Born in Aguascalientes, México, Luis Fernando Amaya is a composer and percussionist based in Oslo. Topics such as collective memory and the relationship between humans and non-humans (such as plants, animals, or environments) are commonly present in his work. He studied composition and music theory at the Centro de Investigación y Estudios Musicales (CIEM) and holds a Ph.D. in composition and music technology from Northwestern University.
Amaya’s music has been performed throughout the Americas and Europe by performers such as the CEPROMUSIC (México), Arditti Quartet (UK), Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (Switzerland), Ensemble Dal Niente, Fonema Consort, Yarn/Wire (USA), Quartetto Indaco (Italy) amongst others. He is the recipient of awards and fellowships such as the Residency PRIX CIME (International Electroacoustic Music Competition 2023), a Presidential Fellowship (NU), and representing México in the 61st International Rostrum of Composers of the UNESCO in Helsinki, Finland. As a performer, Amaya is a member of the collective composition and free improvisation trio Fat Pigeon.
His scores are published by BabelScores.
His monographic album Cortahojas was recently released by Protomaterial Records.
Luis Fernando Amaya es un compositor y percusionista nacido en Aguascalientes, México actualmente viviendo en Oslo. Temas como memoria colectiva y la relación entre humanos y plantas, animales y territorios, son centrales en su obra. Estudió composición y teoría musical en el Centro de Investigación y Estudios de la Música (CIEM) y tiene un doctorado en composición y tecnología musical por parte de la Northwestern University.
Su música ha sido interpretada en distintas partes de América y Europa por intérpretes como el CEPROMUSIC (México), Arditti Quartet (Reino Unido), Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra (Suiza), Ensemble Dal Niente, Fonema Consort, Yarn/Wire (EUA), Quartetto Indaco (Italia) entre otros. Entre los reconocimientos que ha recibido destacan el Residency PRIX CIME (Competencia Internacional de Música Electroacústica 2023), una Beca Presidencial (Presidential Fellowship, NU) y el representar a México en la 61era Tribuna Internacional de Compositores de la UNESCO en Helsinki, Finlandia. Como intérprete, Luis Fernando es miembro del trio de composición colectiva e improvisación libre Fat Pigeon.
Sus partituras son publicadas por BabelScores.
Su álbum monográfico Cortahojas fue lanzado recientemente bajo el sello discográfico Protomaterial Records.
Marybeth Kurnat is a rising voice in modern choral music. Her debut work, Epitaph For A Romantic Woman, was premiered by the St. Charles Singers in October 2021. Her SATB work, I, Lover,was the 2021-22 winner of True Concord’s Stephen Paulus Emerging Composers’ Competition. She premiered her work, The Lagoon, as a 2023 Composition Fellow for the PREMIERE|Project Festival.
Eight of Marybeth’s new choral works received world premieres throughout 2023 in Illinois, California, Arizona, Wisconsin and Louisiana, and six more will be premiered throughout 2024 and 2025 by high school, collegiate, community and professional ensembles. She has been commissioned by soprano Elizabeth Shuman, Chicago Choral Artists, Baker Memorial Church of St. Charles, The Giving Voices Collective, Northern Illinois University School of Music, the Spectra Choir, Constellation Men’s Ensemble and DeKalb High School.
Described as “transcendent” and “otherworldly,” Marybeth’s compositional voice is strongly influenced by her musical roots as a jazz saxophonist – most clearly illustrated in her colorful, adventurous harmonic vocabulary and uniquely fluid command of rhythm. She has received especially high praise for her piano writing. Her compositional influences include Brad Mehldau, Wayne Shorter, Jacob Collier, Rollo Dilworth, and Stephen Paulus. Her arranging portfolio also includes music for jazz ensemble, concert band, chamber music, string orchestra, and commercial a cappella.
Marybeth holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Northern Illinois University, where she studied voice with Diane Ragains and saxophone with Steve Duke. She has taught in Illinois public schools since 2011, and currently serves as a vocal and instrumental music educator for the DeKalb School District. She is a District 8 Representative for the Illinois Music Education Association. She was a Student Composition Track clinician at the 2024 ILMEA All-State Festival, and will return to that post in January 2025. She has also presented professional development to music educators on integrating composition into the secondary music classroom. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Composition at Washington State University.
In addition to teaching and composing, Marybeth writes poetry, and maintains an active performance schedule as a choral singer and soprano soloist in the greater Chicago area. She regularly appears with the St. Charles Singers, Chicago Choral Artists, and the Grant Park Music Festival Chorus. She is a member of ACDA, AGMA, and ILMEA.
Marybeth is an ASCAP-registered composer and publisher, and her music is available for direct purchase or through MusicSpoke.
Eric Malmquist writes earnestly heartfelt and engaging music. He draws on a deep love of early music and modern influences to produce works that are focused and emotional.
He has been commissioned and performed by the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, Baroque on Beaver Island, Chicago Composers Orchestra, the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra, tubist Scott Tegge, historical keyboardist Charles Metz, historical flutist Leighann Daihl Ragusa, Chatter, Constellation Men’s Ensemble, the International Chamber Artists, the Newberry Consort and the Wicker Park Choral Singers.
His tuba sonata has been performed by Gene Pokorny of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Scott Tegge of Gaudete Brass. A passionate composer of art song, his works have been performed by Grammy-nominated tenor Nick Phan, Grammy-nominated soprano Laura Strickling, early music specialists Ellen Hargis and Josefien Stoppelenburg, and soprano Ariana Strahl. Ariana premiered his orchestra song set Let Me Sing with the Chicago Composers Orchestra in 2019. His commissioned work Prairie Music for CYSO was featured on Chicago’s Ear Taxi Festival in October 2016 and at Midwest Clinic in December 2016. CCO and WPCS co-commissioned and performed Blemish’d Muse, a twenty-minute work for choir and orchestra, in 2016. His song cycle If You Travel Far Enough was the very first commission of the ICA, and was featured on Live from WFMT in 2015. Michael Hall premiered his Sonata for Viola and Piano in 2014, and Gaudete Brass premiered his Three Preludes in 2013.
His music has been performed across the US and has been featured repeatedly on 98.7WFMT. Recordings of his music are on sale: “Music in Bloom” featuring period instruments, on the disc “New Song” and by pianist Jonathan Hannau.
Jordan Nelson (he/him) is a composer and educator based in Southern California. Jordan’s musical projects are often driven by collaboration, and his output ranges from abstract concert works to ambient electronic music. Jordan’s compositions have been performed by HOCKET, Viano Quartet, Lucy Fitz Gibbon and Argus Quartet, Lina Bahn and Matt Haimovitz, Thomas Kotcheff, Clara Kim, Diana Newman, Jack Cimo, NOW ensemble, MoVE (Modern Violin Ensemble), Contemporaneous, Orchestra 2001, Yale Schola Cantorum, and WomenSing, among others.
Jordan’s recent projects include a work for string quartet commissioned by the Viano Quartet (Join), a piece for classical guitar and electronics written for and in collaboration with Jack Cimo (I Dream I Was Underwater), and a new electronic music project (Color Perception E.P.). Other notable works include a large-scale project for soprano, string quartet, and projected images (Tender Buttons) based on poetry by Gertrude Stein, with original artwork by Morgan Thomas Shankweiler, and a collection of pieces for solo piano based upon the Great American Songbook (Songbook for piano) created in collaboration with Thomas Kotcheff.
Jordan is also a passionate educator, and in addition to teaching private composition lessons, he has served on the faculty for multiple young composer programs and workshops in Southern California. At the college level, Jordan teaches at The Colburn Conservatory of Music and at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He has previously served on the faculty of the West Chester University Wells School of Music, the USC Thornton School of Music, and Yale University.
Jordan earned his D.M.A. and M.M. in Composition from the USC Thornton School of Music, and he received his B.A. in Music from Yale University. Originally from Swarthmore, PA, Jordan lives in the Los Angeles area.
Erik Pearson is a Minnesota native who has been active in musical theater, opera, concert music, and educational theater for the past 20 years. Performances range from professional stages in Minneapolis and Chicago, to 9 seasons with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks. He’s also appeared with the Guthrie Theater, Children’s Theatre Company, Intermountain Opera Bozeman, Theater Latte Da, Underscore Theatre, Chanhassen Dinner Theaters, and the Minnesota Orchestra.
His public career as a composer is somewhat shorter, although he wrote his first choral work at the age of 15. Having worked closely with the late Minnesotan composer Stephen Paulus as general manager for Paulus Publications, Pearson’s musical output is lush and thoughtful, with particular emphasis on the authenticity of text in music. His piece for tenor and piano, Bethesda, MD: Nov 23, 1963, won first place at Chicago’s inaugural SongSLAM in 2019, performed by tenor Ryan Townsend Strand.
Erik studied music at St. Olaf College, and at the Aspen Music Festival, with graduate studies in theater at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
An internationally acclaimed singer and composer from Pennsylvania, Erik Potteiger is a multi-talented musician, playing several instruments, recording and composing in many different genres, and performing with vocal flexibility both in ensemble and solo settings.
As a bass, Erik has sung professionally across a plethora of cities and states in the US, as well as nine countries across three continents. He is sought after as a classical and jazz vocalist, taking the stage to perform with many internationally recognized singers and instrumentalists. As an accomplished ensemble singer, Erik is quickly expanding his ensemble commitments, which currently include work with the 2018-2019 Voces8 Scholars Program Ensemble (London, England), The Cathedral Singers (Columbia, SC), The Cecilia Ensemble (Augusta, GA), Choral Arts Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA), CORO Vocal Artists (Des Moines, IA), Coro Vocati (Atlanta, GA), CSoD (Wilmington, DE), The Red Shift (Baton Rouge, LA), and The Village Carolers (Medford, NJ). He also regularly sings across a plethora of church music programs in the greater Philadelphia/NYC network for a variety of musical happenings including evensong, compline, lessons and carols, special services, weddings, funerals, and sponsored chamber music programs.
As a composer, Erik’s music has been featured in multiple short film soundtracks including work by 1080C Productions, as well as broadcast on radio stations across the state of South Carolina. He is continuing to take on more writing work via internationally recognized performing ensembles and instrumentalists including the Voces8 US Scholars Ensemble.
Erik holds his bachelors of music in choral music education and vocal performance from the University of South Carolina and has experience as a teacher of choir, private voice, piano, and percussion. Away from his professional engagements, Erik enjoys writing, producing, and recording his own music, often collaborating with other high caliber performing artists. His most recent release, When October Wandered By, is a collaborative jazz concept album featuring Grammy nominated jazz pianist Lars Potteiger.
Erik now resides in Philadelphia, PA when he is not performing elsewhere. For more information regarding Erik’s general touring schedules, click the “calendar” tab above to find a performance near you.
Paul John Rudoi is an award-winning musician, entrepreneur, and advocate for the arts. Deemed “indisputably unique, confident, and innovative,” Paul’s compositions are commissioned and performed worldwide. As a tenor vocalist, Paul performs with professional ensembles nationwide including Seraphic Fire, True Concord, The Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and Cantus. Paul is the co-founder of “Consortio,” an online consortium building platform with tools, services, and a marketplace to help musicians connect and facilitate new music commissions. Most recently,
Paul served as Artistic Director of the St. John’s Boys’ Choir, a staple of Central Minnesota’s arts community, during their 40th Anniversary Season.
Paul holds degrees from the Hartt School and the University of Oregon. His teachers include Dr. Sharon Paul, Robert Kyr, and Dr. Edward Bolkovac. Visit www.pauljohnrudoi.com for more information and for a complete catalog of works.
Scott Senko is a composer and singer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a 2015 graduate of Luther College where he studied composition with Brooke Joyce and Steve Smith, and voice with Andrew Whitfield.
He has received commissions from The Esoterics, the Young New Yorkers’ Chorus, and the Source Song Festival. He served as Composer-In-Residence with Magnum Chorum 2016-2017 and was selected as winner of Cantus’ 2021 Young & Emerging Composers Competition for his tenor-bass piece “grip.”
As a tenor, Scott has sung with a number of vocal ensembles in the Twin Cities. Currently, he sings with The Singers ~ Minnesota Choral Artists, MPLS (imPulse), and is a member of the professional Schola at the Cathedral of Saint Paul.
Michael Robert Smith (b. 1989) is an award-winning composer of contemporary concert music. His music has been described as “Relatively simple, elegantly-turned, beautifully vocal music with a compelling through-line from start to finish” (Gabriel Jackson) and as “Mesmerizing, beautiful, and inventive” (Lori Laitman). He has been commissioned and performed by The Crossing, Chorosynthesis, Mouthscape, the SFCM New Music Ensemble, soprano Winnie Neih, The Glassbrook Vocal Ensemble, Pianist Josh Wilson, Singing City, The Commonwealth Club of California, cellist Nadia Geier, Ensemble for These Times, violinist Sam Weiser, Convoco, and the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia.
Michael has won multiple awards and prizes, including the 1st place prize in the SFCM Biennial Choral Composition competition, 2nd place prize in the SFCM Biennial Art Song Competition, the Commonwealth Club of California’s Fanfare Commission, and Third Place in the American Prize in Composition for Large Scale Choral Works. He also received an honorable mention in the 2022 National Association of Teachers of Singing’s Art Song Composition Competition.
In addition to composing, Michael is an active choral performer and church musician, as well as a conductor. He has performed with many prestigious institutions including the New York Philharmonic, The London Philharmonia, the Philadelphia Orchestra (featured soloist), and the Simon Bolivar Orchestra as a member of the Westminster Symphonic Choir.
Ginny Strawson was born in Oxford, England and now lives in London where she works as pianist, violinist, teacher, accompanist, arranger and composer. She is a member of London Oriana Choir which last year premièred her four haiku settings Nature Notes, and will be performing them again this May.
While a member of the contemporary six-piano ensemble Piano Circus, Ginny
performed in major festivals around the world including Hong Kong, New York,
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Italy and many other European countries. The group
commissioned over a hundred new works and recorded seven albums on Decca’s
Argo label. In 1994, with other members of the group, Ginny performed and
recorded Stravinsky’s Les Noces with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchestra Berlin,
conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy.
As a violinist, Ginny has performed in many classical and contemporary groups.
Highlights include a tour of the UK with jazz legend Abdullah Ibrahim, leading the
string quartet for the Bootleg Beatles tour, and performing at major European
venues with the conductorless Kreisler String Orchestra.
Ginny teaches violin and piano, and coaches string and orchestral ensembles. She
has composed and arranged for young groups extensively over the years, often
creating works with children using various composing techniques. She is presently
working on her series Modalities, a set of pieces for flexible student ensembles, each based on one of the seven historical Western modes.
Ginny lives in East London with her cellist/potter partner Ben Davies. They have
three grown-up children.
Rebecca Morgan Frank is the author of four books of poetry: Oh You Robot Saints! (Carnegie Mellon UP), one of the New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2021; Sometimes We’re All Living in a Foreign Country (CMUP) ; The Spokes of Venus (CMUP); and Little Murders Everywhere (Salmon Poetry), shortlisted for the Kate Tufts Discovery Award. Her poems have appeared in The New Yorker, American Poetry Review, Ploughshares, The Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, Poetry Ireland, Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day, The Slowdown Show, and elsewhere. Her collaborations with composers have been performed and exhibited across the country, and her short stories have been published in such places as Catapult, Joyland, Swamp Pink (formerly Crazyhorse), and Prairie Schooner. A former reviewer for the Poetry Foundation’s Harriet Books, she co-writes a monthly poetry review column at Lit Hub.
The recipient of such honors as the Poetry Society of America’s Alice Fay di Castagnola Award and a Meier Achievement Award, Frank has been awarded fellowships from the Mississippi Arts Commission Fellowship, Sewanee Writers’ Conference; the Ragdale Foundation; the Writers’ Room of Boston; Emory University’s Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library; and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and she has served as writer-in-residence at the Hemingway Birthplace in Oak Park.
Frank holds an MFA from Emerson College and a doctorate from the University of Cincinnati, where she was an Elliston Poetry Fellow and a Taft Dissertation Fellow. She has taught widely, including as a visiting poet in the graduate program at UC Irvine; as the Jacob Ziskind Poet-in-Residence at Brandeis University, as Distinguished Visiting Writer at Bowling Green State University, and as an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Writers, as well as in the MFA program in prose and poetry at Northwestern University. Co-founder and editor-in-chief of the online magazine Memorious, Frank serves on the working Board of Directors of the National Book Critics Circle and is a Visiting Assistant Professor in creative writing at Cornell University for 2023-24.
Ms. Howard is a Chicago-native, who has worked as community advocate for true change throughout Chicago areas. Her initial community engagement started at the age of 6, where her focus was speaking about high truancy rates with the CPS school systems and ways to reduce the school to prison pipeline. She has fought for immigration reform rights, equity within disadvantaged and under funded neighborhoods, incarceration reform and so much more. She has dedicated her life to the creation of true change and is now focused on creating true and equitable representation within the cannabis industry.
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