Composer Chats

Noah Hudson-Camack (b. 2001) is a composer and arranger native to Cary, North Carolina. Believing firmly in diversity as strength within art, he seeks to blend elements from disparate eras of Western art music, jazz, and popular music in his work. The sewing together of different genre aesthetics is as much an objective in his music as developing strong motivic content, rich harmony, and complex rhythm. He explores these connections in his solo, chamber, jazz, and wind symphony works. Noah premiered Fanfare and Flight at the 2023 College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Conference with the Vanderbilt Wind Symphony. He also was a finalist for the Austin Symphonic Band’s Young Composer Competition and a winner of Vanderbilt University’s Wind Symphony Call For Scores with his piece Quiet Storm.Sharing his own excitement and joy for what music making and appreciation can bring he considers not just a goal, but a responsibility. Deeply valuing education, Noah is a two time teaching fellow for the North Carolina Governor’s School’s instrumental music program and aims to be a collegiate educator in the future. Noah graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2024 with a Bachelor of Musical Arts in Composition with a minor in Computer Science, and thanks his teachers Michael Slayton, Stan Link, Michael Alec Rose, and Molly Herron for their guidance. He is pursuing his Master of Music at The University of Texas Austin studying composition.https://www.hudsoncamackmusic.com/

Composer Mara Gibson is originally from Charlottesville, VA, graduated from Bennington College, and completed her Ph.D. at SUNY Buffalo. She has received grants and honors from the American Composer’s Forum, the Banff Center, Louisiana Division of the Arts, ArtsKC, Meet the Composer, the Kansas Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, the International Bass Society, ASCAP, the John Hendrick Memorial Commission, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, the MacDowell Colony and Yale University. Internationally renowned ensembles and soloists perform her music throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Asia, and Europe. Dr. Gibson has had performances of her works at prestigious festivals and universities around the country and the world, most notably Mostly Modern Festival (New York), the Bowling Green New Music Festival (Ohio), Amici Della Musica (Udine, Italy), University of Melbourne (Australia), Thailand International Composition Festival (performances in multiple consecutive years), Reaktorhallen (Stockholm, Sweden), Daegu International Computer Music Festival (Korea) and the Beijing Modern Music Festival.Dr. Gibson has taught at the UMKC Conservatory as Associate Professor where she was the founder of the UMKC Composition Workshop and co-director/founder of ArtSounds. Starting fall 2017, she joined the faculty of Louisiana State University where she is currently Associate Professor of Composition and Area Head with tenure. Mara released her first compilation album ArtIfacts May 2015 with her second, Skyborn released in November 2017 and in 2020, she was selected through PARMA Recordings for their recording project with the Athens Philharmonic Orchestra with Secret Sky (Prisma V). In 2024, she released her third portrait album, Unseen World, GRAMMY eligible. Her compositions span numerous media, from chamber and solo works to electroacoustic music and a collection of works that combine video, electronic music and live performance. In her most recent work she incorporates extra-musical materials into vocal and instrumental performance, and integrates increasingly challenging subject matter with effective (and often unusual) instrumental and vocal delivery styles; these techniques extend performance practice and portray strong emotional content that defines the heart of her overall concept — the arc of the musical and theatrical development. Recently, she completed her bassoon concerto, Escher Keys (2021) which garnered recognition by the American Prize in two categories, funded through a Louisiana Board of Regents (ATLAS grant). During her sabbatical (fall 2023) she began working on her first opera at the prestigious Moulin a Nef in Auvillar, France. Her opera, The Devil’s Dream (libretto by Ann McCutchan based on the novel by Lee Smith) will premiere spring 2026.https://maragibson.com/

Charles Rochester Young was appointed as the Director of the School of Music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2022. At UNC Greensboro he works collaboratively with faculty, staff, students, and leadership to illuminate the lives of listeners and to better support students’ professional aspirations. Prior to his appointment at UNC Greensboro, Young served as the Associate Dean and Chief Academic Officer at Baldwin Wallace University’s Conservatory of Music in Ohio.A fifth-generation educator, Young has received awards from the Carnegie Foundation and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (Wisconsin Professor of the Year), the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents (Regents Teaching Excellence Award—their highest honor), the University Continuing Education Association (National First Prize for Innovative Programming), Wisconsin School Music Association (Creative Sparks Award), and the College Music Society (Robby D. Gunstream Education in Music Award).As an artist, Dr. Young has received composition and performance awards from ASCAP, Meet the Composer, the National Endowment of the Arts, the Fischoff National Chamber Music competition, the National Association of Composers USA, the National Band Association, the National Flute Association, and the British and International Bassists Federation. His original works are widely published, recorded, and performed.Currently, Dr. Young serves as the Chair of the Nominations Committee for the National Association of Schools of Music. Young has previously served the College Music Society as a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Directors, as treasurer, and as board liaison for the Presidential Task Force on Leading Change. Previously, he served in leadership capacities with the North American Saxophone Alliance, the Wisconsin Alliance for Composers, and the Wisconsin Music Educators Association.Prior to Baldwin Wallace University, Young taught at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Central Connecticut State University, and Interlochen Arts Camp. He earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMA) and Master’s in Music (MM) degrees from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Music Education (BME) degree from Baylor University.

Jessie Cox is Assistant Professor of Music at Harvard University and received his doctorate from Columbia University. Active as a composer, drummer, and scholar, his work thematizes questions at the intersection of black studies, music/sound studies, and critical theory. From Switzerland, with roots in Trinidad and Tobago, Cox thinks through questions of race, migration, national belonging, and our relation to the planet and the cosmos. His first monograph Sounds of Black Switzerland: Blackness, Music, and Unthought Voices (Duke UP, 2025) addresses how thinking with blackness and experimental musical practices might afford the opening of new discourses, such as thematizing Black Swiss Life. Jessie Cox makes music about the universe and our future in it. Through avant-garde classical, experimental jazz, and sound art, he has devised his own strand of musical science fiction, one that asks where we go next. Cox’s music goes forward. When he describes it, he compares it to time travel and space exploration, likening the role of a composer to that of a rocket ship traversing undiscovered galaxies. He is influenced by a vast array of artists who have used their music to imagine futures, and takes Afrofuturism as a core inspiration, asking questions about existence, and the ways we make spaces habitable. Known for its disquieting tone and unexpected structural changes, his music steps into the unknown, and has been referred to by the New Yorker (Alex Ross) as an example of “dynamic pointillism,” a nebulous and ever-expanding sound world that includes “breathy instrumental noises, mournfully wailing glissandi, and climactic stampedes of frantic figuration.” A dedicated collaborator, Cox has worked as a composer and drummer with ensembles and institutions such as the Sun Ra Arkestra, LA Phil, Klangforum Wien, Ensemble Modern, and the International Contemporary Ensemble; at Festivals such as the Lucerne Festival, MaerzMusik, and Opera Omaha. For his work as a composer, he has been recognized with a Fromm Foundation commission, the ASCAP Fred Ho Award, and his commissions have been funded by the Ernst von Siemens Foundation, Pro Helvetia, New Music USA, and others. Cox’ scholarly writing asks new questions about our world through music. Recently, he has published in and co-translated the book Composing While Black, published as a bilingual edition in German and English by Wolke Verlag in 2023. Further texts appear in liquid blackness, Critical Studies in Improvisation, Positionen Texte zur Aktuellen Musik, Sound American, the American Music Review, and others.https://www.jessiecoxmusic.com/

Dr. Roger Zare is an assistant professor of composition and theory in the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University. He is praised for his “enviable grasp of orchestration” (New York Times), and often composes music inspired by science, nature, mathematics, and mythology. Dr. Zare previously taught at Illinois State University.An award-winning composer, Dr. Zare has had his music performed on six continents and has won multiple accolades, including the ASCAP Foundation Rudolf Nissim Prize, three BMI Student Composer Awards, a Copland House Residency Award, and a Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His works, such as “The Other Rainbow” and “Green Flash,” have been performed at prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall. His piece "Aerodynamics" was premiered by the Minnesota Orchestra.He has partnered with CERN for performances of his particle physics inspired music at the Montreux Jazz Festival and Sofia Science Festival, and in 2023 he was selected as the FRA Guest Composer at Fermilab, the United States’ national particle physics laboratory. In 2021, he collaborated with clarinetist Andy Hudson to write "Elements of Contemporary Clarinet Technique" and "SPACE BASS," etude books on modern clarinet techniques.Dr. Zare has served as composer in residence at music festivals including the Salt Bay Chamberfest and Chesapeake Music Festival, and his compositions are published by Theodore Presser Inc., FJH Music Company, Murphy Music Press, and Manhattan Beach Music. He is a founding member of the Blue Dot Collective.Zare holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan, a Master of Music from Peabody Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California.

Cameron Moody is an American composer, conductor, and trumpeter based in Los Angeles, CA. His distinctive utilization of the symphony orchestra has given way to a varied resume, with project genres in film and television ranging from action and documentaries to romance and comedies.Cameron composed the score for the Hulu original limited series Washington Black. The show, which was created by Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, led by showrunner Kimberly Ann Harrison, and stars Ernest Kingsley Jr. and Sterling K. Brown, premiered on Hulu on July 23rd. At 22 years old, he has made history as the youngest person to ever score a 20th Century Television series.He wrote the score to the eight-part documentary series Kennedy, which chronicles the life and legacy of the 35th President John F. Kennedy. It aired on the History Channel in November of 2023, opening to rave reviews and becoming one of the History Channel’s flagship programs for 2023. In the summer of 2024, he completed Patrick Green’s documentary feature film Sincerely, Los Angeles, a love letter to the late Oscar-winning basketball legend Kobe Bryant.Cameron was also a frequent collaborator of Emmy-nominated and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Michael Abels, composing additional music on scores such as Disney’s Star Wars: The Acolyte—for which he also served as a conductor—Kobi Libii’s The American Society of Magical Negroes, David Yarovesky’s Nightbooks, the Emmy-nominated documentary series Allen v. Farrow, and Jordan Peele’s Nope.As an arranger, he contributed orchestrations and arrangements to the Disney+ anthology series Zootopia+ (score by Curtis Green and Mick Giacchino) a collection of short vignettes based on the 2016 hit film.Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Cameron studied at New York University, majoring in Music Composition and Screen Scoring. In 2019, he was awarded a Marvin Hamlisch International Music Award for Best Composition by an Emerging Composer. In 2021, at age 18, he made history by becoming the youngest winner of ASCAP’s Henry Mancini Music Fellowship Award. In 2024, he also became the youngest composer (21) to ever be selected as a fellow in the highly coveted NBC/Universal Composers Initiative.A devoted champion of symphonic music, Cameron has added his voice to the ongoing struggle to keep postproduction work—specifically orchestral recording sessions—in Los Angeles. He hopes to be a guiding light in the current generation of film composers to return scoring back to the sound stages of Hollywood.https://www.cameronmoodymusic.com/

Born June 6, 1997 (Portales, New Mexico) is an award-winning composer who has composed music for an array of musical settings from wind ensembles to brass ensembles, marching bands, TV Series, and everything in between. His compositions have acquired attention from notable composers such as John Mackey. He accredits his mentors: Benjamin Fairfield, John Mackey, and Mark Dal Porto as being pivotal to his progressive success as a composer, conductor, and performer.Salvador has also been the guest conductor for various public school bands such as the Portales Junior High Band, the Portales High School Band, and the 30th Biennial Eastern New Mexico University Alumni Band. When leisure outweighs his typical obligations of composition, Salvador invests his time chronically online watching CaseOh or playing Mortal Kombat.Salvador is also a brother of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity (Theta-Zeta Chapter).https://www.musicjacobo.com/

Minoo Dixon (b. 1999) is a Korean-American composer who has been recognized by ASCAP and the National Band Association (NBA) and has been on the rise composing meaningful and exciting music meant for a variety of audiences in the Concert Hall. He also has been an enthusiastic supporter for bringing diversity into the Concert Hall. Minoo grew up in Suwanee, Georgia, where he was a passionate member of the music community, which eventually led him to develop his aspirations for becoming a composer.Throughout his years of composing, he has been awarded the Donald Martino Award for Excellence in Composition, NBA/Alfred Young Band Composition Contest, two NEC Honors Ensemble Composition Competitions, and a Finalist of the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composers Awards Competition. Minoo’s pieces also have been performed at locations such as Carnegie Hall, Busan Cultural Center, Jordan Hall, and the Midwest Clinic.Minoo earned his Bachelor of Music in Composition from New England Conservatory, where he studied under the tutelage of Michael Gandolfi.  He also earned his Master in Music in composition at University of Texas at Austin’s Butler School of Music where he was under the tutelage of Omar Thomas.https://www.minoodixon.com/

Giovanni Santos serves as Director of Bands and Associate Professor of Music at La Sierra University, where he directs the University Wind Ensemble, Chamber Winds, Big Band, and teaches courses in graduate and undergraduate instrumental music education, popular music, conducting and composition.Dr. Santos has proudly implemented a yearly wind band conducting workshop at La Sierra University and has worked alongside H. Robert Reynolds, Thomas Lee, Larry Livingston, Travis Cross and Allan McMurray, helping some of the brightest young music educators in the United States. Santos also organizes yearly workshops. clinics and conversations with conductors and composers, such as Frank Ticheli, Mallory Thompson, and most recently, Maestro Leonard Slatkin. A strong advocate for music education, Santos frequently presents at conferences, school in-service days, classrooms, and as clinician for young ensembles across the United States, Mexico, and Europe. Most recently, Dr. Santos presented at the Midwest Clinic’s High School Leadership Institute, California All-State Music Education Conference (CASMEC), for the California Music Educators Association’s ‘Casting a Wider in Net’ at Azusa Pacific University, for the North American Division National Teachers Convention, the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference in Chicago, CBDNA National Convention in Arizona, for the 2019 SCSBOA Professional Development Conference, and for the World Association of Symphonic Band and Ensemble International Conference (WASBE) in Prague. Santos also maintains a busy guest conducting/clinician schedule, with recent residencies at the Manhattan School of Music, University of the Pacific, Cal State University (Fullerton), University of Illinois (Chicago), the University of Connecticut and for the Association of Concert Bands conference in Orlando.As a composer, Santos has premiered his works across the United States, Asia and Europe, including a premiere with the United States Naval Academy Band Brass Ensemble at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. under his baton. His works have received premieres and performances by ensembles at the University of Michigan, University of Illinois, Michigan State University, University of North Texas, Florida State University, University of Florida, Yale, Ball State University, Oklahoma State University, UCLA, Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble, Illinois State University, Tanglewood Young Artist Wind Ensemble, Interlochen World Youth Wind Symphony and many more. His works for wind ensemble, orchestra, chamber music, and solo wind instruments are published exclusively by Murphy Music Press, LLC. His compositions and passion for music education have received many recognitions, including a Meritorious Achievement Award by the Minority Band Directors National Association for “exceptional contributions to the wind band repertory.”Dr. Santos earned graduate degrees from the University of Southern California (MM) and Florida State University (PhD).https://giosantosmusic.com/

Composer, author, and filmmaker Jack Curtis Dubowsky works in concert music, improvisation, and live performance. His output includes three books, one documentary feature, and numerous musical compositions in film scoring, classical music, popular music, choral music, and other musical genres.https://www.jackcurtisdubowsky.com/index.html

EMMY® Award-winning composer Alex Wurman is known for his versatility and broad musical range. He has collaborated with notable directors across various genres, including Steven Conrad (Ultra City Smiths, Patriot), John August (The Nines), Jill Sprecher (Thirteen Conversations About One Thing), Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights), and Ron Shelton (Play It To The Bone) and more.Wurman composed the majestic, ethereal score for the Oscar®-winning film March of the Penguins, as well as the vastly different, '70s-inspired comedy Anchorman. His signature scores include eerie piano melodies for Confessions of A Dangerous Mind, contemporary minimalist music for his Emmy award-winning score for Temple Grandin, and French impressionist interpretations for Thirteen Conversations About One Thing.Born into a musical family, Wurman's father, Hans Wurman, was a classically trained composer and a pioneer in electronic music. His mother was a beloved violin teacher, and his older siblings are all musicians in their own right. Alex credits his musical understanding and approach to both nature and nurture. His passion led him to the Academy of Performing Arts High School in Chicago, followed by studies at the University of Miami and back to Chicago at the American Conservatory of Music. Moving to Los Angeles at the age of 22, he began his career by scoring student films at the American Film Institute, which eventually led to over 100 film credits in the highly competitive Hollywood movie business.Recently, after completing two albums, The Classical Synthesizer (a tribute to his fathers pioneering of the Moog Synthesizer), and Pianos (a celebration of multi-piano approaches), Alex continues to expand his love for musical exploration with livestream concerts showcasing his dynamic playing and improvising abilities. These concerts have received significant positive reception, connecting with audiences worldwide. Alex continues to create new content with diverse artistic collaborations. His goal is to provide art that enhances his audiences' personal journeys.https://www.alexwurman.com/

Described as “alluring” and “stirring” by The New York Times, the “arresting” (Gramophone), “irresistible” (San Francisco Chronicle), and “exhilarating” (Chicago Tribune) music of Vietnamese-American composer Viet Cuong (b. 1990) has been commissioned and performed on six continents by musicians and ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Eighth Blackbird, Kronos Quartet, Sandbox Percussion, Alarm Will Sound, Sō Percussion, PRISM Quartet, and Dallas Winds, among many others. Cuong’s music has been featured in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, NPR Music’s Tiny Desk, Kennedy Center, and PBS NewsHour, and his works for wind ensemble have garnered over a thousand performances worldwide, including at Midwest, WASBE, and CBDNA conferences.A composer known for his imagination and colorful voice, Cuong strives to blend the whimsical with the profound, often finding new expressive possibilities through unexpected instrumental pairings and textures. His works thus include concerti for tuba and dueling oboes, percussion quartets utilizing wine glasses and sandpaper, and pieces for double reed sextet, cello octet, and solo snare drum. This eclecticism extends to the variety of musical groups he writes for, and he has worked closely with ensembles ranging from middle school bands to Grammy-winning orchestras and chamber ensembles. His wind ensemble works are widely performed, having been programmed by the world’s preeminent wind bands such as the Dallas Winds and military bands including the United States Navy Band, “President’s Own” Marine Band, “Pershing’s Own” Army Band, Army Field Band, Coast Guard Band, and Air Force Band. These works have also been performed by the top wind ensembles at academic institutions such as the University of Texas at Austin, University of Michigan, Northwestern University, University of North Texas, Louisiana State University, University of Miami, and Michigan State University. Passionate about bringing all these different facets of the contemporary music community together, his notable works include Vital Sines, a concerto for Eighth Blackbird and the United States Navy Band; Re(new)al, a concerto for percussion quartet with a variety of ensemble accompaniments; and a saxophone quartet concerto entitled Second Nature.Currently the Pacific Symphony’s Composer-in-Residence, Cuong was also the California Symphony’s Young American Composer-in-Residence from 2020-23. He has held artist residencies at Copland House, Yaddo, Ucross, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and at Dumbarton Oaks, where he served as the 2020 Early-Career Musician-in-Residence. His music has been awarded the Barlow Prize, William D. Revelli Prize, Frederick Fennell Prize, Walter Beeler Memorial Prize, Barlow Endowment Commission, ASCAP Morton Gould Composers Award, Theodore Presser Foundation Award, Suzanne and Lee Ettelson Composers Award, Cortona Prize, New York Youth Symphony First Music Commission, and Boston GuitarFest Composition Prize. Cuong serves as Assistant Professor of Music Composition and Theory the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he teaches composition, orchestration, and music theory. He has also served on the faculties of the Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab and Juilliard Summer Composition. He holds degrees in music composition from Princeton University (MFA/PhD), the Curtis Institute of Music (Artist Diploma), and the Peabody Conservatory (BM/MM). His mentors include Jennifer Higdon, David Serkin Ludwig, Donnacha Dennehy, Steve Mackey, Dan Trueman, Dmitri Tymoczko, Kevin Puts, and Oscar Bettison. 

William Owens (b. 1963) is a native of Gary, Indiana. A seasoned music educator, he is highly active as a composer, clinician, and conductor throughout North America. His compositional style for young ensembles displays a keen, practical approach, which has firmly established him as a leader in the field. Since 1993, Mr. Owens has over 300 titles to his credit for concert band, string orchestra, and small ensemble. His music is performed and appears on required music lists nationally and abroad. Many of his works have been analyzed in educational texts and are staples of the young band repertoire.William is a 1985 graduate of Chicago's VanderCook College of Music and the recipient of numerous awards and grants for composition. Principal commissions include those from the South Plains College (TX) Department of Fine Arts, Phi Beta Mu International, and the American Bandmasters Association. Professional memberships include the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), the Association of Texas Small School Bands (ATSSB), and Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity. He is recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus by his alma mater and a recipient of the Texas Bandmasters Association’s Meritorious Achievement Award.In 2014, William formally retired from duty as band director in Texas after 30 years of service. His spare time interests include traveling, U.S. Presidential history, and being a proud Chevrolet Corvette owner/enthusiast. William resides in Fort Worth, TX, with his wife and best friend, Georgia.

Bobby Ge* (b. 1996) is an American-born, Shanghai-raised composer and media artist whose work engages with themes of communication, home, and hybridity. Described as “expressive and gripping” (Financial Times) and “exciting, frenzied, unpredictable” (CityNews CBR), his work is filled with shimmering textures and restless motion, often undergirded by a wry sense of humor. Winner of the Barlow Prize, Ge has completed a diverse array of projects ranging from experimental short films to large-scale orchestral commissions. Recent highlights include a symphony for the Albany Symphony, a saxophone concerto for the US Navy Band, a song for soprano, ensemble, and electronics premiered by Mind on Fire, and a keyboard/percussion piece featuring live video and electronics for the icarus Quartet. The coming 2025-26 season sees several notable premieres, including a violin concerto for Keila Wakao and the Albany Symphony, a mixed sextet commissioned by saxophonist Shivam Patel, and an electroacoustic work for Alarm Will Sound. Ge additionally serves as the Sound Investment Composer for the Reno Chamber Orchestra for the year, developing a new work for them over multiple workshops. Other engagements include performances with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the New England Philharmonic, the US Army Band, Modern Medieval Voices, Third Angle New Music, Mycelium New Music, and the Aruna Quartet. In...

Composer and performer Shruthi Rajasekar is a McKnight Composer Fellow with the American Composers Forum, Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, Associate of the Royal Northern College of Music (ARNCM), winner of the Global Women in Music Award from the United Nations, and recipient of the Marshall Scholarship from the Government of the United Kingdom. Shruthi’s music draws from her deep roots in the Carnatic (South Indian classical) and Western classical traditions. Her work highlights identity, community, and joy. Globally, Shruthi’s compositions have been featured at the Royal Albert Hall (London, UK), the Cannes Film Festival (France), the National Centre for Performing Arts (Mumbai, India), Victoria Hall (Singapore), and the United Nations’ COP 26 (Glasgow, UK). She has been a performing artist and artist-in-residence at Britten Pears Arts, Tusen Takk Foundation, and Norway’s Kampenjazz. Shruthi lives in Minnesota and serves on the Board of Directors of the Anderson Center and of chamber ensemble Zeitgeist.​​​https://www.shruthirajasekar.com/

Dennis Tobenski is a composer, singer, and die-hard advocate for living composers. As a composer and performer, he embraces emotional complexity and honesty, and never shies away from vulgarity or a good laugh (no polite chuckles, please). Whether he’s behind the microphone as the host of the Music Publishing Podcast or working as the creator and driving force behind the NewMusicShelf Anthologies of New Music, he lifts his colleagues up, and works to build structures and communities that he wished he’d had as a young musician. Dennis lives in NYC with his husband Darien Shulman and their cat Pistachio.https://dennistobenski.com/

Daniel Kidane‘s music has been performed extensively across the UK and abroad as well as being broadcast on BBC Radio 3, described by the Financial Times as ‘quietly impressive’ and by The Times as ‘tautly constructed’ and ’vibrantly imagined’.Daniel was awarded a Royal Philharmonic Society Prize in 2013 and in 2016 received a prestigious Paul Hamlyn Award for Artists. He received an honorary doctorate from Coventry University in 2022 and is currently a Visiting Tutor in Composition at the Royal Northern College of Music and Cambridge University. Daniel began his musical education at the age of eight when he started playing the violin. He first received composition lessons at the Royal College of Music Junior Department and then went on to study privately in St Petersburg, receiving lessons in composition from Sergey Slonimsky. He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the RNCM under the tutelage of Gary Carpenter and David Horne. His orchestral works include Woke, which was premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra and chief conductor Sakari Oramo at the Last Night of the Proms in September 2019; Zulu premiered by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Breakbeat written for the CBSO Youth Orchestra, and inspired by Grime music; and Sirens, written for the BBC Philharmonic orchestra, motivated by the eclectic musical nightlife in Manchester.Other commissions include Tourbillon for Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord) and Michala Petri (recorder) premiered at WIgmore Hall and released on CD; Jungle, a piano duo written for the Cheltenham Festival which draws inspiration from Jungle music and a new type of vernacular; Songs of Illumination, a song cycle commissioned by Leeds Lieder and setting setting the poetry of William Blake; and a setting of the words of Martin Luther King for orchestra and chorus entitled Dream Song premiered by baritone Roderick Williams and the Chineke! Orchestra which was played at the reopening of the Queen Elizabeth Hall in 2018 (a US premiere of the work is planned by the Seattle Symphony, postponed from Spring 2020).As a member of the London Symphony Orchestra's Jerwood and Panufnik Composers Schemes he has written several works for members of the LSO, which have focused on multiculturalism. Works premiered during the Covid-19 lockdowns include The Song Thrush and the Mountain Ash for Huddersfield Choral Society with text by Poet Laureate Simon Armitage; Dappled Light for violinists Maxine Kwok and Julian Gil Rodriguez for the London Symphony Orchestra's Summer Shorts series; Christus factus est for Merton College Choir recorded for Delphian; and Be Still for the Manchester Camerata, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and received further international premieres by the San Francisco Symphony, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris. His most recent work Revel, inspired by Manchester Carnival, was commissioned by the BBC Proms for the Kanneh-Mason family, and premiered in August 2021.Recent highlights include the world premiere of Sun Poem, premiered by the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle at the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2022, subsequently performered at Musikfest Berlin, Lucerne Festival, Grafenegg Festival and the Sydney Opera House, receiving 5-star reviews. The piece was co-commissioned by the San Francisco Symphony, with the US premiere conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen in October 2022 at Mondavi Center for Performing Arts and Davies Symphony Hall.

Mark Orton is a composer working in the mediums of film scoring, concert music, and radio/podcast. He is both a multi-instrumentalist and a collector of antique and unusual instruments, performing on all manner (and era) of guitars, keyboards, and percussion. He is the co-founder of Tin Hat, an internationally renowned composer/improviser collective with seven critically acclaimed albums. Mark has written scores for dozens of films – documentary, narrative feature, and fine art – and has composed music for modern dance, theater, experimental radio, video/art installation,podcast, the circus, and the concert hall.https://markortonmusic.com/

Joseph MetcalfeComposer, Conductor, Orchestrator, Producer• 20+ Yrs Music for Film, Stage & TV • Producer Of Musical Productions • Versatile Across All Musical Genres • Orchestrator • Conductor • 20+ Years of DAWs - Digital Performer, ProTools etc. • Proven Natural Leader, Dependable & Reliable • Self-starter, Fast Turn Around Times • Experienced Producer of Scoring / Recording Sessions - respected among musicians, expertly managing time-frames & budgets • Great team player, calm with sense of humor!!! • Clients include: Disney, Sony Pictures, Epcot, Netflix, Amazon & many Independent Production Companies.A Little HistoryA few highlights along the journey of musical creativityMy magnificent musical journey has taken me from being a Smurf (my first professional recording at age 11 for the UK album Underland) through the realms of Award-Winning children’s stage productions, writing & producing musical theater (George Orwell’s, ‘Animal Farm’), TV Theme Tunes (ITV Telethon), commercial & jingle writing (Wiskas, Cadbury, Marmite), song writing (”I Hate This Job” Muppets), children’s television series (Mystery Of Black Rose Castle), family episodic programming (Monkey Life), feature film scoring (The King’s Daughter, Sleeping Beauty) and composing for Disney & EPCOT (short films & theme-parks). In the immersive world I have designed and built a range of experiences from haunted houses to Winter Wonderland Walkthroughs, designing interactive attractions under the magic of enchanting light displays. In every arena my greatest joy is knowing that my work has awoken, enlightened and fueled the minds of those who experience it. And this is exactly what I do for the every audience for whom I write.The Power Of CollaborationA Synergy That ThrivesBesides being a composer, conductor, orchestrator, producer and creator, I am a team leader who sets my own high standards that motivates the very best in the talent that surrounds me. As original founder of Sum Of All Music & The Budapest Scoring Orchestra I am quick to recognize talent and attract musicians at the very top of their game. I regularly lead music collaborative teams and training including other musical directors and respected musicians (such as Benny Rietveld - Santana’s MD & Bassist, Paul ‘Wix’ Wickens - Paul McCartney’s MD & Keyboardist, Steve Shepherd - Kenny G’s engineer, Rafael Gayol - Lenny Cohen & A-ha drummer... to name but a few) and have produced several albums, music libraries & music videos. My network of composer’s, songwriters and musicians has been built on a reputation of the non-competitive, pro-collaborative approach that I instill in my teams.https://www.josephmetcalfe.com/

Avid vocal composer Matthew Recio recently finished his post as Vanguard emerging opera composer with Chicago Opera Theatre. During his residency, he developed operas with librettists Royce Vavrek (2021) and Stephanie Fleischmann (2020). The concert presentation of his work with Royce, "The Puppy Episode," was premiered in March of 2021 through the Chicago Opera Theater (COT) and followed by co-production between Opera Columbus and Oberlin Conservatory for the staged premiere. This year he is thrilled to be collaborating with the LYNX project for their amplify series, creating a song cycle with living neurodiverse poets. He will also be featured on the DeCameron Opera Coalition's holiday project series, representing the Chicago Fringe Opera for a video song project. This spring, he will collaborate with Hana Cai and the Ithaca College Treble choir on a new choral work with poetry by Stephanie Fleischmann. Recio will be featured on tenor Ryan Townsend Strand's song cycle project, Letters to Jackie, a CD project featuring many prominent, living art song composers of our time. He is a resident artist with the West Edge Opera Aperture Program developing his new opera with Stephanie Fleischmann, L'autre Moi. Most recently, he collaborated with Chicago-based choir Stare at the Sun on an immersive choral cantata, The Hollow, performed at the Linne Woods forest preserve that explores themes of isolation, depression, emergence, and renewal with a libretti by Alejandra Villareal Martinez. This past spring, he was thrilled to present Touch the Water with the Chicago Fringe Opera Series "A City of Works," which featured text by Chicago-based writer Anna Gatdula. This collaboration was written for Chicago-based artists Keanon Kyles and David Sands. As a performer/composer, his collaboration on How We Hush (poetry by Jenna Lanzaro) with tenor Michael Day earned him a winning prize with Fourth Coast Ensemble's 2021 Chicago SongSlam. He looks forward to a new collaboration with Chicago-based librettist Jerre Dye on a new song that will be produced on a new album, 40x40 by Grammy-nominated soprano Laura Strickling, featuring the work of 40 different leading composers of the art song genre. This fall, he will be collaborating on a unique project by Queer In(n) to create a vocal work inspired by the life of trans-Chicago icon Mama Gloria. This project will feature an adaptive libretto by Dr. Marquese Carter and feature the talents of upcoming trans singer Jalissa Spell. In addition to his work with COT and West Edge Opera, he was selected as the first commissioned composer for the Cincinnati Song Initiative 2018-2019 season. He is a published artist under the Dale Warland Series and the Craig Hella Johnson Series under G. Schirmer/Hal Leonard. As the 2018 Georgina Joshi vocal prize commission winner, Recio received a premiere of his work "In the Desert" for mezzo-soprano and sinfonietta with the Indiana University New Music Ensemble. Recio was recently named the 2017 American Prize winner in choral composition and was a featured composer with Beth Morrison Projects as an operatic composer at the National Sawdust theatre in Brooklyn, New York. The New Voices Opera Company commissioned him for his one-act opera, "In Memoriam," in 2017 (Libretto: Molly Korroch). Recio is a humble winner of the Cincinnati Camerata Competition, a two-time winner of the NOTUS Composition Competition, a finalist in the Young New Yorker's Choral Competition, and a finalist in the Morton Gould Awards and BMI Awards. William Stowman's CD, A Timeless Place (Klavier Records Label), features Recio's song cycle Chronology of Storms, with poetry written by Jenna Lanzaro.  With an equal passion for instrumental composition, Recio has been represented at...