Composers Published by Gold Branch Music, Inc.

Robin Benton was born in Nottingham, England where he learned to play the G bass trombone and later tenor trombone. He has enjoyed playing in orchestras, wind bands, theatre bands, brass groups and big bands. Robin has two music degrees and diplomas including a diploma in Military Bandmastership from the Royal College of Music in London. He spent many years as a schoolteacher with 7 to 11 year old students; his school wind band winning an award in the National Finals of the McDonald's "Child of Achievement" competition. He has written numerous arrangements for handbells, his music being published in both England and the USA. Now retired, he is a playing member of the British Trombone Society, plays trombone with Bath University Big Band and is an active longbow archer with Bath Archers. His 'March of the Heroes' for brass ensemble, timpani and handbells is to be premiered at the International Handbell Symposium, Brisbane, Australia, in August 2006.

Gregory W. Brown is a recent DMA graduate from the University of Georgia Hugh Hodgson School of Music. He is primarily a choral conductor, but is also an avid conductor of new music and active composer of works for choir, chamber ensembles, and electronic media. His undergraduate composition lessons were taken with 2000 Pulitzer Prize winner, Lew Spratlan, and his graduate level composition lessons were taken with Dr. Stefan Young at Westminster Choir College, and Drs. Adrian Childs and Leonard V. “Chic” Ball Jr. at the University of Georgia. If you are interested in finding out more about Greg Brown, please visit his website: http: // www.gregorywbrown.com .

Timothy J. Brown received his undergraduate musical training at the State University of New York College at Fredonia. He holds the M.A. from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont, where he studied music education and vocal performance. In addition, he holds the doctoral degree in Music Theory and Composition from the University of Northern Colorado. Dr. Brown has studied privately with composer John Corigliano. His compositions span a variety of media and styles, ranging from full orchestral works to unaccompanied choral pieces and chamber works. He is an experienced choral conductor and editor.

Brandon Bullard, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, is a native of North Carolina.  He graduated from Campbell University with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Music Composition and a Bachelors of Arts in Trombone Performance.  Brandon has written several works including the musical score for the theater production of Hamlet. He is also on the faculty of The Lillington School of Music. 

Delvyn Case (b. 1974) is a composer, conductor, scholar, and educator based in Boston. He holds degrees from Yale (B.A. summa cum laude) and the University of Pennsylvania, where the completed the Ph.D. in composition at the age of 26. He has received honors and fellowships from numerous organizations, including BMI, The Society of Composers, The MacDowell Colony, The Atlantic Center for the Arts, The Composers Conference at Wellesley, The Chicago Ensemble, Sounds New, and The College Music Society, among others. He has been commissioned by virtuoso saxophonist Marshall Taylor, Boston Symphony bass trombonist Douglas Yeo, the Triton Brass Quintet, and has served as composer-in-residence at the MasterWorks Festival in Winona Lake, Indiana. His composition teachers have included Steven Mackey, Ezra Laderman, David Rakowski, Sebastian Currier, Elliott Schwartz, James Primosch, and Jay Reise.

Michael Conti recently completed a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Composition degree at Michigan State University. He has composed numerous pieces for the flute, saxophone, piano, voice, and chorus. In July 2006, Jubilate Deo was commissioned by the Georgia Governor’s Honor Program and premiered at the State of Georgia’s American Choral Directors Summer Conference.  In March 2002, his composition Choric Song won the Raymond W. Brock Memorial Student Composition Contest and was premiered at American Choral Directors Association Central Division Convention. Three Rossetti Songs, for mixed chorus and piano, won the Michigan State University 2004 Honors Composition Competition. For more information please visit www.michaelcontimusic.com.

Tom Dossett's music has stretched across a wide range of musical formats such as classical, jazz, rock, country, sacred, blues, and latin. His music has been performed by "A-list" entertainers such as: Bobby McFerrin, Lee Greenwood, Richard Carpenter, Leslie Uggams, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Roger Miller, Roy Clark, Richard Stoltzman, JoAnne Worley, Ricky Skaggs, Diane Schuur, Steve Gadd, Henry Mancini, Bill Yeager's LA Jazz Workshop and Disney bands, and more. Tom was a composer/arranger for the United States Air Force Band in Washington, DC and a freelance composer in Los Angeles.  Among larger productions that have played on radio, television and stage are:  Nashville Memories, a musical show commemorating the radio career of TNN personality and legend, Ralph Emery .  The Beat Goes On was especially written for Steve Gadd , one of the most influential drummers in jazz and pop music.  Beyond The Call, a multimedia tribute to women in the military premiered at Constitution Hall, Washington, DC featuring Helen Reddy .  The historic production, Remembering The Glenn Miller AAF Orchestra, toured the U S and ended in Carnegie Hall.  The arrangements from that show were produced for a PBS television special under the same title. Short film and jingle credits have included Team Up, America, written for the '84 Olympics and used on a special segment of NBC's "Real People," Commitment To Excellence, an international short film produced by the USAF Academy for their recruitment and Waste Busters, an international jingle written for the Armed Services Network.  Several Washington, DC area businesses have also used Tom's writing for their advertising. Tom has composed and scored more than a 1000 performed productions in over 12 varied categories.  With many commissioned works and several CDs to his credits, his music is always fresh and innovative.  As a published writer, recent ASCAP Award winner (2005 and again for 2006), and award-winning jazz composer (1981 NAJE - 4th place, 1996 BBC Big Band Composition with the Doncaster Orchestra winning 1st with their performance of "Starscape" and the 2004 ITA Donald Yaxley Competition with a 1st place winning performance by Michael Brown of "Trilogy For Bass Trombone"), Tom is constantly working on new projects and productions.  His professional musical training includes a Bachelors Degree in Music Education from The School of Music at Illinois Wesleyan University and graduate work in theory and composition studying with Koussevitsky Award winning composer, Roque Cordero at Illinois State University.  Among his favorite mentors was his father-in-law, Bill Brown, who worked at NBC as a studio arranger and trombonist working with Don Costa.  On a side note, Tom was an aspiring young painter at one time and had one of his portraits on The Joey Bishop Show displayed by famed commercial artist Norman Rockwell. For more information visit www.tdossett.com.

 

Nicholas Duggan (b. May 22nd, 1962) graduated from The City of Leeds College of Music in 1981, with a distinction for performance, and winner of the Michael Grady Memorial Prize in composition before taking up teaching posts overseas in Spain, Kenya, and Thailand. From 1991 to 1994 he worked as a musician in the British Army while completing his master's degree. On leaving the army and completing a PGCE in Music he returned to overseas education in Kuwait and South Korea before returning to Thailand where he is currently principal at an international school. A recent winner of The William Lincer Foundation Prize 2004 as well as being chosen one of the Pacific Basin representatives for the 60 x 60 Vos Novus call for works, Nick is clearly making his mark as a composer. Duggan is presently working towards his Ph.D. in Musical Composition at The University of Wales, Bangor with Dr. Andrew Lewis.

Leonard Dumitriu has been conducting the orchestra of Iassy Romanian Opera since 1986, but also has been closely collaborating of “N. Leonard” Lyrical Theatre in Galati. He was also for a short time conductor of the Lyric Theatre in Craiova. During his career, maestro DUMITRIU conducted different opera orchestras in Iassy, Craiova, Timisoara, Cluj, Novi-Sad (Serbia), Chisinau (Moldavian Republic). He was invited to conduct Symphonic Orchestras in Iassy, Arad, Satu Mare, Timisoara, Botosani, Constanta. He fulfilled the first-conductor requirements at “Mihail Jora” Phylharmonic in Bacau (1994-1995). The Lyrical Theatre from Brasov invited him to conduct many of its performances between 1998-1999. Since 2001 he has become permanently invited conductor of the Lyric Theatre in Galati. Along with the Iassy Romanian Opera he took active part in artistic international tours in Italy, Germany and Switzerland. The latest accomplishments were the Opera Master Classes, organized in USA, at Vermont Opera Theatre, in August 2000 and 2001 where maestro DUMITRIU was invited to patronate the event as Artistic director & conductor. His vivid interest towards opera music is emphasized through an impressive repertoire and through less known opera productions that he put on stage, such as “I quatro rusteghi” by Wolf-Ferrari and “Mefistofele” by Boito. The performance with “I quatro rusteghi” was recorded and broadcasted by the Romanian National TV station and “Mefistofele” was rewarded with “The best Opera Performance” Prize in 1999 by a famous Romanian cultural magazine “ Actualitatea Muzicala”. Born in Iassy, in a family of musicians, maestro Dumitriu is a graduate of “Octav Bancila” Art High School (piano section) and “George Enescu” Conservatory (composing-conducting section). His mentors were Vasile Spatarelu, Anton Zeman, Viorel Munteanu, Cristian Misievici, Sabin Pautza, Mihail Cozmei, Corneliu Calistru, Adrian and Cornelia Diaconu, Liliana Gherman, Gabriela Ocneanu, Mihaela Constantin. At the same time, Leonard Dumitriu has been for 4 years the disciple of maestro Pascal Bentoiu. Some of the compositions from his training period were performed during the training composition classes and awarded with prizes at many competitions and festivals for students. In parallel, Mr. Dumitriu conducted the Conservatory Orchestra in Piatra Neamt and the opera “Il Matrimonio segreto” by Cimarosa, performance offered by the students attending opera classes at the local Conservatory. At graduation he was awarded with a Merit Diploma for his substantial musical contribution during the studies period. Dumitriu is an active member of Romanian Union of Composers and Musicologists.

Roman Molino Dunn graduated from Moravian Academy in 2003, and is currently pursuing his joint Bachelors and Master's Degree (BA/MA) in Music Composition at Hunter College in NYC. He is in an accelerated degree program that allows qualified students the opportunity to complete both their undergraduate and graduate work all in four years. After transferring at the end of his freshman year of college at the University of New Hampshire Roman tested into the graduate curriculum at Hunter College. In 2007 he will graduate with a BA in Music Theory and a MA in Music Composition. Roman Molino Dunn's Prelude and Offering is currently published by Gold Branch Music (http://www.goldbranchmusic.com). Roman was the recipient of the 2005 Libby Van Arsdale Memorial Scholarship Prize in Music Theory/History (from Hunter College). Also the winner of the 2002 MCAC YME Award for his Song Cycle "4 Facets" (Awarded by the Monroe County Arts Council of PA). He was the recipient of the 2006 Orpheus Music Composition Competition ( New South Wales, Australia) recorder ensemble award. His composition Recorder Sinfonia 18 is published by Orpheus Music. Roman is currently studying with Shafer Mahoney and just completed his studies with Christopher Theofanidis. He has also studied with Allen Anderson, Michael Annicchiarico, Poundie Burstein, Mark Spicer, and mathematics and computation in counterpoint with John Rogers. While in high school Roman studied with Jenny Collins, Gail Grossman, Eric Doney, and Neil Wetzel. He tutors in counterpoint, harmony, and keyboard proficiency both privately, and for undergraduate Hunter University music students. He recently composed the music for Douglas Morse's (of Grandfather Films) movie, The Summoning of Everyman. His piece In Memory of Paul F. Gilligan III was performed in October of 2006 at a dedication hosted by the Paul F. Gilligan III Foundation. His sacred works have been performed in local NYC churches, most notably Church of the Holy Cross ( W. 42 nd St.). Roman will be presenting his paper Discrete Melodic Set Theory: Abstract Algebraic Approach to Counterpoint at the 2007 Conference of the Society for Mathematics and Computation in Music in Berlin, Germany. Roman works as a music transcriber, copyist, and engraver for hire in the NYC area (http://www.roman.xbuild.com/musicservices), and is an active member of ASCAP, American Music Center (AMC), Music Theory Society of New York State (MTSNYS), and the Society for Music Theory (SMT).

Edward Eicker holds both an M.A. (2002) and a B.M. (1999) from Roosevelt University in Chicago. His principal teachers have included organists David Schrader and Samuel Soria and composers, Stacy Garrop, Patricia Morehead and Don Malone. In 2000, he won first prize in the "Virginia and Seymour LaRock Composition Contest" for his acapella choral work, "Banishment of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden." In 2003, Mr. Eicker conducted Roosevelt University's New Music Ensemble in the premier performance of his chamber work, "States of Mind: A Suite of Emotional Miniatures." In that same year, his "Ave Maria" received a reading by the Chicago Chapter of the American Composers Forum. In October of 2003 his collection of chorale preludes, "To the Point: Short Preludes for Organ" was published by Augsburg Fortress and sold over 700 copies in its first six months in print. In that same month, his Adagio, arranged for string orchestra received its European debut in Bydgoszcz , Poland , performed by the Orkiestra XXI Wieku under the direction of Vadim Perevoznikov. Mr. Eicker was recently commissioned by Immaculate Conception Church in Chicago to write, "Celebrate With Joyful Singing," in celebration of their 100th anniversary. He has also just received a commission from Chicago’s CUBE ensemble to write a new chamber work for their upcoming 2006 concert season.

Paul A. Epstein's compositions include two chamber operas as well as works for string orchestra and for a variety of small ensembles. He has written extensively for voice, including a setting of Robert Coover's The Leper's Helix and a series of collaborations with poet and novelist Toby Olson. He has received commissions from the Relâche Ensemble (The Leper’s Helix and AlgoRhythms 2) and baritone Thomas Buckner (Reading.) Epstein is a member of BMI. In American Music in the Twentieth Century, critic Kyle Gann cites Epstein as “One of the finest postminimal composers...” and calls Chamber Music: Three Songs from Home “...a vocal setting for winds and keyboards of great contrapuntal beauty.” Epstein's music has been presented in the U.S. and abroad by such ensembles as Relâche, Synchronia, the Circle ensemble of London, and ONIX Nuevo Ensamble de México. It is available on compact disk on the Mode and Capstone labels. Epstein is Professor Emeritus of Music Theory at Temple University, where he taught from 1969 to 2001. Born in Boston in 1938, he is a graduate of Brandeis University and the University of California at Berkeley. His composition teachers included Harold Shapero, Seymour Shifrin, and Luciano Berio, with whom he studied privately on a Fulbright grant to Italy in 1962-63. Epstein has been involved in closely collaborative work with artists in theater and dance. He was associated with the New York environmental theater group The Performance Group from 1969 to 1972, and from 1974 to 1987 he was composer and music director for ZeroMoving Dance Company of Philadelphia. An article by Kyle Gann, “American Composer: Paul A. Epstein,” appears in the December, 2004 issue of Chamber Music, a publication of Chamber Music America. A version of the article may be seen at www.temple.edu/boyer/epstein.htm

Dr. Marc Faris is currently a Visiting Assistand Professor at Duke University and holds an Artist Fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council. He completed degrees in composition at Eastman and Duke and has studied composition with Scott Lindroth, Stephen Jaffe, Samuel Adler, and Robert Morris. He has received commissions and awards from the NC Governor’s School, ALEA III, the Chamber Music Conference and Composers Forum of the East, and others. He serves as co-director and founder of the pulsoptional new-music ensemble, and is a guitarist for the indie-rock band The Sames.

Fabrizio Fontanot was born in Trieste (Italy) in 1962. He is a music teacher. He took the diploma in Trumpet at Conservatorio “ J.Tomadini” in Udine, the diploma in Composition and Band Istrumentation at the Conservatorio “ Dall’Abaco” in Verona and he studied Choir Direction and Choir Composition at the Conservatorio “ Steffani” in Castelfranco Veneto. He received awards in National and International Composition Contests such as "Inno a San Francesco" Italian Federation Pueri Cantores Assisi (1 st Prize), "Accademia Setticlavio" Salerno (3th Prize), Britten on the Bay New York (1 st Prize), Vittoria Caffa Righetti Torino (1st Prize), Città di Pietra Ligure (2nd Prize ). “ Città di Cortemilia” 2000 and 2001 (3th Prize) and finalist in the “Helmut Laberer” Timpano d'oro Roma (Italy), Irino Prize (Japan), ISCM New York (USA) Union Grand Duc Adolphe (Belgium), “Rosolino Toscano” Pescara (Italia), “Diapason d’argento” Mantova (Italy). His works have been performed by various artists around the world.

Mark Francis (b. 1958) is Director of Education and Community Outreach for The Florida Orchestra in Tampa. He previously served as Director of Education and Librarian for the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra and has taught at Mississippi State University, Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, Centenary College, Northwestern State University and Power Academic and Performing Arts Complex. He holds a D.M.A. in composition from the University of Kentucky. A recipient of 10 ASCAP Standard Awards and an ASCAP Plus Award for his compositions which include chamber, orchestral, choral and electronic works as well as over 75 art songs. His compositions are frequently performed at prestigious festivals such as the Society Of Composers, Inc. National Meeting, Resolution 2000 New Music Festival, The Corcoran Gallery Contemporary Music Series in Washington, DC and the North American Saxophone Association. His compositions and arrangements are published by Conners Publications, Carillon Music from Albany Little Piper Publications, Gold Branch Music and Imagine Music. He is a past Board Member for Composition of College Music Society, South Chapter and past President of the Southeastern Composers League and a frequent contributor to 21st Century Music.

 

 

Nickos Harizanos studied composition, orchestration, harmony, and counterpoint in Athens under the supervision of composers Christos Lambrianidis and Spiros Klapsis from 1992 to 1999. He then continued his studies in composition at Manchester University with John Casken and Geoffrey Poole, graduating with a Master of Music degree in Composition. In 2006 he will start his studies for a Ph.D. degree in Composition in the UK. His music has been performed throughout Europe including performances in London, Manchester, Aberystwyth, Kiev, Bucharest, Athens, Salonika, Corfu, and Rhodes. He has received prizes in composition for competitions sponsored by the following: Foudoulis Conservatory, London Chamber Group, Oare String Orchestra, and the National Conservatory of Greece. His music has been broadcast by national television and redio sations. He is a member of the Hellenic Electroacoustic Music Composers Association in Greece.

Derek Healey was born in Wargrave, England in 1936, and studied composition with Herbert Howells and organ with Harold Darke at the Royal College of Music, London and with Boris Porena and Gofredo Petrassi in Italy. he has won prizes in the UK, Italy and the USA and has taught theory, composition and ethnic music at the universities of Victoria, Toronto, Guelph and Oregon, finally becoming Academic Professor of Music at the RAF School of Music in Uxbridge, England. He has written works in most genres, having had some forty works published in the UK, Canada, and the USA. Works for large ensembles, particularly "Arctic Images" and "One Midsummer's Morning", have been played by fifteen orchestras or wind ensembles, and the opera "Seabird Island" was the first contemporary opera to be taken on a cross-Canada tour. His study "The Influence of African-American Music on the Works of Frederick Delius" has recently been published by the Delius Society (Philadelphia Branch). Healey, who has his doctorate from the University of Toronto and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists, is now retired from teaching and spends his time with composition and research, residing in the Cobble Hill district of Brooklyn, New York.

Mary Ann Joyce-Walter, born in Champaign, Illinois, is a Professor of Music at Manhattanville College, New York. She received her B.A. and B.M. at Fontbonne University, St. Louis, and completed her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at Washington University, St. Louis. Her most significant teachers were A. Sonderskov, Anna T. Walsh, John Joseph Bezdek, Robert Wykes, Paul Pisk, Ruth Anderson, and Rosalyn Tureck. She has composed for chorus, instrumental ensembles, guitar, musical theater, and orchestra, and has written extensively for voice, including over twenty songs and choral works on texts by Gerard Manley Hopkins. In addition, she has lectured on "Hopkins as Composer" at the International Hopkins Summer School in Co. Kildare, Ireland. Her works have been performed throughout the United States, especially in the New York area, in Europe, Mexico, South America, Dominican Republic, and in Russia. a recent composition, "Prelude for Solo Flute" will be included in "Laurels: The Twenty-First Century American Women Composers Project". her works have been published by Capstone Records and Pioneer Drama Company. she has recently completed "Cantata for the Children of Terezin" for orchestra, chorus, and children's voices, "Aceldama" for String Orchestra and Solo Flute, and "Only For So Short Awhile..." for SATB, piano, and drums. She is a member of ASCAP, New York Women Composers, and The American Music Center.

Jiri Kaderabek was born in 1978 in Zlin, Czech Republic. At age six he started attending piano lectures at the basic musical school but he left it prefering arts and theatre. In 1993 he began study at the business high school with a renewed interest in music. He started to study piano and composition, played in rock and jazz bands and he attended the Summer Jazz Workshops in Svitavy, CR and also the Workshop of Berklee College of Music Boston in Frydlant, CR. In 1995 he got 4th prize at the National Piano Competition and two years later he was taken on study of piano and composition at the Conservatory of Jaroslav Jezek in Prague, CR. He composed, arranged and performed with Prague jazz bands and a gospel band, he also work in author´s duo and two musical-literal projects. At that time he started being interested intensively in film and theatre music (FAMU, Czech Television, Theatre Na Zabradli, Theatre Komedie etc.). In 2001 he began to study composition at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (graduated in 2006). He attended the International Composition Courses in Cesky Krumlov (2003) and got the bourse La Sacem for work residency for composers in Paris (2005). He got 2nd prize (2003) and 3rd prize (2004) at the National Composition Competition „Generace“. He co-operated with the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hradec Kralove Symphony Orchestra, North Czech Philharmony Teplice, National Theatre in Prague, Rainbow Quartet, Ensemble Calliopee etc. Some of his works were recorded for the Czech Radio.

Daniel Kallman maintains a large and varied catalog of works for orchestra, winds, chorus, chamber ensemble and the young musician. His steady stream of commissions includes music for worship, theater, dance, radio and the concert stage. Kallman’s works are performed across the United States, Europe and East Asia. He has composed for the National Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, A Prairie Home Companion, Vocalessence, and a wide variety of vocal and instrumental ensembles. He has received support from the American Composers Forum, Meet the Composer, and the McKnight and Jerome Foundations. Kallman continues to work on concert and recording projects with Garrison Keillor and Philip Brunelle which have toured throughout the United States. As a composer of worship music, Kallman is best known for his setting of the Lutheran liturgy, “Light of Christ”, which is featured in the hymnal With One Voice. His church choir anthems, hymn settings and other service music are widely published and sung throughout the country. He has also gained a significant reputation as a composer for the amateur performer, having received commissions from many church, school, community, and youth ensembles. Kallman holds degrees from Luther College and the University of Minnesota. He  currently lives in Northfield, MN with his family where he composes full time.

 

Johnathan K. Kana received his Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude, in Sacred Music from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. While there, he co-founded the Composers' Collective of Southwestern University, a student organization of composers, musicians, and patrons of new music, which produces an annual concert of original student music on the university campus. While at Southwestern, he studied composition under the tutelage of Hseuh-Yung Shen and Douglas Rust, and he has received lessons from James Romig, Jason Hoogerhyde, Jonathan Santore, and Jason Bahr. He has been an active student participant in the Composers' Forum of the Associated Colleges of the South. He is currently a graduate business student at Walden University and aspires towards a professional career in music business and publications. Throughout his career, he has served as an administrator, educator, choral conductor, and multi-instrumentalist, and his catalog includes piano, vocal, choral, and instrumental chamber works of all sorts, both of sacred and secular character.

Shigeru Kan-no is a Japanese Composer-Conductor in Aoki/ Iino/ Fukushima/ Japan. Shigeru has studied in Fukushima, Tokyo, Wien, Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg and Frankfurt with Shimazu, Nishimura, Österreicher, Bernstein, Lachenmann, Rilling and Zender: theory, piano, composition, conducting and musicology. Kan-no has won 34 competiton and conducting Prizes, and has won Fellowship and Bursarry 16 times. 12 times Participating with Great Composers Seminar and/or private Lesson. 12 times Invitation at the Festivales for New Music. 12 times Tournee-Project. 7 Seminares for Composers over 100 Opera-repertoires, 500 Concert-repertoires. WVE-Number:The total number of own works in Europe only is 224 plus 10 electric music and cinema music; 19 Arranges; ca.100 Arranges of Originals.

Martin Q Larsson, composer and musician, born 3 May 1968 in Trollhättan, Sweden. Studies in music and creative writing in Svalöv 1987-89. Bachelor Degree in Music, Literature and Music Psychology, Uppsala University, 1989-94. Composition at Royal College Conservatory of Music, Stockholm, for Sandström, Lindgren, Rosell, Brunson, Ekström, 1994-97. Studies in harmony for M. Padding, Amsterdam, 2003. Project Leading, Mindset Academy 2003. Lives and works as composer and musician south of Stockholm, Sweden. Artistic leader of the Basho Ensemble (contemporary chamber music). Artistic Leader of the Icecream Ensemble (large impro). Singer and Artistic Leader of Matandarnas Transgalaktiska Hiphopkapell The Next Generation. Trumpeter in, and co-founder of, The Great Learning Orchestra. Works with several professional ensembles in Sweden and Europe. Musical leader Spoken Word Festival 2003, Stockholm. Editor and founder of the net magazine Tritonus, former editor of Nutida Musik, about Modern Art Music. Editor of Tonsättaren, Producer of Composer’s Radio. Has worked a lot with children, and as a music journalist. Artistic leader Share Music Sweden 2003, 2004. Jury member of the Swedish Grammy Awards. STIM-grant 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003. Stockholm County Culture Prize 1999. Work Grant Konstnärsnämnden 2001, 2002, 2005. Fonogram-grant 2001. Music Academy Grant.

Scott T. Miller, P.h.D. candidate Theory/Composition UC Davis; M.M., East Carolina University; B.A., UNC Greensboro. Recent works include: Interfusion for horn and solo percussion which was commissioned and premiered by Michael Hrivnak and Chris Graham at SUNY Stony Brook on April 1, 2006; and Sonitude for trumpet and guitar which was commissioned and premiered by Luis Engelke and Michael Decker at the 2005 International Trumpet Guild Conference in Bangkok, Thailand on June 23, 2005. Miller's Triphonix for brass quintet won first prize in the 2004 Brass Chamber Music Forum Composition Contest hosted at Appalachian State University and judged by Eric Ewazen, and also won the 2004 Phi Mu Alpha National Composition Contest hosted at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and judged by Robert Washburn. Additional interests include computers and electronic music, and audio synthesis.

Adam Murphy is pursuing degrees in composition and music ed at UNC-Greensboro.  Murphy is a clarinetist and began studies in his native New Jersey with Bill Garton. He was awarded merit and music scholarships to attend UNCG and is currently studying clarinet with Kelly Burke and composition with Eddie Bass and Mark Engebretson. Honors include: First Place - UC Davis Summer Arts Young Composers Competition, Honorable Mention - New York Art Ensemble Young Composers Competition, Second Place and Honorable Mention – Southeastern Composers League Young Composers Competition.

Dr. Gary Powell Nash, a native of Flint, Michigan is an Associate Professor of Music at Fisk University in Nashville, TN. He holds the degrees of Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Michigan State University, Master of Music in Composition from Western Michigan University, and Ph.D. in Music Composition from Michigan State University. His former teachers include Jacob Druckman, Jere Hutcheson, Bernard Rands, Charles Ruggiero, Mark Sullivan, George Tsontakis, and Ramon Zupko. Nash's composition portfolio consists of works for orchestra, band, choir, art songs (four in Chinese), electroacoustic works and many instrumental chamber compositions. His music has been performed in all major regions of the United States and abroad in countries such as Canada, Italy, China, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the UK. Nash has received numerous grants, commissions and awards for his compositions including most recently a commissioning award from Millersville University of Pennsylvania to compose a work for symphonic band with narration commemorating the 150th anniversary of Millersville University. Others include Mississippi Arts Commission, American Composers Forum, Mississippi Humanities Council, Fulbright, where he was Visiting Professor of Music Composition at University of the Philippines-Diliman, Carnegie Hall, Michigan State University, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Artists' Colony and a 1994 ASCAP Foundation Grant to Young Composers Award. Four of Nash's compositions are featured on compact disc. Prior to his appointment at Fisk Nash was Associate Professor of Music Composition and Theory at Mississippi Valley State University.

Douglas O’Grady (b. 1974) is currently Assistant Professor of Music in Theory and Composition at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, Georgia. Originally from the southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island areas of New England, he holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Theory and Composition from the University of Alabama, a Master of Music degree in Theory and Composition from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and a Bachelor of Music degree in Theory and Composition from the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. Dr. O’Grady has had performances of his acoustic and electronic music at concerts and festivals across the country including the Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival, Southeastern Composers' Symposia, and SCI Regional and National Conferences. Composition awards include Second Prize in the SCI/ASCAP Student Commission Competition, and First Prize in the Frederic Goossen Award for Composition. Dr. O'Grady has received commissions from the Society of Composers, ASCAP, and such performers as Demondrae Thurman (euphonium), Anthony Barfield (trombone), and Ryan Smith (percussion). He has studied composition with C.P. First, Tristan Murail, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Charles Fussell, and Quincy Hilliard.

 

Dr. Dan Pinkston was born December 1st, 1972 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The son of American missionaries, he returned to the United States to study music at Ouachita Baptist University. Pinkston continued his composition study at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, TX, earning a Master of Music degree in 1997, and a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in 2000. Dr. Pinkston is currently Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Simpson University in Redding, CA. Previously, he taught as Adjunct Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Dallas Baptist University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, teaching courses in 20th century theory, composition, guitar, and music technology. Among Pinkston's many compositions are a setting of the four New Testiment canticles for choir and orchestra. Entitled Canticles, this piece includes the Nunc Dimittis, for which Pinkston won the 2000 American Choral Director's Association Brock Memorial Composition Contest. Other composition awards include the 1999 Austin ProChorus Composition Contest, the 2000 Delta Omicron International Music Fraternity Composer's Contest, and the 1998 American-Romanian Team for the Arts Composition Contest. Recent commissions include the Concerto for Clarinet for clarinetist Michael Thrasher, Victimae Paschali Laudes for Renaissance Consort of Ft. Worth, and the 2003 Delta Omicron Thor Johnson Commission. ASCAP Standard Awards were granted annually 2001-2004. Pinkston resides in Anderson, California.

Composer/ guitarist/ rapper Gene Pritsker has written over two hundred seventy compositions, including chamber operas, orchestral and chamber works, songs for hip-hop and rock ensembles, etc. All his compositions employ an eclectic spectrum of styles and are influenced by his studies of various musical cultures. He is the founder and leader of Sound Liberation; an eclectic band playing the New York club circuit. Other organizations he is associated with include: Composers' Concordance (advisory board since '96, Associate Director since '04), Absolute Ensemble (co-founder/ composer-in-residence '93-'96), The American Composers Forun (member NY chapter since '96), and The New Music Connoisseur magazine (critic since '97). Gene's "Poem #2" was performed by Dave Taylor at the 2005 International Trombone Festival.

Jonathan Santore ’s compositions have engaged and excited performers and audiences throughout the United States and Europe. Currently serving as Composer in Residence for the New Hampshire Master Chorale, Santore was a winner of the 1999 American Composers Forum Welcome Christmas! Carol Contest, and was also named New Hampshire Composer of the Year for 1999. Santore has won several other awards for his compositions, including Finalist in the 2005 NUVOVOX Choral Awards and the 2003 Wegmans/PMCP Band Composition Contest, Special Mention in the 2002 British Trombone Society/Brass in Association Composition Contest, Honorable Mention in the 2000 Britten-on-the-Bay Composition Competition, and performances at the New Hampshire Music Festival, the national conferences of the North American Saxophone Alliance and the Society of Composers, Inc., and the Ithaca College Choral Composition Contest. His works have been performed by ensembles including Minnesota’s VocalEssence Chorus, the Choir of Rochester Cathedral, England, and the New York University Choral Arts Society, and have been broadcast regionally by Maine Public Radio and Television, and nationally by Public Radio International. He has conducted performances of his own compositions in the United States and Europe, and his works have been recorded by California’s Oct agon New Music Ensemble and published by Manduca Music Publications, Walton Music Corporation, and American Carillon Music Editions. Currently Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition and Chair of the Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire (where he has been selected three times for inclusion in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers), Santore began his musical career as an All-State trumpet player in his native east Tennessee. He went on to study composition with Stephen Jaffe, Eugene Kurtz, Donald Grantham, and William Kraft, and holds academic degrees from Duke University, The University of Texas at Austin, and UCLA. Before moving to New England, Santore held teaching positions at Occidental College, California State University, Los Angeles, and the University of Minnesota. He is also active as a music theorist and as a conductor.

 

Carl Schimmel received Bachelors degrees in math and music from Case Western Reserve University and the MM-Composition from Yale.  He has studied with Anthony Kelley, Sydney Hodkinson, Scott Lindroth, Ezra Laderman, Martin Bresnick, Evan Ziporyn, and Pulitzer Prize-winner Ned Rorem.  He twice attended Aspen Music Festival and studied with George Tsontakis, Christopher Rouse and Poul Ruders.  Honors include: Woods Chandler Prize from Yale, Bearns Prize from Columbia University, finalist Seoul International Composition Competition, Third prize SCI/ASCAP composition competition. He is currently a Doctoral student in composition at Duke. Carl is originally from Rhode Island.

Dr. Tom Schnauber holds a Ph.D. in composition and theory from the University of Michigan. A German-American composer, he is active as a composer of concert music of all genres as well as music for stage.

Robert Schoen grew up in Wantagh, Long Island. Robert Schoen is a graduate of Boston University, Laney College, the University of California, Berkeley, and most recently, California State University Hayward, where he received a degree in Music Composition. He has attended the Peabody Preparatory School in Baltimore, and studied piano with California composer Aaron Blumenfeld and saxophone with Hal Stein, Larry Schneider, Bill Aron, and Dann Zinn. At California State University Hayward, his instructors included Giancarlo Aquilanti, Jeffrey Miller and Frank LaRocca. Schoen has received awards from ASCAP, Cal State University Hayward, and the Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation. Besides composing, he is the author of the critically acclaimed book, What I Wish My Christian Friends Knew About Judaism (Loyola Press, Chicago). Schoen has written two works for musical theater. Concert works by Robert Schoen include pieces for cello, clarinet, saxophone, piano, trombone, and mixed ensemble. InfiniteCourage, written for concert band and dedicated to the memory of the crew of the space shuttle Columbia, has been performed by university and military wind bands, including the ensembles at Stanford University, William Paterson University, and the 399th Army Band (Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri).

Andrew J Skaggs was born into a musical family in Ashland, Kentucky and began composing at age 11.  He attended DePauw University and Arizona State University, and studied composition with David Ott, John Corigliano, James Mulholland and Dominick Argento.  His recent work "Postcards," published by Gold Branch Music, was premiered in March 2005 at the University of South Florida to enthusiastic acclaim.  Mr. Skaggs is currently the Principal Trombonist with the South Carolina Philharmonic, Acting Second Trombonist with the Charlotte Symphony, and Bass Trombonist with the Salisbury Symphony.  Also fluent in jazz, he serves as lead trombonist with the Charlotte Jazz Orchestra.  He lives in Concord, NC with his wife, Shannon.

David Sonnenberg is active as a free-lancer and composer in Greensboro, NC and is currently employed by Eastern Music Festival. David earned degrees in trombone performance from Penn State and UNC-Greensboro. He has soloed at the International Trombone Festival and Eastern Trombone Workshop and performed with the Penns Wood's Orchestra, Harrisburg Opera, and Altoona Symphony. He has performed with and opened for Maynard Ferguson, Dave Holland, Nicholas Payton, Chris Vadala, Mike Davis, and others with the Centre Dimensions jazz ensemble.

Yong-Won Sung resides in South Korea. Sung attended the college of music in Karlsruhe, Germany from 1994 until 1999, specializing in musicology and composition with Prof. Bernd Asmus and piano with Eva-Maria Rieckert. He received a Bachelor degree in musicology and composition in 1999 and completed a Masters in composition at the Robert Schumann Music University in Duesseldorf, Germany from 1999 to 2001. Sung won a prize from the "Jugend musiziert" in Germany, and in 1999 was selected as "Young Composer of the Year" from the Korean Music Critic Society. He has participated in the Varna Music Festival, Konstanta Music Festival, "Der Treffen" summer course in Bayreuth, workshops in Buckow and Darmstadt. Sung received grants and awards from the Hannover Expo and several national contemporary music festivals in Korea. His work Pandragon has been recorded by Stockholm chamber brass ensemble on BIS Records.

Antonio Tenace is currently undertaking a Master of Music degree in Composition under the guidance of Brenton Broadstock at the University of Melbourne where he has been awarded a Bachelor of Music with Honors. He was also awarded a Bachelor of Music from La Trobe University in 2000 having studied physics and contemporary music before the faculty was terminated. Prior to embarking the compositional path, he worked professionally as a keyboardist, arranger and musical director in a variety of ensembles including popular, jazz fusion and original progressive rock bands which performed regularly at local nightclub and hotel venues and on occasion provided support for touring international acts. Since studying the classical piano literature in his teenage years, his engagement with music has been one of plurality that has encompassed many diverse genres and has undoubtedly contributed to his compositional style. Recent public performances of his work include compositions for Bass Trombone, Piano Duo, Piano Trio, Brass Quintet, String Quartet and an Electro-Acoustic piece.

Luca Vanneschi (b. 1962 in Montepulciano) received a diploma in flute at the "Morlacchi" Conservatory of Music in Perugia, where he studied under Roberto Fabbriciani. He then studied composition with Detlav Glanert, Carlo Alberto Neri, David Graham, and Dinu Ghezzo. He has written many works for orchestra, chamber groups and soloists, as well as music for theatre scenes, sound tracks, and musical commentaries for TV and radio programs. His music has been performed in Italy, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Ireland, Luxemburg, Moldova, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Peru, Canada and the United States, and broadcast by RAI (Italy), BBC (Great Britian) and ZDF (Germany). His recordings are featured on such labels as Agenda, Athena Records, LGNM Editions and Pentaphon. Mr. Vanneschi has been composing the music for the plays put on by the "Compagnia del Teatro Povero di Monticchiello" since 1991. He has received numerous international awards for his compositions including: Union Grand-Duc Adolphe, Citta di Barletta, G.F. Ghedini, IBLA Foundation, Citta Di Pescara, Britten-on-the-Bay, Citta di Barletta, Wiener Sommer-Seminars fur Rosolino Toscano, Paolo Barsacchi, Ottavio Caiazzo, Percussive Arts Society, Ottavio Caiazzo, Rosolino Toscano, Brass in Association-Leeds University, IMRO/Mostly Modern, Ars Poetica, Poesie in musica. Vanneschi was elected a Fellow of the North American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002.

Curt Veeneman received his Ph.D. in composition in 1989 from the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied with Andrew Imbrie. He received his M.A. in 1985 from the University of Iowa, where he studied with Donald Martin Jenni and Richard Hervig. He has spoken and/or his works have been performed throughout the United States, in Canada, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Bulgaria. He is the winner of several awards, including the ASCAP-Hubbell Award for composition. Veeneman has been very active in promoting new music. At the University of Alberta, Canada, he directed the new music ensemble Sonor Borealis, and at the University of the Pacific he founded and directed the concert series, PACIFIC MARKET: Fresh Music From Around The World. Veeneman also directed the Society of Composers Region VIII conference in 1995 and the Talloires International Composers’ Conference in France in 1996. Veeneman's works include The Wiry Concord for 5-string banjo, dulcimer, cimbalom, harp, harpsichord, piano, viola and percussion (available on Capstone Records, and featured in the SCI Journal of Music Scores, vol. 35), Mountain Thyme, based on Bulgarian folk music (recently recorded by the Sofia Symphony Orchestra), Alcuin's Riddle, for orchestra and 15 soloists who cross the “audience-river,” Hommage à Martin Jenni (multum amas) for voice, flute, 'cello, piano, and percussion, Windmills, computer music featuring sampled wind turbines on California's Altamont Pass, and Pneuma for solo flute, of which Gérard Condé wrote in Le Monde (Paris, 29 August 1996), “J’ai beaucoup apprécié le lyrisme et la rigueur de Pneuma pour flûte de Curt Veeneman . . .” (I greatly appreciate the lyricism and the precision of Curt Veeneman’s Pneuma for flute . . .). As a performer, Veeneman is recorded on Music and Arts. He lives in California with his wife and three children.

Claudio Viggiano was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1961. He attended SADEM music school  and studied guitar with Maximo Pujol, Armando De la Vega, and Hugo Romero and composition with Gustavo Mozzi and Gabriel Senanes. He performed with the group "Ensamble de Tango" under the direction of Hector Mele and "Los Abajo Firmantes" which premiered several of his chamber works. These groups performed at Teatro San Martin, Centro Cultural Ricardo Rojas, and Cafe Tortoni. In 2002 Viggiano's "If Buenos Aires Had a Sea Shore" won first prize in the Music-Scores.com International Composition Contest.

An-Ming Wang was born in Shanghai, China. She received her musical training in China and in the United States. She holds a B.E. Degree from Central China University (an affiliate of Yale), A B.M. degree from Wesleyan Conservatory, and an M.A. degree from Columbia University. She also studied at the Julliard School of Music. Ms. Wang's works have been performed at the White House, Kennedy Center, National Gallery of Art, and the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. Her compositions were also performed at Carnegie Hall, The Spoleto Festival in Charleston, and in major music festivals throughout the US. Her choral compositions were performed by the Atlanta Choral Guild and the Paul Hill Chorale/ Washington Singers. Her full length opera, "Lan Ying", was premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. It also won second place in a national competition sponsored by the National League of American Pen Women. Her flute and piano compositions "Solemn Silhouettes" and "Kapalua" won First Prize at the National Mid-Administration Congress of the National Pen Women's League. She was awarded a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council. Her music has been televised and broadcast in the United States and abroad. She is the recipient of several ASCAP awards. Her piano compositions have been selected as required performance pieces for the Young Artists Piano Competition held in Baltimore, MD. Ms. Wang is a member of SAI, ASCAP, the American Music Center, the International Alliance for Women in Music, The Friday Morning Music Club, SCI, Southeastern Composers' League, the National Federation of Music Clubs, and the National League of American Pen Women, Inc. Ms. Wang is a citizen of the United States.

Jonathan Warburton is one of England's most versatile and busiest bass trombonists. After graduating from Birmingham Conservatoire with a first class honours degree in bass trombone, he spent two years with the National Youth Wind Orchestra and also performed with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. A versatile performer, Jonathan currently plays in several different big bands including Fat Chops and Garry Allcock's All Stars. He is also the bass trombonist with the award-winning Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra, 9-times winners of the BBC National Big Band competition. Keeping abreast with new material for bass trombone, Jonathan is an active member of the British Trombone Society where he regularly performs new pieces. Recent premieres performed have been by such composers as Gareth Wood (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra), Ted Watson, Chris Stem, John Frith and Guy Woolfenden (Royal Shakespeare Company). In 2001 Jonathan gave the U.K. premiere of Eric Ewazen's, Rhapsody for Bass Trombone and Strings, and in 2002 he performed the European premiere of Mr. Ewazen's Ballade. The following year he performed the European premiere of EricEwazen's -Bass Trombone Concerto as well as giving premieres to works by Tom Dossett and Alan Hovhaness. In 2004 Jonathan performed theworld premiere of Ian Mitchell's Bass Trombone Concerto and was invited to perform theEuropean premiere of Paul Sarcich's Bass Trombone Concerto at the BASBWE Festival held at theRoyal Northern College of Music, Manchester.As an educator and leader in the newest concepts of teaching low brass performance, Jonathan hasconducted master classes not only in his home country of England, but invitations from prominentuniversities and music conservatories have taken him to the countries of Australia, South Africa,and the United States. His classes and teaching methods are designed for students and performersof all ages and levels. Future plans for educational seminars are in the works for New Zealand and Spain. Jonathan hasrecently recorded his own solo CD entitled, "Moving On," in which he was also executive producer. The CD is available through Hickey's Music and Warwick Music. Currently Jonathan is a U.K. artistfor the Edwards Musical Instnunent Company. In his spare time he is actively involved in gymnastics.

 

Born in California in 1978, James Woodward began writing music in Wisconsin. A string bassist and pianist, James studied composition with Stephen Hartke, Ronald Foster, and John Downey. His musical works have been performed by the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, the USC Symphony Orchestra, the United States Army Orchestra, and many other ensembles across the United States and Europe. His first orchestrated children's book, "When Rebecca Woogie Came to Town", was read and performed by Walter Ritter and the Classics for Kids Philharmonic. His works have also featured soloists Alan Baer, Kevin Hartman, John Higgins, Judith Lynn Stilman, Aaron Misenheimer, and David Zerkel among others. Recordings of his work are available on Mark Records and Gold Branch Records. Currently, James just completed writing the music for a short film by Gentry Smith, is performing for various films and projects in the Los Angeles area, and finds any available moment away from writing and performing to surf off the Southern California coast.

 

Man-Ching "Donald" Yu is one of the most active Hong Kong composers of his generation. He was born in 1980 in Hong Kong and made his debut as a soloist with Pan Asia Symphony Orchestra under the baton of his mentor Dr. Yip Wai Hong when he was 16, performing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 and Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1. During this time, he also studied theory, composition and conducting with Dr. Yip Wai Hong. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance from Baylor University where he studied piano with Krassimira Jordan. He also studied composition and conducting while at Baylor. In the summer of 2000, he attended piano summer classes in Vienna's Bösendorfer Piano Academy. He earned a Master of Arts degree in composition from Hong Kong Baptist University. In the summer of 2007, Yu earned a diploma in composition at the International Summer Academy "Mozarteum" in Salzburg, Austria where he studied composition with Ichiro Nodaira. As a soloist, he has premiered his piano music at the special presentation of the soundSCAPE in Cortona, Italy and at the International Summer Academy "Mozarteum" in 2007 summer. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in composition of the Hong Kong Baptist University studying composition under Christopher Keyes. His awards, grants and honours include International ASCAP Grants, Ithaca College's Commission Grant, Onondaga Civic Symphony's Commission Grant, Scholarships of the soundSCAPE, Scholarships of the "Internationale Sommerakademie der Universität Mozarteum" and University Grant studentships for Ph.D from the Hong Kong Baptist University. Yu is a prolific composer and has composed over hundred works in various genres including piano works, organ works, chamber music, vocal music, choral music, opera, film music, orchestral works, concerti and electronic music. His vast number of compositions have been heard in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Texas, Mexico City, England, Italy, Austria, and Hong Kong, and have been performed at various venues including the Hong Kong City Hall Theatre, the Hong Kong Science Museum, Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre, Yip's Salon de Musique, Hong Kong Baptist University, Baylor University, the Columbus Avenue Baptist Church in Waco, the Memorial Church and Adolphus Busch Hall of Harvard University, University of Northern Iowa, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Pittsburgh, the Community Culture Center Auditorium in Boston, Pennsylvania State University, Elmira College, Iglesia San Francisco El Grande in Ciudad de Mexico, Temple San Antonio in Queretaro Mexico, Teatro de Bellas Artes in San Miguel de Allende Mexico, Canterbury Christ Church University's St. Gregory Centre, and University of Music and Dramatic Arts Mozarteum Salzburg.  His piano and chamber music is released by Zimbel Records.in Massachusetts, U.S.A. on the CD, Illusions: Music of Man-Ching Donald Yu. Yu's music has been played by various prominent performers, ensembles, and orchestra including the Ithaca College Trombone Troupe, the Onondaga Civic Symphony Orchestra, U.S. organist Carson Cooman, the Choral Fellows of the Harvard University Choir, Duo46 as well as many other vocalists and instrumentalists . His music has also been commissioned by the Hong Kong Baptist University's Arts Faculty, renowned Chinese Poet Ya Hsien, the Ithaca College Trombone Troupe, the Onondaga Civic Symphony Orchestra, U.S. organist Carson Cooman, and renowned violinist Li Chuan Yun etc. From 2006-2007, he is named the artistic director of the Hong Kong Integrated Arts Association(HKIAA) . For further information on Yu, visit: http://www.societyofcomposers.org/user/man-chingdonaldyu.html

Richard Zarou is a composer of acoustic and electro-acoustic music. He has earned a Master’s degree in composition from Florida State University and a Bachelor’s degree from Shenandoah University. During those years Richard had the priveledge to study composition with William Averitt, Mark Wingate, Clifton Callender, and Ladislav Kubik. He has also had the opportunity to conduct private meetings with the renown composer Ellen Taaeffe Zwilich and masterclasses with Michael Torke and Martin Bresnick.  In a short career he has achieved many performances and awards including the winner of New Music @ECU in 2002 for Fragile Wraths and again in 2003 for Upon a Child. Upon a Child (published by Gold Branch Music) has become his most successful piece having also been performed at the famous Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Visit Richard's official site at: www.richardzarou.com