Meet the Composers

“A voice that leaps out and grabs you” and “loopy and charming” are how the Glasgow Herald and the Boston Globe describe the music of composer A.J. McCaffrey.

A recipient of The Juilliard Career Advancement Fellowship, CBA Fellowship at New York University, and a New Music USA Project Grant, Aaron Severini is a composer for concert, dance,film, television, and new media.

Aaron Israel Levin writes music that is guided by the emotional dynamism of storytelling and drama.

Adam Greene (b. 1970) is a composer and writer whose creative work references interests in literature, linguistics, and cognitive science in music that explores multiplicity, fragility, and instability, often through intensive examination of instrumental practice.

A sound can evoke a time, a place, a cultural moment, or a worldview. As someone who loves both the Western classical tradition and the world of pop culture, Alex Temple (b. 1983) has always felt uncomfortable with stylistic hierarchies and the idea of a pure musical language. 

Alexander Timofeev (b. 1983) debuted as a composer at age 19 performing his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (2003) with the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Moldova.

Amina Figarova is a New York based, Azerbaijan born pianist and composer whose group is fast developing a reputation on the international scene, with appearances in the USA and around the world, including the Newport Jazz Festival, Chicago festival, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Capetown Jazz festival and North Sea Jazz Festival, to name a few.

Composer-director Amy Beth Kirsten’s musical and conceptual language is characterized by an abiding interest in exploring theatrical elements of creation, performance, and presentation.

The prestigious literary magazine Jornal de Letras describes Andreia Pinto Correia’s compositions as “a major contribution to the dissemination of Portugal’s culture and language, perhaps a contribution larger than could ever be imagined.”

Andrew McManus’ (b. 1985) orchestral work Strobe, premiered in 2014 by the New York Philharmonic, was called “riveting” and “breathless…surging…hazy…sometimes all at once” by the New York Times.

Andy Akiho is a contemporary composer whose interests run from steel pan to traditional classical music.

Dr. Angel Lam is a Grammy-nominated composer who uses the beauty of soundscape, instrumentation and the written language to express refined emotions and her passion for life.

A native of both northeasten Massachusetts and Metropolitan New York, Anita attended The Pingree School in South Hamilton, MA and later graduated from Andover High School, Andover, MA.

The creative output of Anthony R. Green (composer, performer, social justice) includes musical
and visual creations, interpretations of original, contemporary, and repertoire works,
collaborations, educational outreach, and more.

Tidd’s musical palette as a composer and performer is diverse. He holds a deep knowledge of jazz, R&B, Hip-hop, classical, and new music, as well as a particular affinity for creative improvisation. Born and raised in the United Kingdom, he has been living and working in the United States since 1997.

Austin Jaquith is a composer and music professor living in the greater Dayton area where he teaches at Cedarville University.

Composer B. P. Herrington was born and raised in the Big Thicket of Texas and his music is rooted in the folk ballads and rural music of this unique region.

Described by the Huffington Post as “lovely,” the music of Ben Morris (b.1993) explores the intersections between jazz and concert music.

Benjamin Taylor, a trumpeter and pianist performs with and writes music for a variety of chamber ensembles, jazz combos and big bands, wind bands, choirs, and experimental ensembles.

Composer/pianist Brian Friedland’s music displays creativity through a large and varied body of works.

Brian Raphael Nabors (b.1991, Birmingham, AL) is a composer of emotionally enriching music that tells exciting narratives with its vibrant themes and colorful harmonic language.

Carl Schimmel is a composer based in Iowa and Illinois. Praised by The New York Times as “vivid and dramatic,” his recent music is dense with literary and musical references, often humorous, and combines intensity of expression with a structural rigor which draws upon his mathematics background.

Carlos Bandera is a composer who is fascinated by musical architecture and by the music of the past. His recent music explores these fascinations, often by placing a musical quotation, be it a phrase, scale, or sonority, within dense microtonal textures.

Carlos Simon is a versatile composer and arranger who combines the influences of jazz, gospel, and neo-romanticism.

For all his singularity, the Yankee maverick Charles Ives is among the most representative of American artists. Optimistic, idealistic, fiercely democratic, he unified the voice of the American people with the forms and traditions of European classical music.

Chen-Hui Jen is a composer, poet, and pianist. Currently, she serves as a pianist in the NODUS Ensemble at Florida International University and the Ensemble Ibis at the University of Miami.