Violets, Violence, Dreams
Premise
Violets, Violence, Dreams is a visual album telling the story of my experiences with dreams, love, and personal growth over the past four years of my life, exploring how those initial perceptions evolved as I grew as both a person and an artist.
In presentation, the album was shown as a multimedia concert, complete with a projection set, visual projections, live instrumentalists, as well as dancers.
Timeline
September 2025 - April 2026
Skills
Audio: Songwriting, Music Production, Composition, Scoring, Mixing & Mastering, Audio Tech Setup, Vocal Performance
Visual: Script Writing, Video Treatment, Videography, Directing, Video Editing, Video Production
Marketing/Branding: Creative Direction, Artist Branding, Graphic Design, Digital Marketing, Physical Marketing
Administrative: Project Management, Organization, Scheduling, Coordination, Budgeting and Tracking
Themes
This album revolves around the ideas of dreams, love, and growing up. Through this project, I wanted to translate the essence of my aspirations and daydreams, capturing how they evolve through change, growth, heartbreak, and the gradual loss of naivety. The album reflects the transition from youthful idealism into a more complex understanding of self, relationships, and the world around me.
Because the content of the album is rooted in the concept of dreams, the sonic landscape of the tracks and each accompanying visual counterpart embody a dreamy, ethereal atmosphere. Soft textures, immersive sound design, and surreal imagery work together to create a world that feels both intimate and otherworldly. Each piece serves as a chapter of that journey, documenting moments of hope, desire, confusion, and self-discovery.
Tracklist
Genre(s) : Pop, Baroque Pop, Electro-Pop, Rnb
Written, Produced, Performed, Mixed & Mastered by Katherine M. Wang
Violets, Violence, Dreams Album Booklet
Photography by Katie Huang, Suanna Zhong
Designed by Katherine M. Wang
Visuals
I wanted the visuals for each track to align closely with the song’s content while still fitting under one cohesive visual umbrella. To achieve this, I divided the visuals into two categories: motion graphics and visualizers.
The motion graphics leaned more heavily into color and movement, as I took the live projection element into consideration. I wanted vibrant colors to be scattered throughout the concert experience, so I assigned three visuals to serve that purpose.
The visualizers were created from a collection of filmed footage, including directed scenes, childhood camcorder videos, and vlog/documentation clips. I then edited these materials into audiovisual compositions, synchronizing them with key moments and gestures in the tracks. Many of these visuals also reflected the stories told in the lyrics, adding an element of narrative-driven editing.
Concert Performance
To show this album in concert, I wanted the event to be complete with both playback, live instrumentalists, visuals, and dance.
The concert was held at WQED Radio Station, a historic Pittsburgh institution known as the nation’s first community-sponsored television station and notably the filming location of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. I chose to use its Studio A as the performance venue, as it provided a black-box studio space, ample area and ceiling height, as well as the necessary technical capabilities to build an immersive concert experience.
Concert Set Design & Tech Set-up
To create the performance environment, I developed a feasible, high-quality scenic and technical production setup designed to immerse the audience in the ambient world of the music and visuals. The set functioned as both a performance stage and a multi-surface projection environment. After several design iterations, the final build incorporated layered fabric screens, frames, and lighting elements.
Tech List: Stereo Speaker System, Shure BLX 88, Shure SM58 Dynamic Microphone, MOTU 828 Audio Interface, DMX LED Lights, Epson Powerlight Projector.
The projection surfaces were constructed using 10ft x 10ft frames with multiple layers of white chiffon and diffusion fabric to enhance light transmission, depth, and image texture. Onstage, I positioned the bass amplifier and wireless microphone receiver for dynamic vocal inputs.
Backstage, the audio system included stereo speakers, a MOTU 828 audio interface, and three DMX lighting fixtures for synchronized lighting cues. A front-of-house projector was focused and mapped to the dimensions of the set, with intentional floor spill to extend motion graphics beyond the screens and create a more immersive visual field.
During the show, I managed a small production team consisting of a stage manager and visual assistant. The stage manager handled backstage flow, performer cueing, and transitions, while the visual assistant executed projection and media cues live through QLab.
Photography by Erik Jiang
Live Instrumentalists
As a strong advocate for live performance, I wanted to incorporate elements that would enhance the visual impact of the concert while creating a collaborative experience for participating musicians.
Because many of the tracks feature classical instrumentation, I arranged live parts for violin, cello, and harp across four songs: Violets, Violence, Dreams, Secret Enemy, PROWL, and Westwood. The show opened and closed with an instrumental medley of Westwood and Violets, Violence, Dreams (the first and final tracks of the album) to create a full-circle narrative arc that reflected the project’s themes of growth, nostalgia, and continuous transformation.
In addition to the acoustic ensemble, I incorporated a live bassist throughout the performance. While the bass parts largely followed the original recorded arrangements, selected sections were intentionally left open for live improvisation, allowing for spontaneity, musical dialogue, and variation unique to each performance.
Photography by Erik Jiang, Annie Zheng
Dance and Choreography
Because much of the show stayed in a more static atmosphere, I used dance performances to introduce movement, contrast, and dynamic energy throughout the set. Two featured dance pieces were staged for PROWL and Westwood. Each routine blended styles that reflected the lyrical and genre identities of the tracks: combining contemporary, modern, and hip-hop choreography.
Photography by Erik Jiang, Annie Zheng
Gallery
Photography by Erik Jiang, Annie Zheng
Credits
Produced by Katherine M. Wang
Advised and Mentored by Freida Abtan
Music & Video
Foreword
Music Written, Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Katherine M. Wang
Video Written and Directed by Katherine M. Wang
Video Shot by Viviana Staicu, Suanna Zhong, and Katherine M. Wang
Video Edited by Katherine M. Wang
Violets, Violence, Dreams
Music Written, Performed, Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Katherine M. Wang
Video Edited by Katherine M. Wang
Growing Pains
Music Written, Performed, Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Katherine M. Wang
Video Edited by Katherine M. Wang
Heroine
Music Written, Performed, Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Katherine M. Wang
Drums performed by Blaine Black and Katherine M. Wang
Video Shot by Emma Siyeong Im
Video Edited by Katherine M. Wang
Styled by Amy Cha
Secret Enemy
Music Written, Performed, Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Katherine M. Wang
Bass performed by William Berick
Video Edited by Katherine M. Wang
Interlude: You Would Have Loved It My Way
Music Written, Performed, Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Katherine M. Wang
Video Edited by Katherine M. Wang
PROWL
Music Written, Performed, Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Katherine M. Wang
Video Written and Directed by Katherine M. Wang
Video Shot by Katie Huang and Arieza Maglalang
Video Edited by Katherine M. Wang
Styled by Arieza Maglalang
All The Time
Music Written, Performed, Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Katherine M. Wang
Guitar Performance by Minjae Lee
Video Shot by Katherine M. Wang and Jett Cheong
Video Edited by Katherine M. Wang
With You
Written, Performed, Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Katherine M. Wang
Video Written and Directed by Katherine M. Wang
Video Shot by Viviana Staicu, Suanna Zhong, and Katherine M. Wang
Video Edited by Katherine M. Wang
Westwood
Written, Performed, Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Katherine M. Wang
Video Shot by Katherine M. Wang
Video Edited by Katherine M. Wang
Photography
Branding Photography
Katie Huang and Suanna Zhong
Styling by Katie Huang and Arieza Maglalang
Event Photography
Erik Jiang and Annie Zheng
Live
Instrumentalists
Instrumental Arrangements by Katherine M. Wang
Harp performed by Clementine Constantino
Violin performed by Renata Volchinskaya
Cello performed by Luke Wang
Bass performed by William Berick
Dance
Choreography by Smriti Chopra, Sueah Kim
Performed by Smriti Chopra, Sueah Kim, and Iris Yin
Stage Management
Hannah Chen and Vivian Nam
© 2026 by Katherine M.W