Composition

William Bastianon is a Canadian composer, performer, and copyist from Ontario, Canada. He is currently studying composition with Dr. Reiko Fueting.

In his work, Will seeks to blend music and storytelling, drawing from a deep love of musical theatre, jazz, popular, and classical traditions, blurring the lines between genres.

Using this eclectic mix of musical languages, Will strives for humour and clarity through a marriage of carefully chosen convention and emotionally charged content.
Throughout his ongoing musical exploration,

Will is constantly deepening his love and respect for the artistic process, collaboration, and his connection to the artists who came before him.

Will has worked as an arranger and copyist for clients such as Nicolas Dromard (Broadway performer), Kate Schutt (singer-songwriter), and Voices Rock Canada (Canadian choir). He has written music for two Toronto Fringe shows (one of which he also performed in) and two independent short films (one of which he acted in).

Website: www.willbastianon.com

Sebastian Block is a composer and classical guitarist. He is studying at the Manhattan School of Music under Professor David Adamcyck.
Sebastian was born and raised in Los Angeles, and currently resides in New York City. He started to take an interest in composition when a music teacher introduced him to Steve Reich’s Different Trains, opening him to the limitless nature of “classical music.” Since then, Sebastian has been inspired and influenced by a number of composers, including Lili Boulanger, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and John Adams.

Growing up in Los Angeles, Sebastian played in the rock band Swandive, and he was immersed in the city’s young artists’ scene. His many friends in art, film, and music also have greatly influenced his compositions.
Sebastian’s latest work, String Quartet No. 1, seeks to explore our minds and the memories we keep inside. It combines philosophical and scientific elements to create an immersive experience of exploring consciousness and perspective.

Vincent Bos is a Dutch-Indonesian (or ‘Indo’) Composition student born in Delft, Netherlands. Vincent originally trained as an electric guitarist, however, at the late age of 17 he developed an incredible interest in music composition and went on to devote his time towards this practice. Vincent draws much of his inspiration from composers such as Mahler, Ravel, and Beethoven.

In 2021 Vincent started taking music composition lessons with Aris Antoniades. He is currently pursuing his undergraduate composition degree at MSM with Dr. J. Mark Stambaugh.

Composer Ishay Brokshtain (b. 1995, Israel) is an emerging voice in contemporary music, whose work explores texture, gesture, and the expressive possibilities of sound and compositional processes. His compositions have been performed internationally, reflecting a deep engagement with both traditional and experimental practices.

Currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition at the Manhattan School of Music under the guidance of Dr. Reiko Füting, Ishay previously completed his master’s degree in composition at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where he studied with Dr. Yair Klartag and Dr. Ziv Cojocaru. During this time, his music received significant recognition: his piece 11 Days of Evolution was performed by the Meitar Ensemble, by the IEMA Ensemble at the Impuls Festival in Graz (2025), and was also selected for performance at the Manhattan School of Music as part of an exchange program. He was awarded the Siday Fellowship for Musical

Creativity in support of his studies and was a finalist in the Competition for Original Wind Band Compositions in Memory of Moti Miron, organized by the Jerusalem Academy in collaboration with youth conservatories. His master’s research thesis focused on musical textures, explored through a quantitative approach and a practice-led inquiry.

Ishay’s earlier studies include a bachelor’s degree in composition at the Jerusalem Academy, undertaken alongside a concurrent degree in psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. As a student, he twice reached the finals of the Academy’s Mark Kopytman Composition Competition, placing third in 2022 and second in 2023. His exchange semester at the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, under the mentorship of Dr. Fekete Giula, further broadened his artistic perspective.

In addition to concert music, Ishay has composed for film, collaborating with directors from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design and the Sam Spiegel Film School, whose works were featured in festivals including the Jerusalem Film Festival and shortlisted for the BAFTA. He was also selected to participate in the Arrangers Hub of the Jerusalem Street Orchestra, where he arranged popular and folk songs for the ensemble. Alongside his creative work, Ishay is an active educator, teaching piano, theory, and improvisation at youth conservatories, and has served as a teaching assistant in music theory and ear training at both the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and the Manhattan School of Music.

Rooted in a lifelong relationship with the piano, beginning with lessons from his mother, a professional pianist, his musical journey has encompassed classical piano, guitar, cello, Jazz and composition.

Through his work, Ishay seeks to explore compositional processes, drawing inspiration from nature and science while engaging with diverse musical traditions and innovative ways of thinking about sound.

Szilvia Cimino is a composer, arranger, soprano, pianist, brass player, actor, and poet from Fairfield, Connecticut. In 2022, Szilvi was awarded the prestigious Leonard Bernstein Musicianship Award, the John Philip Sousa Band Award, the CAS Outstanding Arts Award. She was also the 2022 recipient of the Halo Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play. She has performed at many renowned venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Radio City Music Hall.

Szilvi’s works are largely narrative and highly emotional. Her poetic nature allows her to create expansive settings and intense feelings that transcend verbal language. Her style is influenced by the Hungarian folk music she grew up surrounded by and her background in theatre. She enjoys going out of her comfort zone, as she views such a challenge as a learning experience.

Kervy Delcy (Lady K) is a Haitian-American Composer, Writer, Polyglot, Educator, Global Arts & Visionary Leadership Strategist.

As a young girl, Ms. Delcy first dreamed of becoming a lawyer after playing the role of one in an after-school program at her Catholic school. She famously refused to remove her robe after the performance, convinced she was meant for the courtroom. However, her path shifted when Sister Jeanne, a spirited nun who often sang and danced with her, awakened her love of music. Ms. Delcy soon became a dancer, performing at church Easter services and later at halftime soccer games during the summer. At the age of five, her mother introduced her to poetry, a talent she quickly developed, becoming the child chosen each year to deliver speeches for Haitian Flag Day celebrations. By the age of nine, Ms. Delcy began waking with melodies she had composed in her dreams, unaware at first of her growing gift for songwriting. At eleven, she began
competing professionally in local poetry and singing competitions, consistently winning first place in poetry and second place in singing, laying the foundation for a lifetime dedicated to artistic excellence.

She is the founder and president of Vox Feminarum, an international nonprofit organization committed to showcasing the music of women composers across both vocal and instrumental genres through high-level performances, educational initiatives, and artistic collaborations. She is also the founder and Editor in Chief of Echelon Press Magazine and PR, a multimedia
platform highlighting excellence in the performing arts through radio, interviews, Times Square and international billboards, press campaigns, and Wikipedia page creation for artists and businesses.

In 2020, she launched the Kervy Delcy Performing Arts School (KDPAS), where she mentors and trains the next generation of young artists. She is also developing Lié, an upcoming global app designed to connect musicians with arts-related jobs, grants, fellowships, and festivals, making opportunities more accessible to artists worldwide. Both initiatives reflect her commitment to empowering creators, expanding access to essential resources, and fostering a  more connected and equitable arts community.

Ms. Delcy currently studies music composition at the Manhattan School of Music on a presidential scholarship. Born in Haiti, her creative journey began at the age of five through local theater. She went on to win first place in poetry and second place in singing in regional youth competitions. Her versatility was soon recognized when she joined AJAPDECH (Association of Young Actors and Producers for the Development of Haitian Culture), where she acted in the film “Amour et Contrainte.” After immigrating to New York in 2012, she pursued performing arts studies at Rockland Community College. She later transferred to the City College of New York to double major in music and theater with a minor in creative writing. She also studied composition privately with composer Harry Stafylakis.

In 2017, she made her compositional debut with “Turning Tables,” a short musical that marked
her growing presence in the New York music scene. She was awarded the ASCAP: Louis Dreyfus Warner-Chappell City College scholarship, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, she expanded her orchestration skills under the mentorship of French film composer Marie-JeanneSéréro, professor at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 2021, she earned her MFA in Media Scoring
from the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema.

Ms. Delcy was a fellowship composer with the American Opera Project’s Composers & the Voice program (2023–2025), developing new operatic works and collaborating with leading vocalists and mentors. She also studied in Paris under Dr. Philip Lasser at EAMA and continues to be mentored by him. Her musical voice bridges cultures, styles, and traditions, blending contemporary classical idioms with a deep emotional resonance.

Her achievements include the Presidential Scholarship Award from the Manhattan School of Music, the Tow International Research Grant from Brooklyn College, two Bronx Medals from the Global Music Awards, the High Academic Achievement Award from City College of New York (2018 and 2019), the Outstanding Student Award from Rockland Community College
(2015), and a grant from the James and Nicole Cho Foundation.

A fluent speaker of five languages and currently studying two more, Ms. Delcy’s global outlook fuels her commitment to cultural exchange and inclusion. As a producer, she has presented the inaugural Vox Feminarum concert at Carnegie Hall and produced events at The National Opera Center. Through Vox Feminarum, Echelon Press, Kervy Delcy Performing Arts School, and Lady K Maison des Arts she continues to build platforms that amplify underrepresented voices and foster artistic excellence on the world stage. She currently serves as a panelist for the New
York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), reviewing grant applications.

kervydelcy.com

The music of Joshua C. DeLozier (b. 1998) seeks an integration of form and content to create richly varied interrelationships between ideas at different scales of time. DeLozier’s works have been heard at the Lake George Music Festival, at June in Buffalo, and on WGTE Public Media’s radio program “Morning Classics.” His works have been recognized by Bowling Green State University’s “Competitions in Music Performance” (Composition Division Finalist, 2022 and 2023) and by the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards (Semi-Finalist, 2024). An active pianist, DeLozier’s repertoire spans from J.S. Bach to the music of our own time, such as compositions by Charles Wuorinen and Michael Hersch. He received his BM from Baylor University (summa cum laude), his MM from Bowling Green State University, and is currently pursuing a DMA at the Manhattan School of Music.

Jude Duane is a composer and sound artist whose work merges plunderphonic intensity with Post-Internet edge; one listener compared it to “niche internet micro genres invading a classical music concert.” Based in New Jersey, Jude’s music has been performed by ensembles such as the Kompass Ensemble, newCELF, Sputter Box, and the Bergamot Quartet. He has been a resident at leading contemporary music programs including New Music on the Point, the Summer Institute of Contemporary Performance Practice (SICPP), and Divergent Studio.

A pianist since kindergarten and a trombonist since the fourth grade, music has always been Jude’s language of connection. He found in music not just a form of self-expression, but a bridge to community. This path naturally led to composing. He is currently in the Doctor of Musical Arts program at the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Dr. David Adamcyk. Previously, he completed the Bachelor of Music program at Montclair State University and the Master of Music program at New Jersey City University.

Jude is also a professional archivist, currently working at the Ironbound Community Corporation and with prior experience at Cengage and the Institute of Jazz Studies.

Aria Gittelson is a Composer and Vocal Artist from Long Beach, CA whose music has been described as “ethereal and hypnotic”. They specialize in writing for the voice and electronics, and include elements of jazz, folk, and musical theater in their work.

They received their Bachelor’s in Composition from the Bob Cole Conservatory, where they premiered, performed in, and conducted their oratorio purgatory as part of their Undergraduate Recital. Their work has since been featured in festivals like Operation Opera, the NEO voice festival, and the HEARNOW festival. Most recently, their electronic operetta if not numbers was premiered as part of The Resonance Collective’s Golden Threads series, and went on to complete 5 more performances at the 2026 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Due to its popularity, an additional encore performance was added as part of The Actor’s Company BEYOND THE FRINGE series.

As a performer, Aria sings in Los Angeles based choirs C3LA and 8tps, and has improvised numerous live film scores at the Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum with their Electronic Improv Trio Three Legged Race. Aria continues to write and perform songs whenever they can. They care deeply about nature, community, and artistic collaboration.

Cameron Hagaman is a Chicago-born 25-year-old orchestral and media composer and creative and technical sound designer for video games and film.
He graduated in 2023 with a bachelor’s in music composition and sound design from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In recent years, he has composed music for and has been recorded by organizations and companies such as Sony Entertainment, Classical KDFC Radio, and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, as well as institutions such as the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He has had music performed across Europe as a participant in festivals such as the Valencia International Performing Arts Summer Festival, the Sounds of Now Vienna festival, and the Veneto Art and Music Summit.
He has had the privilege to regularly study with prestigious composers including Amos Gillespie, Lennie Moore, and Victor Baez, and take individual lessons and master classes from talented composers all over the world, including Detlev Müller-Siemens, Kyong Mee Choi, Stratis Minakakis, and many more.
Cameron also has a breadth of knowledge regarding technical audio practices. He is a capable live sound engineer and producer and is also a proficient film and game sound designer with a host of creative redesigns and vast technical experience. He is proficient in middleware programs like Wwise, several digital audio workstations including Pro Tools, Logic, Reaper, and Ableton, as well as programming software such as Unity, Unreal Engine blueprint, C++, Max/MSP/Jitter, and Unreal MetaSounds.
Cameron is currently pursuing a graduate degree at the Manhattan School of Music, studying classical contemporary composition with Dr. Reiko Fueting, whilst working as a live sound audio engineer and private lessons teacher.

cdhaudio.com

 

Noah Hertzman is a composer and cellist from Pittsburgh, PA. After receiving undergraduate degrees in composition and history at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University, he is now pursuing a master’s degree in composition at the Manhattan School of Music in the studio of Reiko Füting. As a cellist, he specializes in musical theater and pop, having performed professionally everywhere from pit orchestras in Les Mis and Next to Normal to the halftime show at a Cleveland Browns game. As a composer, his style varies widely—two recent works include an experimental protest piece for solo French horn and a chamber opera based on A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh. His works have been premiered at CIM, French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts, the Mostly Modern Festival, and the Atlantic Music Festival. When he isn’t making music, he enjoys baking, juggling, and riding his unicycle.

Dan-Ying Huang is a Taiwanese composer and yangqin performer from Tainan, Taiwan. She is currently pursuing her Master of Music degree in Composition at Manhattan School of Music, where she studies with composer Ashkan Behzadi.

Huang began her musical training at an early age and has studied the yangqin since the age of seven. She received her previous musical education at Tainan National University of the Arts, where her extensive background as a performer gradually developed alongside her work as a composer. In addition to the yangqin, she has studied piano and percussion, experiences that have shaped her sensitivity to instrumental color, resonance, and physical gesture.
Her compositional practice explores the intersection of contemporary musical language and East Asian musical traditions, with particular interests in timbre, texture, resonance, spatial perception, and the transformation of sound over time. Drawing on her experience as both a composer and performer, she seeks to expand the sonic possibilities of instruments and explore new relationships between traditional sounds and contemporary musical expression.

Huang has received recognition in numerous national and international music competitions and has been active in international music festivals, contemporary music programs, and performances. Her experiences across different musical and cultural environments continue to shape her artistic voice.

Through her work, Huang seeks to create a musical language in which cultural memory, contemporary sound, and the physical qualities of instruments coexist, moving fluidly between tradition and experimentation.

https://danying0409.wixsite.com/danying

Eric Impey is a contemporary classical composer and multi-instrumentalist, taking inspiration from pop, metal, jazz, and classical.
He began composing as a young child independently from the music classes he had been exposed to. He recalls seeing and hearing music in his head for as long as he can remember, which eventually became a desire to share those visions with an audience.
Eric’s development as a composer has been intense and unexpected. His formal composition instruction began at the age of 17, and his body of work spans early 2022 – present. While he studied piano, tuba via public education, and later guitar as an adolescent – he was not exposed to intensive music education in his youth. While he enjoyed his experience with the world of performance, he quickly recognized a more prominent and ever-present interest in composition that had underlined his musical journey.
This led to attending the Atlantic Music Festival, summer of 2022, followed by the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artist’s Program, summer of 2023. His orchestra work, ‘The Floodgates’ had the honor to be debuted during the Tanglewood on Parade Young Artist concert.
As Eric embarks on his B.A. in Music at the Manhattan School of Music with mentor, Reiko Fueting, he seeks to expand his style and vocabulary within his compositions and experience the variety of music available during his time at MSM.

ericimpeymusic.com

Xuanyuan Jin, a composition student from Shanghai, China, who is pursuing an undergraduate degree at Manhattan School of Music, studies with Professor Reiko Fueting. In 2022, she completed the Professional Certificate in General Music Studies from Berklee Online at Berklee College of Music. She has also won numerous international awards, recently receiving silver prizes in the original composition category at the 2024 Debussy International Music Competition and the 2023 Cambridge Music Competition. Xuanyuan delivered a speech on visual music genres at the 2024 International Conference on New Music Concepts in Italy and co-published a journal article on the analysis of operatic components in works by Berg, Strauss, and Puccini in the International Journal of Music Science, Technology and Art.

South Korean composer, conductor, and pianist Dahee Kim explores the intersection of traditional and experimental approaches, with a focus on shaping her own distinctive musical voice through texture, gesture, structure, and the expressive possibilities of sound.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from the Korea National University of Arts, where she studied composition with Dongjin Bae. She is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Composition at the Manhattan School of Music under the guidance of Dr. Reiko Füting. Her current work explores ways to integrate East Asian musical aesthetics with Western instrumentation.

Beyond contemporary classical music, her compositional practice extends to traditional Korean music, musical theater, and film. She is also interested in interdisciplinary approaches that explore connections between music and visual art, including painting, video, and AI-generated imagery.

As she continues to develop as a conductor, she is expanding her musical practice through work with both choral and instrumental ensembles. Her conducting experiences have deepened her awareness of musical communication and interpretation, bringing new perspectives to the way she approaches composition. Through these interconnected roles, she continues to experience music in different ways, broadening her musical understanding.

New York-based composer Mark Kim-Mulgrew finds common ground in seemingly disparate ideas, relentlessly pursuing clarity in his work. Mark’s music has been performed by the Texas New Music Ensemble, the Mostly Modern Ensemble, the Soundbox Camerata, the Berlin Academy of American Music, and pianist Yeontaek Oh. Mark’s debut album of chamber music, Practical Considerations, was released in November 2025.

Mark is currently studying in the studio of Reiko Füting at the Manhattan School of Music and has studied composition and theory privately with Timo Andres, Conrad Cummings, and Ruka Shironishi. Outside of music, Mark trained as a mathematician and a science writer and works as a software engineer.

markkm.com

Yu-Pin Lai (b. 2000) is a Taiwanese composer and pianist based in New York. Her compositions are performed in Canada, France, Taiwan, Vienna, and the United States, with notable ensembles including Platypus Ensemble, JACK Quartet, Bedford Trio, the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Theodor Milkov with Ju Percussion group. Yu-Pin is interested in exploring various musical cultures, and her music aims to experiment with timbre to imply complex human emotions.
Yu-Pin holds a Bachelor of Music with honors under the tutelage of Christos Hatzis for composition and Mia Bach for piano; Master of Music in Composition at Mannes School of Music with merit scholarships and graduating with Felix Salzer Techniques of Music Award, studying with Lowell Liebermann. Currently, she is pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition at Manhattan School of Music with scholarships, studying with Reiko Fueting.

yupinlai.com

French undergraduate composer Gabriel Legros pronounced his wish to work in the field of Music from his early juvenescence.

Gabriel started his classical training in voice at age 4 and developed, throughout the years, an utter interest in multiple instruments such as the Piano, Classical Guitar, Bass Guitar and Cello. Years later, he began working intensely on his theory and ear training under the private tutelage and mentorship of Juilliard School professor Dr. Wayne Oquin.

Being an avid performer, Gabriel has performed in various venues including events involving high representatives of the French government, charitable organizations, and musicals amongst others.

Soon after turning 17, Gabriel commenced showing a deep interest in Composition, which led him to ask Dr. Oquin to specifically instruct him on the subject. From there, Gabriel’s passion for composition never ceased to grow, to a point where he came to conclusion to pursue his studies in Conservatoire.

In September 2023, Gabriel began his Bachelor of Music at The Manhattan School of Music under the guidance of Dr. Reiko Füting, where he is developing his musical endeavors.

New York-based creative Alexa Letourneau (any pronouns) is a composer, flutist, singer, researcher, and educator. An Ohio native, Alexa began playing the flute at eight years old. Within weeks, they were taping 5 pens together to draw a staff on which to begin composing. At present, their works are focused upon an exploration of shared human identity through sonic journeys. Alexa is a founding member of Mosaic Composers Collective, Aglet Ensemble, and the MOLLUSC Orchestra Project; a member of C4: the Choral Composer-Conductor Collective, the New York Chamber Choir, and TRANScend Community Chorale; and the creator of the podcast Classical Schmassical: the anti-Classical classical music podcast. They are a lover of extravagant sci-fi cosplay, lemongrass tea, and nighttime thunderstorms.

alexaletourneau.com

Chongrui Li is a composer currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition at the Manhattan School of Music, where she studies with Reiko Füting. Born and raised in China, she began studying composition at the age of eleven and completed her middle and high school education at the Middle School Affiliated to the China Conservatory of Music.

Li’s work is driven by a curiosity for sound and form, often exploring unusual instrumental combinations and a wide range of musical styles. Her pieces frequently draw inspiration from personal stories, everyday experiences, dreams, and images from the natural world. She is particularly interested in discovering new ways of playing and writing for instruments, and in using diverse compositional techniques to shape emotional narratives and musical storytelling.

In addition to his musical practice, Li is an avid photographer. Se regards photography and music as parallel arts, both capable of capturing fleeting moments and subtle emotions. This visual practice regularly informs her compositional process, with images and sound influencing one another and generating new ideas across both mediums.

Shuwen Liao (b.2001), a Chinese composer, is currently pursuing her doctoral studies at Manhattan School of Music, where she studies with Susan Botti and Reiko Füting. In 2018, Shuwen graduated from the Music Middle School Affiliated to Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she majored in composition with Dr. Wenpei Ju. Shuwen graduated from Manhattan School of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree in composition in 2022, and she received the degree of Master of Music in composition from the school in 2024.

Shuwen became the first young Chinese composer included in the New York Philharmonic’s “Very Young Composer” program. Her work, Shadow of the Wolf, was performed by the New York Philharmonic in Lincoln Center, and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra concert hall. She later wrote an international music postcard, The Skeleton Demon, which was premiered in New York by the New York Philharmonic and subsequently toured around the world.

Shuwen has received many prizes and scholarships. Her composition, Wolf Shadow, won the first place in the chamber music group in the Third “Spring Awakening” National Composition Contest. Shuwen’s string quartet Pure. Fire, won the third place of the Manhattan Prize at MSM. Her wind quintet, Warm Station, was commissioned by Windscape to perform in New York.

Shuwen also received the Giampaolo Bracali Award for Music Composition and the Jan Williams Award for Composition/Contemporary Performance Collaboration at Manhattan School of Music. Her piece, The wind comes across the sea, laughing in the leaves won the first place in the Kaleidoscope Music Competition Composition Competition in Canada. Shuwen’s orchestral piece, Elegant Cloud, won the Grand Prize in the Red Maple Composition Competition in Canada.

In her music, Shuwen seeks to create an illusion — something wild and unexpected, but in a subtle and expressive way, quietly exciting, full of lightness.

shuwenliao.com

Ziye Mao is a young classical music composer from China, currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree at MSM with Professor Reiko Fueting. His sources of inspiration span numerous fields and styles, ranging from minimalism to realism, and from paintings to films. He has a great passion for innovation, and one can often hear some novel ideas in his music. Beyond music, he has many hobbies, such as photography, video editing, and badminton, etc.
“Music is a bridge between eras and ideas—within limited materials lies infinite possibility, and in the balance of sound and silence, we find its true depth.”

Holden Meier is a Chicago-born composer and performer studying at MSM in pursuit of his master’s degree in classical composition. As an Elmhurst graduate with a major in music theory and composition, as well as a minor in audio production, he has written for a wide array of chamber ensembles and produced a large number of studio works. Pulling from a swath of influences such as Stephen Sondheim, Philip Glass, and Per Norgard, his work often evokes a strong sense of playfulness and characterization. Currently studying with Susan Botti, Holden’s work continues from Chicago to New York, as he broadens his perspective and furthers his creative pursuits.

Samuel Mutter is a composer from Long Island, NY. A graduate from Bard College and Conservatory, where Samuel earned a BM in Music Composition and a BA in History, Samuel is currently in the first year of his Music Master’s at Manhattan School of Music. Samuel has had the privilege of studying with such composers as Alan Hankers, George Tsontakis, Joan Tower, Jessie Montgomery, Mark Andre, Missy Mazzoli, and Reiko Fueting. Samuel’s music is as diverse as the music that inspires him, from Baroque to Folk, Contemporary Classical to Hindustani, and Rock to Jazz. His own music seeks to experiment with the frontiers of genre mixing, morphing his influences to create new musical and artistic languages.
Sam also has a passion for multimedia projects. He has worked extensively in collaboration with choreographers and dancers, as well as having written a couple film scores.
As a musician, Samuel performs regularly on piano, tin whistles, Irish flute, recorders, and fife. He is a lover of folk and traditional music and an avid improviser. Samuel in partnership with several other composers, started an improv ensemble known as “Boy Band.” He was also the head of the Bard Sinfonietta Project (BSP). The BSP is a completely student-run organization dedicated to the creation and performance of New Music, fostering connections between composers, conductors, and musicians, and bringing New Music to wider audiences.

samuelmutter-composer.com

Nhat Nguyen was a fellow at The Loretto Project (2021) and has been commissioned by the Amorphous Collective and James Alexander. He was also the winner of the Manhattan Prize in 2019 and recipient of the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts Grant.
His works have been performed by Transient Canvas, James Alexander, Yarn/Wire, Lydian String Quartet, Longleash, Unheard-Of//Ensemble, Ensemble Linea, Manhattan School of Music Orchestra, Hanoi New Music Ensemble, Ripieno Ensemble, Ajax Quartet, confluss duo, members of the Contemporary Performance Program at Manhattan School of Music and conducted by Jeff von der Schmidt, Kee Yong Chong and Joseph Carlomagno.
In 2016, he was nominated by Kim Ngoc Tran to represent Vietnam in the Goethe-Institut Manila Composers Lab for young Southeast Asian composers.
Nhat has participated in important musical events, including the Divergent Studio (2022), the Collaborative Composition Initiative (2020), Etchings Festival (2019), Hanoi New Music Festival (2018), Fresh Inc Music Festival (2018), the Asia-Europe New Music Festival (2014) held in Hanoi.
Nhat earned his Bachelor of Music in Composition at the Manhattan School of Music in 2019 under the tutelage of Dr. Reiko Fueting and Professor Susan Botti, and his MFA in Composition at Brandeis University, studying under Prof. Yu-Hui Chang and Prof. Eric Chasalow.

https://nmnhat.squarespace.com

Benjamin Nicholas is a vocalist, pianist, composer/arranger, and educator originally from Kingsburg, California. He graduated with his bachelor’s from Cal State Long Beach in 2023, where he completed a double major in Jazz Voice and Classical Composition with a minor in Anthropology. At CSULB, Benjamin served as a section leader in the school’s top vocal jazz, choral, and pop a cappella ensembles. During this time, he arranged many pieces for CSULB’s vocal ensembles, as well as those at the Frost School of Music and Long Beach City College.
As a musician fluent in classical, jazz, and singer-songwriter traditions, Nicholas’ compositions draw from a wide variety of inspirations. His influences include artists such as Duke Ellington, Jon Brion, Gene Puerling, Judee Sill, Steve Reich, Ben Folds, Adrianne Lenker, Kurt Weill, Eric Whitacre, Pat Metheny, and Brad Mehldau, amongst many others. As a composer, Nicholas aims to interweave these contrasting influences further and further as he develops his proficiency across many different styles of music.
Nicholas’ writing has been performed at venues across the United States, including multiple Jazz Education Network Conferences, and in August 2025, he released his debut record, a singer-songwriter project titled “Lightbeams & Boulders”. In his career, he hopes to work simultaneously as an active writer, educator, and performer.

Laura Nobili (b. 2006) is an award-winning Canadian composer who is currently studying at Manhattan School of Music under the mentorship of Dr. J. Mark Stambaugh. Born in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Nobili began composing at the age of 12 and received her first commission from the celebrated pianist and composer Boyd McDonald and the Springdale Trio. Her compositions cover a wide range of instrumentations and styles including opera, choral works, chamber music, orchestral pieces, and recently she has been exploring jazz. At the age of 14, Nobili was commissioned to write for renowned soloist Jonathan Crow, and her music continues to be performed regularly by numerous professional and student musicians. Her work has received world premieres in Canada, the United States, Italy, and Austria, including two original full-length musicals which she composed, produced, and directed at the age of 16. She has also attended the Opera Lucca Composers Institute, where she studied under Dr. Raphael Fusco, and the Sounds of Now Vienna Festival, where she workshopped her music with Victor Báez, Adrián Artacho, Daniel Oliver Moser, Dai Fujikura, and Lukas Ligeti. Nobili has conducted several of her own pieces for choir, symphonic band, and orchestra. In addition to her composition endeavors, Nobili is on the Student Advisory Board at the Metropolitan Opera, and she is one of the founders of the Manhattan School of Music Opera Club.

Visit her website here:

lauranobili.com

Leah Ofman (she/they) is a composer and vocalist originally from San Francisco, CA. She attends Manhattan School of Music in pursuit of her Master’s of Music, and studies with Susan Botti. Leah received a BMus from New York University, where she studied with Caroline Shaw and Justin Dello Joio. During her time at NYU, she studied in Paris at IRCAM and at L’École normale Alfred Cortot under Michel Merlet. Leah was the co-Artistic Director of Pulsing & Shaking, a music festival celebrating the contemporary music of New York, and acted as Vice President of the NYU Composers Collective, where she produced concerts of student works.

A former philosophy minor, Leah enjoys creating music from a conceptual standpoint. Her compositions often investigate power dynamics between the composer, performer, and audience; free will; and Christofascism.

Leah’s introduction to music was with the San Francisco Girls Chorus, where she sang from ages eight to eighteen. As an adult, she returned to SFGC in a marketing capacity and led the Chorus’s Postcard Series, a series of interviews with the amazing professionals who collaborate with SFGC. Leah was lucky enough to interview musicians such as violinist Daniel Hope, composer Sahba Aminikia, and soprano Shawnette Sulker.

Leah has been awarded the Ruth Crawford Seeger Award (Alba Composition Festival, Alba, Italy) and has received an honorable mention from the 2020 Alev Lenz Recompose Competition. She has been commissioned by The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity in New York, the Musae Ensemble in San Francisco, C4: the Choral Composer-Conductor Collective in New York, and by bassist Ian Fales, with the support of the Robert Black Foundation. Leah’s works have been performed in California, New York, Tennessee, France, and Italy.

Ida Oldeberg is a composer, conductor, trumpet player, and singer from Stockholm, Sweden. She loves adventures and is inspired by nature in all her endeavors. As a bachelor’s student at Manhattan School of Music, she studies under Professor Susan Botti. Ida previously
studied with Matthew Peterson and Daniel Nelson. An important part of Ida’s musicianship is performing. Raised in a musical household, she was determined to pursue a career on stage long before she fully discovered composition. Peterson and Nelson both encouraged her to play and conduct her own music in concert.

Ida’s horn trio Jezebel was premiered by Felix Klieser, Hugo Ticciati and Martin Sturfält in the Queen Silvia Concert Hall in Stockholm. In the same venue, her compositions In wait; Mature form a dream, movement II; Arrividerci, Another starry night and La Strada del Ritorno saw their premieres. With her music, Ida wants to explore what it is to be human, and as part of that she combines art forms to portray a broader perspective. She wants her music to touch people and to inspire change. Ida’s piece Human Condition was premiered in April of 2024. About it she wrote:

The purpose of this piece is for the musicians to find each other and become one in the music.
Perfection in musicality and technicality is secondary.
Above all, I care about perfection in communication and presence.

Eli Parrish (b. 2001) is a composer, conductor, clarinetist, and arts advocate whose work blends contemporary creativity with orchestral tradition and community-centric leadership. He is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Composition at the Manhattan School of Music, where he studies with Reiko Füting as a Presidential Merit Award recipient. He previously earned a Master of Science in Management from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, where he specialized in orchestral and artistic administration, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition with Highest Honors from Emory College of Arts and Sciences in Atlanta, GA.
Eli has led performances across the United States and Europe, including appearances at Teatro Amilcare Ponchielli in Cremona, Italy, and with the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra in Zlín, Czechia. His compositions span symphonic, chamber, vocal, and interdisciplinary formats, exploring environmental themes, activism, narrative, and coloristic sound.
He currently serves as Assistant Manager for the MISE-EN_PLACE contemporary music ensemble and performance space in Harlem. His previous leadership experience includes roles as Assistant Conductor of the Carroll Symphony Orchestra, Director of the Emory Young People’s Concert Orchestra, Music Librarian and Manager for the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra, and Operations Manager for the Atlanta Chamber Music Festival. He also founded the Emory Pep Band and was a regularly featured artist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s public engagement and educational programs.
Eli is a recipient of the Louis B. Sudler Prize in the Arts and the John and Mary Virginia Foncannon Conducting Award. He has participated in festivals such as the Darmstadt Summer Course, the Mostly Modern Festival, the Cremona Music Festival, the International Conductors Institute’s Czech Workshop, and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. His capstone recital, The Unifying Principles of Performance and Compositional Intent, at Emory University featured seven original works performed by full symphony orchestra and mixed chamber ensembles.

eliparrish.com

Siddharth S. Ragavan is a composer, cellist, mridangist, and pianist from New Jersey pursuing his undergraduate classical composition degree under Dr. Stambaugh. He has been writing original compositions, scores for films/games, and arrangements for many years. His work has won awards such as the NJPTA State Award of Excellence, Top 50 in the all-ages Score the World Competition, and semifinalist in the FMC Composition Competition. His original compositions have premiered in places such as the Patriots Theater at the Trenton War Memorial and the Bridgewater Temple in New Jersey.

On the Mridangam, Siddharth has been a performer for over 6 years, and has played hundreds of concerts, festivals, and fundraisers across the tristate area. He has won many awards in competitions from many Carnatic music organizations – his efforts also earned him a Diploma in Fine Arts from the Nam Dhi Academy of Indian Percussion through the completion of his Arangetram (graduation concert) in 2023. He is also fluent in Konnakol, which is the Indian art of spoken rhythms, and has assisted his guru in teaching lectures on Konnakol in places from CarnaticOn to NYU.

Siddharth intends to help spread the reach of South Indian Carnatic music into the west’s wider music scene and has projects ranging from concerti to dance ensembles which attempt to blend his two musical cultures together to form a new, vibrant sound. He hopes to bring awareness to his native tradition of music as well as dissolve stylistic boundaries that separate it from that of the western world.

Siddharth is also an able cellist whose academic lineage traces back to greats such as Rostropovich and Starker.

Shahar Regev, born in 1992 in Israel, is an interdisciplinary Composer, Singer and Cellist. Regev Graduated from the Composition Department at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. She was instructed by famous Israeli musicians – Professor Josef Bardanashvili, Professor Yinam Leef, and Professor Michael Klinghoffer. Recently, Regev completed her master’s degree in Composition at the Mannes School of Music, studying with Dr. Lowell Liebermann in New York City. She is currently studying in the professional studies Composition program at the Manhattan School of Music with Susan Botti.
Her works include various styles of orchestrations – vocal, chamber, and orchestral music. Her pieces were performed by ensembles and orchestras at concerts and festivals in Israel and overseas. Artistic engagements include commissions and collaborations and with Symphonette Raanana Orchestra (Israel), Tzlilim Bamidbar Festival (Israel), Toscanini Quartet (Israel), Ensemble diX (Germany), Alambic duo (Italy) Bulgarian Concert Evenings in New York (Bulgaria, USA), Mestizo Sax Quartet (Italy), MMS project – Mediterranean Miniature Sketches (Greece), The IPO for Kids (Israel), Duo BassGuitar (Israel), Meitar Ensemble (Israel). She also composes music for the theater, musical arrangements, and original songs.

www.schacharregev.com

Victor Schwartz (b. 2006) is a composer from the San Francisco Bay Area studying at Manhattan School of Music. He enjoys writing neo-romantic music, especially for large ensembles such as orchestras. In addition to composition Victor also plays several brass, woodwind and string instruments each, with his main instruments being the Horn, Violin, Viola and Oboe.

victorschwartz.com

Sarah Senior is a Venezuelan pianist and composer. Her compositions are mostly focused on collaborations with other musicians and on exploring and deconstructing Latin American musical practices. She is also passionate about film.

She completed her undergraduate studies at Barnard College, Columbia University, through the Manhattan School of Music cross-registration program, where she first studied classical piano with the late Phillip Kawin and then with Dr. Inesa Sinkekych. She graduated Magna Cum Laude and as the recipient of the Ethel Stone LeFrak Prize with a major in Music and Film Studies in 2023.

She then pursued her Master’s degree in Composition at Manhattan School of Music in the studio of Dr. Reiko Füting and won the Camerata Nova Commission Prize in 2024, for which she wrote a large brass piece performed at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

In 2025, Sarah received the Pete Carpenter New York Fellowship from the BMI Foundation and worked under the mentorship of film composers Gil Talmi and Trevor Gureckis. That same year, she was part of the US premiere of 11000 strings at the Park Avenue Armory as a pianist.
Now, she is pursuing her DMA at Manhattan School of Music in the studio of Dr. David Adamcyk and working at Found Objects.

https://bysarahsenior.com/

Chinese composer Cengxing Shi is interested in exploring dream-like musical atmospheres. She is first prize winner of the second YinZhongCup Prize International Composition Competition in 2016, and winner of the Camerata Nova Commission Prize in 2023. She began studying composition at the age of 10 and was admitted to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music Affiliated School in 2014.

Cengxing was joined the Winter Master Class Program (2016) held by UCLA’s music department and obtained Certificate of Outstanding Exchange Student. She was invited by Shanghai Hongkou Official Adult Chorus as composer, musical instructor, and pianist in 2018. She was also admitted to the L.A. Music Industry Summer Academy program in 2022 and collaborated with composer and Grammy-nominee Ariel Chobaz and prominent producer Essay Jones at Paramount Music Studio. In 2024, Cengxing collaborated with renowned American conductor George Manahan for a symphony performance and held her recital in New York. That same year, she composed original music for a ROARINGWILD brand advertisement and served as Chief Music Producer for GWANTSI’s “Beautiful Life Space” exhibition. Her compositions have premiered in New York, Los Angeles, and Shanghai.

Cengxing studied with Dr. Marjorie Merryman and is currently pursuing her Master of Music in Composition at the Manhattan School of Music under the mentorship of Dr. J. Mark Stambaugh. She is a recipient of the MSM Merit Scholarship (2024-2025) and received the Deolus Husband Scholarship for Composition for four consecutive years (2020-2023).

Syrian-American Ealaph Tabbaa is a multifaceted artist — a performer, composer, conductor, and educator with a deep love for classical and contemporary music alike. He strives to create memorable, impactful musical experiences that have been described by colleagues as “intense” and “emotionally driven.” Ealaph has garnered a holistic approach to music, having won University of the Pacific’s concerto competition, having original works premiered by the MIVOs quartet and Kaleidoscope Ensemble, and having conducted several student-led ensembles at UOP.

Highlights of Ealaph’s musical career include, but are not limited to: touring the Baltics and Scandinavia with the California Youth Symphony (2019), having premiers at the Cascade Conductors and Composers Workshop (2025), the Atlantic Music Festival (2024), the Valencia International Performing Arts Festival (2023) and the Meg Quigley Vivaldi Competition and Bassoon Symposium (2023), as well as being selected as a winner of the UOP Senior Concerto Competition (2023).

Ealaph’s musical inspiration is expansive, spanning genres beyond Classical, but most dear to him is folk music. While studying mainly Western classical music in school, Ealaph was also raised with an appreciation for the music of his cultural heritage. Through his craft, he aims to not only honor and bring life to the long-lasting history and traditions found in music from the Middle East, but to frame it in a contemporary lens that incorporates his own lived experience.

Ealaph Tabbaa received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Composition and Bassoon Performance in 2024 at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. Now, he is in the process of obtaining his Master’s in Music Composition from the Manhattan School of Music, under the tutelage of Dr. Reiko Fueting.

Composer Jacob Tantleff was raised in Los Angeles and currently resides in New York City. After his debut at David Geffen Hall, he has forged a unique style and strong artistic presence as an award-winning classical composer in New York. Recent performances include Gingko Groove for the Juilliard MAP Faculty Recital at Paul Hall, Sunday Man for Kyo-Shin-An Arts at the Tenri Cultural Center, LAC! for Living Arts Collaborative at SoHo’s Bone’s Loft and Central Valley, New York, and Chase for the Alvin Ailey Studios, choreographed by Natalie Lomonte. He was recently the featured composer of the New York Philharmonic’s VYC Alumni concert at David Greer Recital Hall, with performances by percussionist Justin Jay Hines, pianist Will Healy, and the award-winning Cassatt String Quartet. Pieces performed included the world premieres of Pestis for string quartet and Muse for piano and viola. A rearrangement of Sunday Man (originally for shakuhachi, cello, piano, and percussion) was the concert’s finale. Early performances include Sentiment of Shooting Stars for pianist Karen Dryer at NYU Steinhardt, Adios Gracias for the Cassatt String Quartet, Justin Jay Hines, and electric violinist Machiko Ozawa at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, and Rhetoric of Romance for pianist Beata Moon, which won Honorable Mention at Tribeca New Music’s annual Young Composer Competition. He was honored to serve as the resident composer for the New York Jazz Workshop’s retreat in Tuscany, Italy.

Jacob has studied under composer and percussionist Justin Jay Hines for nearly a decade. Additionally, he has studied extensively under saxophonist Marc Mommaas, pianist Will Healy, and composer Daniel Felsenfeld. He previously studied at the Juilliard School under Greg Knowles and Rick Baitz, and currently studies at the Manhattan School of Music under J. Mark Stambaugh. He recently completed Stillborn of Gaia, a solo violin commission for famous violinist Jennifer Choi, as well as In Forest She Dances, a duet for Broadway oboist Keve Wilson. He also fully scored Hellbent on Fishing, a short film created for the New Zealand 48 Hour Film Competition. Upcoming works include Calamitas, an apocalyptic rock opera, and Moonlight Percussion Ultra, a solo percussion piece performed in complete darkness.

Akshay S. Tiwari (b. 2002) is a music composer and multi-instrumentalist from Princeton, New Jersey. Over the years, he has studied the viola, piano, and bağlama saz in depth. Influenced by rich folk traditions from around the world, his works draw from a colorful palette of musical styles and idioms. His journey into composition began by writing and arranging various world folk pieces for an ensemble he started consisting of a string quintet and mixed percussion, which performed at several venues around New Jersey.

Over the years, he has developed a particular affinity for the folk music of Turkey, Eastern Europe, Northern and Western Africa, and his family’s native India. This blending of often overlooked folk idioms with standard western ensembles forms the core of his work, and as he studies composition at the Manhattan School of Music, he plans on expanding his musical language, guided by the fundamental belief that music of every tradition offers a new perspective which, when combined with other perspectives, provides a more complete view of the human spirit.

Currently working as a private viola teacher, his ambitions include film and video game scoring as well as composing contemporary concert and art music.

Joseph Toto is an American classical pianist, composer, and arranger from Monmouth County, New Jersey. He began studying piano at the age of eight and quickly developed a deep passion for music. Joseph views music as far more than sound alone—it is a powerful conduit for emotional and sensory experience. His artistic vision centers on transporting audiences into immersive inner landscapes shaped not just by what they hear, but by the personal associations those sounds awaken.

As a contemporary classical composer, Joseph’s work is strongly influenced by mythology—especially themes of death, rebirth, and transformation. These archetypal narratives serve as a lens through which he explores the human condition. Joseph seeks to create music that is at once visceral and transcendent—deeply intimate, yet universally resonant.

As a pianist, he has performed at Steinway Hall and the Brookdale Performing Arts Center, and was recently featured by Ted-Ex as a guest musician.

Joseph’s primary teachers include Jee Won Kim (Composition), Sunhwa Kim, Professor John Balme, and Dr. Corey Hall. And he is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Classical Composition at the Manhattan School of Music, where he studies under Dr. Reiko Füting.

Angela Tse is a freshman student at MSM. She was brought up in two cities of China, Beijing and Guangzhou. Angela discovered her ability to compose in a very early age. Although she didn’t receive much formal composing education since she had been studying in public schools, her insistence and determination in composing got her in her favorite school and now studying with Reiko Fueting.
Angela is obsessed with some old arts. She has been influenced by her favorite artist Antonio Lucio Vivaldi from the Baroque period, having many similar preferences in composing. To reappear the charm of Baroque and classical art in a modern language is one of her major goals in music.

Her music often focuses on some moments of certain human emotion. They can be explosive, colorful and sophisticated, which are reflected and marked on the highly varied and passionate melody in her compositions. She believes good pieces of music are able to impact people’s emotion and mood, so she wants to enlighten people through music. In addition to orchestra music, she also writes pop music, and she has recently been invited to participate in the writing of the music for a film in China.

Apart from music, she develops deep interests in many other subjects such as art, literature and astronomy. She is also a talented and skilled painter, and she studied English Literature in high school, which helps her to write lyrics and novel in her spare time.

Elias Valle is a composer and multi-instrumentalist based in New York City. His music is focused on processes of natural and reactive progression and explores the line between systematic ideas and expressive flow. His recent projects take inspiration from the organic and the primeval and contain aesthetically diverse sound-worlds.
Elias’ music has recently been performed or recorded by ensembles including loadbang, Norfolk Contemporary Ensemble, Decoda Chamber Orchestra, New York Youth Symphony, Semiosis Quartet, members of Nu Deco Ensemble, members of Tactus Ensemble, the California School for the Arts Wind Ensemble, and performers including Lisa Moore, Wilson Poffenberger, Maya Proulx, and more.
His music and performance abilities have been recognized by organizations and competitions including MTNA, the International Association of Professional Music Teachers, Tribeca New Music, the Young Composers Challenge, and he was named a Winner with Distinction in the National YoungArts Competition 2025. He has also had the privilege of working with influential minds including Pulitzer Prize winner Aaron Jay Kernis, Grammy winner Pascal Le Boeuf, and Martin Bresnick.
Elias is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition at the Manhattan School of Music where he studies with Reiko Fueting.

More info at eliasvalle.com

Yingshu Wang is a first-year undergraduate student majoring in music composition at the Manhattan School of Music. She is studying with Professor Susan Botti. Yingshu has won multiple awards in the music composition category of numerous international competitions. Most recently, she earned second prize at the 2023 World Master Open Music Competition and second prize at the 2023 Vivaldi International Music Competition. In addition, Yingshu presented her research on music education and musicology at the 2023 and 2024 International Conference on New Music Concepts in Italy, 2024 Orfeo Festival in Italy, and 2024 International Conference on the Arts in Society in South Korea. She has published her research in the 2024 issue of the “International Journal of Music Science, Technology and Art”. In 2023, Yingshu completed the Professional Certificate in General Music Studies from the Berklee College of Music.

Chen Shuhe Yue (Yue Chen) is a New York–based composer, soprano, and interdisciplinary artist whose work spans chamber and orchestral music, experimental music theater, electroacoustic sound, multimedia performance, and installation. Her practice explores the intersections of voice, body, and technology within expanded performance and visual contexts.

Her music has been performed by ensembles including JACK Quartet, Ensemble PHACE, and ICE, and presented at major international festivals such as the Écoles d’Art Américaines de Fontainebleau (France), MultiPhonics Festival (Germany), Aranya Theater Festival (China), Vienna Summer Music Festival (Austria), and Avignon Festival (France). She is a recipient of the Ravel Prize and the Manhattan String Quartet Prize.

In 2023, she co-founded Chaospace, a nonprofit arts organization in New York, where she serves as Artistic Director and curates the DramaEtMusica performance series dedicated to interdisciplinary projects. She is currently pursuing a DMA in Composition at the Manhattan School of Music.

chenshuheyue.com

 

Yuqing Zhang (b. 2004) is a classical music composer from China. She is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree at Manhattan School of Music with the Professor Ashkan Behzadi. In her unremitting efforts of exploring the world of music, she drew inspirations from her daily readings and the trivialities of her routine life. Her musical works usually evoke philosophical contemplation and manifest its connection with music. Emotions such as awareness, introspection, reflection and understanding are the common elements found in her works. “Music is eclectic and all-embracing; it encompasses the meaning of life and depicts everything in the Universe.”

Tigger Zhou is from the Bay Area, California, and is pursuing his bachelor’s degree with Professor Ashkan Behzadi. Tigger started playing the piano when he was 5, having played pieces by composers such as Beethoven, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, etc., Tigger has become very interested in the field of Composition. In High School, Tigger was a part of both instrumental and vocal ensembles, which gave him a myriad of options and learning experiences with his composition styles. He draws on diverse musical influences to create works that blend lyricism with modern harmonic language. His compositions often explore vivid textures, dynamic contrasts, and a balance between structured form and expressive freedom. Equally inspired by classical traditions and contemporary innovations, he seeks to craft music that connects deeply with audiences while pushing creative boundaries.