composes debut portrait album
Draper majored in music at Carleton.
Natalie Draper ’07, alongside organist Anne Laver, have published a debut portrait album “that transforms the organ from a solo instrument into a creative partner.” The recording presents eight contemporary works that place the organ in conversation with violin, trombone, solo voices, choir, and three distinctive pipe organs.
Borrowing the academic phrase et al. (“and others”), the album celebrates the collaborative spirit that shaped every stage of its creation — from composer and performer to students, guest artists, institutional partners, and the instruments themselves. Throughout the album, Draper treats the organ not as a monument but as a collaborator. In the title work, violin and organ intertwine to create what she describes as a “super-instrument.”