Marella Martin Koch is an Inwood-based librettist, director, and playwright that has been praised by the press for her “cleverness in constructing humor for opera” (from DC Theatre Scene) for her 20-minute opera Pepito; written with composer Nicolas Lell Benavides, for Washington National Opera at its Kennedy Center premiere in 2019. Marella also wrote the lyrics for Marianne Dashwood, Songs of Love & Misery and Elinor Dashwood, two song cycles written with the composer Aferdian and commissioned by mezzo-soprano Meagan Martin. Furthermore, she has full-length operatic works in development, which include an adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense & Sensibility with Aferdian, the West Edge Opera Aperture commission Dolores with Nicolas Lell Benavides, and 28th Ave with Michael Lanci. Last, but not least, Marella also is the Founder and Director of The Rally Cat, an energized multidisciplinary performing arts company that inspires and empowers artists and communities through opera, musical theatre, and theatre.