composers

Sean Barnette (b. 2003) is a Florida-based composer and arranger, and is currently in his undergraduate studies at the Florida State University College of Music, where he is majoring in Choral Music Education. Sean is an emerging talent, and his compositions are influenced by his love for contemporary musical genres, like rock and musical theatre, combined with his choral experiences to create an invigorating and fresh musical experience for a new generation. Sean is also the founder of the Harmonies for Health project, a series of charity concerts to raise money for the Children’s Cancer Center in Tampa, FL. Inspired by his own battle with cancer, Sean believes in the transformative nature of music, and hopes to inspire audiences through his compositions, as well as entertain and spread the joy of singing.

Tobias Jordaan Eric Deggans (b. 2004) is a composer, artist, poet, activist, and educator based in the state of Florida. Influenced by his choral contemporaries and obscure indie esoterica alike, Tobias strives to bring a fresh new angle to every peice he writes-- whether it be the introduction of slow, phasing formal sections to choral works or his music-school perspectives in more electronic fare. Currently persuing his bachelor's in Music Education with a Choral Focus at Florida State University, his love of experimentation, improvisation, and boundary-pushing comes hand in hand with his strong drive to keep his work accessible: in his view, some of the most impactful and capitvating works in any genre are those that are deceptively simple and unfailingly earnest. Throughout his journey as a transgender man in music education, he strives to use his many artistic interests to facilitate in others the healing, community, and catharsis that choir music has always brought him.

Evan Blaché is a choral composer and choral singer based out of San Marcos, Texas. Never known to mince words, Evan has composed a lot of work combining the classical style with topics of social justice. Evan studied music at Austin Community College. While there, they were a part of the Austin Community College Chamber choir and was a part of the Texas Two Year All-State Choir for three years as the bass two section leader. They are currently in their undergraduate program at Texas State University for their B.M in Music Studies and Composition while singing in the Texas State University Chorale under the direction of Joey Martin and studying composition with Dr. Jack Wilds. While at Texas State, Evan has been commissioned by various groups, including Conspirare, led by Craig Hella Johnson and Vocem Cordis, led by Texas State Graduates, Nathan Thompson & Christian Clow. Evan currently sings in the groups, Tinsel Singers, Inversion Ensemble, and is an Insight Fellow in Conspirare.

Riley Ferretti is a Japanese-American composer and vocalist whose music explores the idea of human connection through choral, instrumental, and electronic music. Her inspiration spans numerous sources, from poetry to nature to personal experiences. She recently graduated from the University Of Louisville with a B.M. in Music Composition, where she won the 2021-2022 KMEA Collegiate Composition Competition for her choral piece, The Oak, and received the Sixty-Second Annual Alumni Award. She is currently pursuing a Master's in Music Composition at the University of Florida, where she is concentrating on the connection between the voice and live electronics as well as the creation of unique textures in instrumental and vocal music.

Composer Victor Cui’s music is rooted in motion and physicality of sound. As a singer, Victor derives a great joy from improvising/writing melodies, and always seeks to transfer the musicality in song to all aspects of his music-making. As a result, Victor Cui constantly finds himself negotiating between spontaneity, poetics, and control. Victor is also deeply interested in literatures, cultures, histories, linguistics, and the sounds of nature. Victor is an incoming Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) student at the Shepherd School of Music of Rice University. He holds a Master of Music (MM) in composition from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, and a BA/MA joint degree in Music and the Humanities from University of Chicago. Victor has studied composition with Ashkan Behzadi, Augusta Read Thomas, Hans Thomalla, Courtney Bryan, Felipe Lara, and Sky Macklay, and he has taken courses in computer music with Sam Pluta and Bryan Jacobs.

Sammy Strent is a composer from Bethesda, Maryland. Inspired by philosophical texts, Strent seeks to leave an impact on audiences and performers alike through his music that features frequent harmonic changes and intricate rhythmic ostinatos. Although his main compositional passion is choral music, Strent also composes music for film, and recently worked on the short film "Waltz of Memories" by Gwyneth Johnson. Strent currently studies music composition at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. Strent's music has been performed by numerous high-level ensembles including the Worcester Chamber Music Society's String Quartet, Transient Canvas, and the Frost Chamber Singers. Strent is the founder of The CCCC and has a passion for bringing new choral music to life.

Lux Ezra Onigman is an undergraduate studying music and neuroscience at Smith College. They have been singing in choirs since age seven, and can usually be found in several at once. Lux began composing in March of 2020, and a solo vocal piece they wrote that summer was purchased by the National Youth Rights Association to display on their website. In 2021 and 2022, they won prizes in the Harmonium Choral Society High School Composition Contest with their pieces “Invictus” and “Arise!” respectively. Lux was commissioned to write “A Welcome Thought” by the Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing. They also play guitar, lead song sessions, and teach music classes. In addition to music, they enjoy studying brains, fencing, learning new languages (and dead languages), writing poetry, reading, and riding their bike.

Zachary Bell (b. 2000) is a composer from San Antonio, TX, who strives to create potently expressive, beautiful, and intellectually-stimulating music. His works have been performed and recorded across the United States at venues such as the Peabody Conservatory, Rice University, Baylor University, and Appalachian State University, and at festivals including the Collaborative Composition Initiative, Divergent Studio, the Del Mar International Composer Symposium, the Atlantic Music Festival, and multiple International Trombone Festivals. Zachary’s work has been performed and/or recorded by ensembles including Unheard-Of//Ensemble, Hub New Music, loadbang, the Ohio Trombone Quartet, the Baylor Symphony Orchestra, and the Baylor Wind Ensemble, and has been commissioned by bass trombonist Shane Stewart. In 2019, Zachary was named co-winner of the Baylor Composition Competition, and has won the Best Audio award for his score at the Chillenium Game Jam in 2018. He has also done film score work for directors Tristan Sparks-McMahon, Nic Diaz, and Sarah Allen, including Tristan Sparks-McMahon’s adaptation of “Cain Rose Up,” as part of Stephen King’s Dollar Baby program, and Tristan Sparks-McMahon’s full-length film “breadcrumbs.” Zachary is currently earning his Master’s degree in Composition and Music Theory Pedagogy at the Peabody Conservatory, where he studies with Michael Hersch. He previously studied with Scott McAllister and Ben Johansen at Baylor University, and has been fortunate to work with many composers, including Georg Friedrich Haas, Martin Bresnick, Pierre Jalbert, Reiko Fueting, David Ludwig, Melinda Wagner, Lei Liang, Oscar Bettison, Matthew Evan Taylor, Sky Macklay, George Tsontakis, Kevin Puts, Nina Young, Zhou Long, Liliya Ugay, Robert Honstein, Arthur Gottschalk, Januibe Tejera, Joel Puckett, Niloufar Nourbakhsh, Matthew Ricketts, and many others.
 

Joanna McDonald (age 21) is a senior at Rice University, majoring in music composition. She first began composing lyrics to songs at age six, which eventually developed into complete works by age 12. She wrote her first instrumental piece for solo guitar at age 15, winning several awards at the University of Tulsa's annual Béla Rózsa composition competition. Since then, she has written numerous chamber and solo works performed by ensembles such as International Contemporary Ensemble. Throughout high school she has presented her music at places such as The University of Oklahoma's collegiate Composer's Workshop and Curtis Summerfest. Most recently, Joanna has just finished a choral work commissioned by The May Festival called, “Untamed.” In the piece, she collaborated with an ASL interpreter/dancer, who acted out and translated the text sung by the choir for a non-hearing audience in attendance at the concert. Her goal was to create an inclusive and meaningful concert experience for both hearing and deaf individuals. In the future, she is interested in pursuing further these types of collaborations with communities and topics outside of music, especially the deaf community.

Erick Odiweric (b.1996) is a Kenyan composer from Nairobi who is a music enthusiast. He is driven by passion to create music related to Chemistry. Erick has participated in BCMC 3.0 and will participate in JACK Studio Reading for his string quartet piece 'Carefree Kikanyagi'. The composer holds a Bachelors degree in Industrial Chemistry from the Technical University of Mombasa. Currently, he is doing an online course at Alison; Diploma in Music Theory with Prof. Craig M. Right of Yale University.

Qianni Lin (born in 1993 Oct 13th) is a rising Chinese young composer pursuing a Doctor Degree in composition at Hartt School of Music University of Hartford. She earned Master Degrees of both composition and music theory at the Manne School of Music. Qianni began studying piano at the age of 4 and began studying composition at the age of 13. Currently, she studies with Dr. Robert Carl. Her electronic piece Ripple has been performed on the National Student Electronic Music Event at University of North Texas in 2018; and performed on Electronic Music Midwest Festival at Kansas City Community College on September 2019. Her string quartet Rebound, commissioned by the Beo String Quartet, has been performed at the Charlotte New Music Festival in 2018. Her choral piece Epitafio para un Poeta has been performed by the C4 choir in The Church of St. Luke in the Fields in New York City in same year. Her chamber music piece Diamond Unicorn Horn which commissioned by coMUSICation program performed at Mannes School of Music on June 2019. Her violin solo Sobremesa performed on PRISM 20/20 concert for University of Hartford 100 years anniversary; and Tomorrow Will Be Better Charity Concert for Wuhan China at Asylum Hill Congregational Church in 2020. Her aria Latisha’s Lament has been performed on Really Spicy Opera The Art Institute online showcase in 2020. Her aria I Will Taste Salt to See You Again commissioned by Boston Singer Resources has performed at First Parish Dorchester at Boston in 2021. Her string quartet Backsplash which commissioned by New Britain Museum of American Art and has performed in the museum on April 2022. Her flute solo Asymmetric and viola solo Mangata have been performed on Asian Classical Music Initiative International Conference in both 2022 and 2023. Her opera The Demon Princess performed by the Four Corners Ensemble on June 2022 at Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center, Spokane, WA. Her song trio Passing East of Hartford which commissioned by the 2023 Feldman/Geoffroy project, has performed by HAVEN trio at University of Hartford on April 2023

Ryan Piggott (he/him) is from Mobile, AL and currently attends Auburn for a Music Education degree. He started writing with small instrumental arrangements to play for his friends, but transitioned to writing for larger ensembles and choirs during high school.

​Chris Dorner (b. 2004), is a composer who proudly represents the intersection of being a first-generation college student, the LGBTQ community, and Panamanian-Americans. Chris is currently a student at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, pursuing degrees in Music Education and Music Composition—studying under Robert K. Mueller, Jeremy Lynn Allen, and Rick Salonen. During High School, Chris was a well-accomplished musician, being part of four music ensembles, being an all-region and all-state musician, as well as having the opportunity to perform with the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA). At the U of A, Chris is involved in the Razorback Marching Band, Razorback Chorus, Wind Symphony, and Community Horn Choir, and a member of the Horn Studio under Katey J. Halbert. Chris is also a member of the American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP), the International Horn Society (IHS), the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and the Young Composers Community (YCC). Around the age of 12, Chris explored composition by initially transcribing his favorite metal songs. Within five years, Chris has self-published numerous pieces, all in various styles of music from classical, jazz, world music, to contemporary classical. Chris has been a selected composer for the 2019 Aspiring Artists of Texas (AATX) Call for Scores, the 2021 Evan Erickson Call for Scores, an awarded winner of the 2022 Penn State Ballora-Wang Young Composers Competition, as well as being a virtual presenter for his music at the 6th-annual Research On Contemporary Composition (ROCC) Music Festival, at the University of North Georgia.

Logan Severson Willson is a bass, conductor, and composer from Tucson Arizona currently studying choral music at Northern Arizona University. He has received many accolades for his excellence performing with all of Arizona’s major Symphonies, at local and regional ACDA conferences, and as a conductor, soloist and choir member in several world premières. Logan performs professionally and collegiately with many award-winning ensembles including The Sedona Academy of Chamber Singers, High Altitude Vocal Jazz, and Shrine of The Ages, where he serves as section leader. As a composer, Logan is published through his own website and has seen most success writing for choir or solo voice. Logan has premièred works alongside distinguished composers such as Jake Heggie, and is prominent in the Arizona choral scene. Currently, he enjoys his time as a choral intern at the Church of the Red Rocks, as student Bellmaster of the Harold M. Harter Memorial Handbell choir, as the conductor of the Kitt School of music composition studio, and as music director of both the ACDA student chapter and Phi Mu Alpha, Kappa Xi chapter at Northern Arizona University. Outside of music you can find him racing bicycles as a hobby.

Tristino Ali is a young composer currently studying Music Education at the University of North Texas. He graduated from Samuel Clemens high school, where he participated in the National Performance Series at Carnegie Hall and was a member of the TMEA All-State Tenor-Bass Choir in 2020. Tristino previously sang with UNT’s Men’s Chorus and currently sings as a Tenor with UNT University Singers, and hopes to graduate from UNT and become a high-school choir director in order to foster future generations of musicians.

Soren Stavnicky is a 20-year-old student composer from Cleveland, Ohio. For the first two years of his undergraduate, he pursued a Bachelor of Music in Composition at Cleveland State University. However, starting Fall 2023, he will be expanding his education and musical versatility in other fields of musical creation, and will be attending the DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Washington. There, Soren will pursue the Bachelor of Arts in Music and Sound Design, studying with seasoned veterans of the video game industry, and professionally collaborate with student artists, game designers, and developers.

Sam Scheibe is an up and coming composer/arranger, conductor, and performer of contemporary and traditional choral music. His music has been performed and commissioned by ensembles across the United States and the United Kingdom by ensembles including the Frost Chorale, the Westminster Williamson Voices, Anchorae, the West Jersey Chamber Music Society, and the University of Aberdeen Chamber Choir. He received his Undergraduate degree from Westminster Choir College, his first Master's degree from the University of Aberdeen, and is now pursuing a Master's in Choral Conducting from the University of Miami, under the direction of Dr. Amanda Quist. His music is published by GIA publications and recorded by the GRAMMY-nominated Westminster Williamson Voices. Sam has also sung professionally as a bass-baritone with professional ensembles including the Seraphic Fire Youth Initiative, the Same Stream Choir, and Choir Next Door.

Jason Fieler is an undergraduate sophomore at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music studying media scoring and production with a minor in composition. He got into music playing classical piano at the age of 9, but began branching out very soon after that, with jazz and contemporary piano, and with learning guitar and bass as well. He’s very participatory at the University of Miami, being a member of numerous vocal ensembles, both contemporary and classical, and playing keyboard and bass in various other musical groups. Jason has attended multiple summer programs throughout his life so far for composition, including the Frost Summer program and the Boston Conservatory High School Composition Intensive.

Cory Brodack (b.1997, St. Louis) is a composer whose music ranges from deeply personal and reflective to explosively bombastic, often within the same piece. He has been awarded the Rudolf Nissim Prize, ECU's Orchestra Composition Competition, and first prize in the NFMC Young Composer Competition. Cory has worked with performers and ensembles including JACK, Hub New Music, Unheard-of//Ensemble, icarus Quartet, Hypercube, and Rhythm Method Quartet. He has also received commissions from artists and groups such as Andrew Pelletier, BGSU, the Metropolitan Orchestra of St. Louis, and the Steven Gerber Trust. His music has been featured at concerts and festivals including the SCI National Conference, Hot Air Music Festival, Bowling Green New Music Festival, and New Music on the Bayou. He received his MM from Bowling Green State University, his BM from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and is currently pursuing his PhD at the Eastman School of Music.

Bold, dramatic, with an exquisite attention to detail, Ethan Soledad (b. 1999) is a Filipino-American composer whose work aims to express emotions in their most raw form. His musical style is marked by unapologetic expression, dynamic extremes, and the ability to do more with less but never shying away from doing more with more. His music has been performed and recognized by ensembles such as New York Youth Symphony (First Music Commission Honorable Mention), Fifth House Ensemble, Bent Frequency, the East Coast Contemporary Ensemble (ECCE), and Fear No Music among others. He graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in Music at Florida State University 2021 and is currently pursuing his Master of Music in Composition at Rice University studying under Karim Al-Zand and Shih-Hui Chen.

Kevin Lubin (he/him) is a composer and instrumentalist based in New York. He with a degree in harpsichord performance and composition from Adelphi University. As a performer, he is open to playing whatever music is put in front of him, whether on piano, percussion, or kazoo. Additionally, Kevin composers for a variety of instrumentation and has premiered multiple operas both silly and serious. Arrangements of his have been used at several notable events, such as the Adelphi University 2022 Commencement at Nassau Coliseum. Kevin is the harpsichordist and viola da gamba player of Long-Island based baroque ensemble "Four and Twenty Strings." In this role, he has curated riveting and educational concerts such as those highlighting Jewish composers of the 17th century. As a teacher, Kevin gives private lessons on piano, guitar, ukulele, and voice to students of all ages and levels. He has also tutored extensively in subjects such music theory, ear training, music history, and general essay writing.

Tyler DeTulleo is a producer, arranger, conductor, music director, orchestrator and composer across a multitude of genres and mediums from Philadelphia. He is most known for his strong sense of leadership and ability to work on a team with recording artists, film makers or session musicians. Tyler has experience producing and music directing for artists such as America’s Got Talent contestant Kieran Rhodes, orchestrating and copying for Film and TV projects such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Family Guy, Disney Plus’s The Santa Clauses, and Justin Hurwitz’s Oscar Nominated score for Babylon. He is working on music directing shows for the 2023 music festival “Sound on Sound” featuring headline artist John Mayer, and “Faster Horses,” featuring headline artists Luke Bryan, Zac Brown Band and Shania Twain.

David Caldarella is an undergraduate composer and vocalist currently studying music composition at the Frost School of Music in Miami, FL. Caldarella began his study of music at the ACES Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven, CT, along with private composition lessons with composer Polina Nazaykinskaya. His studies continued with pianist-composer Michael Brown, and later conductor Alasdair Neale, as a member of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra's Youth Composer Project and as an intern for the orchestra. Presently, Caldarella is a member of the world-renowned Frost Chorale under Dr. Amanda Quist. His works have seen premieres by the Frost Chamber Singers and the Greater Connecticut Youth Symphony Orchestra. His piece, Domine Deus, is currently published in the Amanda Quist Choral Series under Walton Music, and is programmed for the 2023 Virginia All-State Choir concert.