Pacific Grove native Katie Hazdovac is channeling her musical theater training into a singer-songwriter career.

If Elsa, the magical ice-wielding princess of Annandale, were to write and produce her own indie album, she’d probably sound something like Katie Hazdovac. Born and raised in Pacific Grove, Hazdovac is evolving into her singer-songwriter career with the release of two singles this year – “The Harbor” and “Honey.”

Trained in musical theater, Hazdovac is no stranger to music or songwriting; she has been writing music since she was 5 years old, but only now has decided to release singles and an album in an attempt to explore the deeper meaning of the human experience.

“We’re all looking for someone to hold us,” says Hazdovac, reflecting on the chorus and part of the message written in “The Harbor.” “The song needs to be a song because I don’t know how to say it in words.”

Hazdovac’s songwriting echoes with existentialist themes. “The Harbor” is an allegory of the human spirit holding all of the emotions that we experience in a lifetime. Rather than dwelling on despair, the song is hopeful for unity and togetherness. “The song is in a way about despair, but the mere act of writing the song itself is hopeful,” Hazdovac says, adding that she has chosen the medium of music because it is how she copes with life.

Her second release, “Honey,” is a love song that she describes as autofiction.

Despite all her years of experience writing, putting her work out there for the first time was a different experience. What made it possible was finding her team – people who speak the same musical language. Hazdovac met producers Bela Kawalec and Brent Smith during her musical theater schooling at New York University, and the three teamed up to release the singles and work toward a full album concept. “It’s taken me this long to find the kind of people I’ve wanted to work with,” Hazdovac says. Kawalec and Smith reside in New York and Denver respectively, so Hazdovac has been traveling between the two cities and Monterey to continue her work on the singles and album.

“It’s always been a part of who I am to tell stories through music,” Hazdovac says of writing, and now sharing, her music. “It gave me the tools to express myself through song.”

“The Harbor” and “Honey” are out now on Spotify and Apple Music. Hazdovac plans to release a third single in the coming weeks, with a full album to be released in 2024.