2022
- Melissa Achten, harp
- Katerina Anagnostidou, percussion
- Andrew Anderson, piano
- Brett Armstrong, double bass
- Kyle Brenn, composer
- Camilla Caldwell, violin
- Allison Damon, trumpet
- Kennedy Taylor Dixon, viola
- Erika Dohi, composer
- Joseph Ehrenpreis, guitar
- Grace Gelpi, saxophone
- Natasa Hadjiandreou, percussion
- Christopher Kobayashi Herz, violin
- Michelle Hromin,clarinet
- Caroline Jesalva, violin
- Yaz Lancaster, composer
- Dan Langa, composer
- Sarah Manley, trombone
- Daniel Matei, percussion
- Ariel Mo, piano
- David Munro, oboe
- Ida Nørby, cello
- Þórgunnur Örnólfsdóttir, voice
- Udi Perlman, composer
- Cort Roberts, horn in F
- Jessica Scott, flute
- Victor Sintchak, percussion
- Amy Huimei Tan, viola
- Samantha Wolf, composer
About the artists:
Melissa Achten is a Los Angeles based harpist and interdisciplinary artist focused on immersive musical ritual in contemporary and experimental performance. As a soloist and collaborator, she utilizes the harp as a divining tool for channeling work that is intimate, diaristic, and cathartic. Her performance practice explores the nuances of surrealism, fantasy, psychology, and the occult, allowing her to create an atmosphere that blurs the relationship between bodies, instruments, and sound in order to reveal that which is unseen and inaccessible. https://www.melissaachten.com, https://melissaachten.bandcamp.com
Andrew Anderson is a pianist that primarily performs contemporary music, as a soloist and with the ensemble house on fire. He can be found at andrewandersonpiano.com
Katerina Anagnostidou is a Greek percussionist based in Copenhagen, Denmark. She specialises in contemporary and early music, which she performs both as a soloist and with various ensembles. She is an accomplished keyboard player, having performed some of the most challenging repertoire available for keys, as well as performing/premiering avant-garde music with experimental instrumentation. https://katerinamusic.com/
Brett Armstrong received his Bachelor’s of Music from Western Michigan University and his Master’s of Music from the University of Colorado. He has played prolifically in classical and contemporary professional ensembles throughout the country, such as the Colorado Symphony and Creative Dialogue X in Santa Fe. In his free time he enjoys making his own music using the bass with live-looping and music creation software.
Kyle Brenn is a Brooklyn-based multi-hyphenate music & theatre artist who explores theatricality, process-based forms, and nuanced emotional investigation in his practice. His work has been performed at Carnegie Hall, NYU, Scholes Street Studio, and the Bang on a Can Marathon by groups including Bearthoven, Unheard-of//Ensemble, Cisum Percussion, and Ensemble Connect. He graduated from NYU Steinhardt in 2020, where he studied with Michael Gordon.
Camilla Caldwell is a recent graduate of Mannes The New School under Curtis Macomber and an American Australian Arts Fund Scholar. She works as a touring sessional violinist and regularly collaborates with composers to premiere works that mix electronics, improvisation and choreography. Camilla was concertmaster for Taylor Mac’s ‘A 24 Decade History of Popular Music’ and Opiuo’s Syzygy Orchestra, performed with Chamber Philharmonia Cologne, Contemporaneous ensemble as well as premiering an Opera at Wiener Kammeroper and touring with Australian International Opera Company and Melbourne Opera Company. Camilla has performed at Mostly Modern, Sick Puppy, 1:2:1, Festival Suoni d’Abruzzo, Brevard, FSU New Music festival, Vienna Summer Music Festival and Miami Classical music festival and Wagner Institute.
Allison Damon (they/she) is a trumpeter and educator whose performances have been said to be ‘executed with golden tone’ (Boston Classical Review). A musician dedicated to performing the music of our time, they have performed with loadbang, The Boston New Music Initiative, Callithumpian Consort, Ensemble Uncaged and they regularly play with Glass Beaches, a folksy, bluesy, indie-rock band based in Seattle. Allison is currently on faculty at Seattle Pacific University, where they teach trumpet and Life-Long Musicianship, a course designed to teach ear training and practice skills though a variety of musical styles and genres. https://www.allisondamon.com/
Described as “virtuosic” (NY Times) and “barrier-defying artist” (MixMag), pianist and composer Erika Dohi is a multi-faceted artist with an eclectic musical background. From highly polished traditional classical to bold improvisation, she is a dynamic performer whose timeless style and unidiomatic technique sets her apart in contemporary NYC avant-garde circles. I, Castorpollux, Dohi’s debut album under the label 37d03d, received “The Best Ambient Albums” (Bandcamp), and was featured on The New York Times’ Playlist and WNYC’s New Sounds/Soundcheck.
Joseph Ehrenpreis is a multi-instrumental guitar performer, with an emphasis on the creation of new music. He has accomplished this through transcription, as well as collaboration with composers such as Dai Fujikura, Amy Brandon, Max Vinetz, Ana Paola Santillan Alocer, and Chatori Shimizu, and is the recipient of many awards, including a Colburn Scholarship, a Lillian Disney prize, an CalArts IDEA diversity grant, and an artist project grant from the Illinois Arts Council. His most recent album is Sunrise in Africa: The Solo Guitar Music of Taiwo Adegoke.
Grace Gelpi (they/she) is a versatile saxophonist passionate about the intersection of contemporary music and social justice. They will graduate from the University of Georgia in May 2022 with their Master’s degree in Music Performance and a certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership. Grace currently serves on the North American Saxophone Alliance Committee on Gender Equity. Visit their website at: www.gracegelpi.com
Cypriot percussionist Natasa Hadjiandreou enjoys a rich artistic career of solo, chamber and orchestral music performances in Europe and the USA. She studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Edoardo Giachino, Simone Rebello, Ian Wright, Dave Hassell, Paul Patrick and Liz Gilliver. As a founding member of Curious Qat and Arts Embrace Cultural Organizations, Natasa organizes workshops, seminars, masterclasses and festivals. She is a member of Plekto Duet and Trio Ostinato. Natasa is currenlty teaching at the Cyprus State Music Schools, at the Cyprus Youth Symphony Orchestra Music Academy and at Sistema Cyprus.
Violinist Christopher Herz is an internationally recognized soloist and chamber musician, currently completing his Doctoral studies at the Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music under the guidance of Professor Mark Kaplan. He has given solo and chamber recitals in Japan, Switzerland, and across the United States, performing alongside artists such as Juan Miguel Hernandez, Ben Hong, JACK Quartet, and Brad Lubman. Community outreach is a crucial facet of performing classical music for Mr. Herz, who currently serves as the Beginning Strings Instructor for the Monroe County Community School District, and previously teaching violin at the Eastman Community Music School.
Croatian-American clarinetist Michelle Hromin specializes in contemporary and experimental music. She uses mediums such as spoken word, electronics, and improvisation alongside her playing to explore her identity, heritage, and human relationships.
Caroline Jesalva, is currently studying at the New England Conservatory of Music pursuing a B.M. in violin performance and a minor in philosophy and religion. She is passionate about poetry, contemporary performance, and the avenues in between; during her time at NEC, she founded Blind Glass, a cross-disciplinary ensemble whose style is enmeshed in classical music, improvisation, and performance art.
Yaz Lancaster (they/them) is a Black transdisciplinary artist most interested in relational aesthetics & the everyday; fragments & collage; and liberatory politics. They perform as a violinist, vocalist, and steel-pannist in a wide-variety of settings; and present work in many mediums & collaborative projects. Yaz holds degrees in violin & poetry from New York University, and they currently live in Lenapehoking (Harlem, NYC) with their bassador puppy Nori. https://www.yaz-lancaster.com
Dan Langa is a composer, producer, and arranger creating music that explores bold and vivid textures. He holds a particular fascination with electroacoustic music and incorporating elements of the natural world into his work. For more information visit www.danlanga.com
Sarah Manley is a Baltimore based trombone player where she studied at The Peabody Conservatory. She is a core member of Mind On Fire and has played with Washington Chamber Orchestra, Sonar Ensemble, Occasional Symphony, and more. She’s in the local brass band, Bedlam Brass, and has collaborated with local artists Dan Deacon, Chiffon, Infinity Knives, and Horse Lords, and was a featured soloist and ensemble performer at the Baltimore Symphony New Music Festival as well as the inaugural WoCo festival through the Boulanger Initiative.
Daniel Matei is a Hungarian-Romanian percussionist, composer, improviser. He strives to synthesize his various influences – classical, Hungarian/Romanian folk, minimalist, noise, electronic, theatrical and improvisatory music – into compositions and collaborations transcending traditional genres. Daniel completed a double degree program in Italian Studies and Percussion under the private instruction of Sō Percussion at Bard College, where he was the recipient of the John Cage Trust Scholarship and completed a scholarly study on Italian Futurism founded on original archival research in Milan, Italy, and composed a chamber piece, Noi Vogliamo…, based on the Art of Noises, a Futurist manifesto by Luigi Russolo. Daniel is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Manhattan School of Music’s Contemporary Performance Program under the instruction of John Ferrari and David Cossin.
Chinese-Canadian pianist Ariel Mo likes all the music: loud, soft, shimmering, creaky, clownish, cerebral, excruciating, fantastical, memorable, forgettable. Her recent projects include Bach, Beethoven, Scriabin, Ives, Huber, Sheng, Yi, Zender, Zorn, and an upcoming commission from composer Dongryul Lee. Ariel performs frequently in Boston’s Jordan Hall, beginning in 2018 as a soloist for Messiaen’s Turangalîla-Symphonie; she has also played in Symphony Hall, the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, and at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, as part of a interdisciplinary celebration of the late Robert Mapplethorpe with Roomful of Teeth. Internationally she has attended Ensemble Modern’s inaugural Hans Zender Akademie, Holland Music Sessions, SICPP, NMOP, and festivals in Norfolk, Gíjon, Orford, and Bowdoin. Ariel has been fortunate to work with composers such as Kaija Saariaho, Chaya Czernowin, Amy Beth Kirsten, Alexandra du Bois, and Michael Finnissy. She holds B.M. and M.M. degrees from the New England Conservatory, where she received the Tourjée Alumni Award in 2022, studying with Stephen Drury. She also loves to read and collects postcards.
Oboist David Munro is a versatile performer who builds upon tradition while embracing contemporary, avant-garde, and electro-acoustic music, engaging audiences through thoughtful and innovative performances. He thrives in collaborative environments, performing regularly with the Diverge Trio (fl, ob, pn) and Newphonia Ensemble, and is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts in Contemporary Music at BGSU. You can find him online at davidmunrooboe.com
Ida Nørby is a classically trained and open-minded experimental cellist. An important part of her work is to play and perform contemporary and improvised music in different projects. She also works with electroacoustic composition and live-processing in different contexts.
Þórgunnur Örnólfsdóttir is an Icelandic singer based in Copenhagen. She performs in a wide range of early to contemporary music but has found her niche in performing new music, both as a soloist as well as with her trio KIMI ensemble. https://www.kimi-ensemble.com
Udi Perlman is a composer from Israel based in New Haven, CT and Berlin, Germany. His music has been performed in Europe, the United States and Israel by such groups as the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, International Ensemble Modern Academy, loadbang, Omer String Quartet, Israeli Contemporary Players, Meitar Ensemble, Israeli Chamber Project and many others. Udi is Currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at the Yale School of Music. Previously, he studied composition at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe and the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin. www.udiperlman.com
Cort Roberts is the current horn fellow in Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble connect, and he actively freelances around NYC in many different settings. He is also a member of The Brass Project, a sextet dedicated to commissioning music of living composers who represent diverse 21st century perspectives. He expects to finish up his doctoral studies at Stony Brook University later this fall, and he has also completed minors in Business and Leadership Studies.
Flutist Jessica Scott studied her Bachelor of Music Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music under James Kortum, and is currently completing her Master of Arts at the Royal Academy of Music, London under Samuel Coles and Paul Edmund-Davies. Prior to her studies in London, she was a core and founding member of Australian contemporary music group Ensemble Muse.Jessica has been a recipient of the Peter Richardson Memorial Prize, and is a current recipient of the Australian Music Foundation Awards. Her work as a contemporary flutist has seen the premieres of works by composers across Australia and the UK.
Kennedy Taylor Dixon is a violist and composer currently based in Kalamazoo, MI. Dixon has been described as a “vibrant musical voice,” often writing for herself and collaborators in her musical community. She holds a MA in Music Composition in addition to her dual undergraduate degrees in viola performance and music composition from Western Michigan University. This fall, Dixon will be starting her Ph.D. in Music Composition at Princeton University.
Victor Sintchak is a percussionist, songwriter, and composer currently pursuing his MFA in the Performer-Composer program at California Institute of the Arts. He loves to write and perform music that blends elements of contemporary classical music with mainstream genres. You can find samples of his songwriting work at soundcloud.com/victorsguitar.
Violist Amy Huimei Tan is dedicated to exploring the boundaries of artistic experiences through performing and collaborating across a wide range of musical styles and artistic disciplines. Born and raised in Singapore, she received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan studying viola and composition, and her graduate degrees in viola and string quartet studies from the Peabody Conservatory and Mannes School of Music. Currently based in New York City, Amy spends many hours making sounds with the Bergamot Quartet and is thrilled to be spending three whole weeks at a contemporary art museum this summer surrounded by Sol LeWitt’s Wall Drawings.
Described as ‘haunting’, ‘enigmatic’, and ‘inspired’, the music of Australian-born composer Samantha Wolf inhabits the space between the classical, contemporary, acoustic and electroacoustic worlds, while being grounded in the notated tradition. Her practice encompasses solo, chamber, choral, band and orchestral works, interdisciplinary collaborations, and electroacoustic works that incorporate noise, speech, and found sounds. Samantha studies at the Yale School of Music with David Lang. www.samanthawolfmusic.com
The full list of alums from 2002-2021 is here.