Composition Faculty
2026 COMPOSERS-IN-RESIDENCE
Laura Elise Schwendinger
Laura Schwendinger, composer of Artemisia, winner of the 2023 American Academy of Arts and Letters Charles Ives Opera award ($50,000), was the first composer to win the Berlin Prize. A Professor of music composition at UW-Madison, her works have been championed by Dawn Upshaw, Arditti & JACK Quartets, Jenny Koh, Janine Jansen, Matt Haimovitz, ICE, Eighth-Blackbird, Juilliard, ACO, Franz Liszt Orchestra; Her music performed at the Kennedy & Lincoln Centers, Berlin Philharmonic, Wigmore, Carnegie Halls, Miller & Théâtre Châtelet, Tanglewood, Aspen & Ojai, Talis, & Bennington Festivals. Fellowships include a: Guggenheim, Fromm (2), Koussevitzky, (2) Radcliffe Institute, Copland Prize-Copland House (2), ALEA III First Prize, American Academy Arts Letters (2), MacDowell (12), Yaddo (9), Bogliasco (2) and Bellagio fellowships. Her music called “captivating, artful..moving” and “music of infinite beauty” in the New York Times, “ the genuine article..onto the ’season's best list “ in the Boston Globe. Colin Clarke wrote about her JACK CD, QUARTETS, “the sheer intensity of the music is spellbinding…the passion shines through like..light.” A SFCV review of her opera, “Artemisia is sumptuous on every level.” Recent premieres include her second Opera, Cabaret of Shadows a (Fromm Commission) produced by Musiqa at MATCH, Houston, Nightingales for Eleanor Bartsch and Ariana Kim and the Dubuque & UW Symphony Orchestras, and a harp concerto, Second Sight for Atlanta Symphony Principal Harpist Elisabeth Remy Johnson, commissioned for the 100th anniversary of the Emory University Orchestra program.
Lansing McLoskey
Lansing McLoskey has been described as "a major talent and a deep thinker with a great ear" by the American Composers Orchestra, "an engaging, gifted composer writing smart, compelling and fascinating music" by Gramophone Magazine, and "a distinctive voice in American music.” McLoskey’s music has been performed in 21 countries on six continents, and he has won three-dozen national & international awards, including a 2019 GRAMMY for "Zealot Canticles: An oratorio for tolerance." Other awards include the American Prize, two Copland House Awards (2018 & 2022), a Fromm Foundation commission, two awards from the American Academy of Arts & Letters, and a 2019 Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship. His opera The Captivity of Hannah Duston, commissioned by Guerilla Opera, was awarded a 2024 N.E.A. grant. Recent commissions include a violin concerto for Miclen Laipang, a Barlow Commission for a 50-minute cantata for Network for New Music, ensemberlino vocale (Berlin), Kammerkoret NOVA (Oslo, Norway), Amorsima Trio, Bent Frequency, Splinter Reeds, Boston Choral Ensemble, and Berlin PianoPercussion. McLoskey holds degrees from Harvard (Ph.D.), the USC Thornton School of Music, UCSB, and was a fellow at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen. His music is released on 17 CDs on Albany, Innova, Centaur, Wergo Schallplatten, Tantara, Capstone, Equilibrium, and Beauport Classics, and published by Theodore Presser Co., Mostly Marimba, Subito Music, American Composers Press, and Odhecaton Z Music. Professor at the Frost School of Music, McLoskey is an avid surfer, cyclist, and fly fisher.
2026 RESIDENT COMPOSITION FACULTY
Reinaldo Moya
Reinaldo Moya is a graduate of Venezuela’s El Sistema music education system. He is the recipient of the Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, two McKnight Composers’ Fellowships, the Van Lier Fellowship from Meet the Composer and the Aaron Copland Award. He was the inaugural winner of the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation Composer Award. Mr. Moya’s music has been performed by some of the most sought-after musicians, including orchestras, chamber ensembles, vocalists, and opera companies. His recent work I Will Dance, and Dance with You was commissioned by Chiarina Chamber Players in Washington DC and was premiered in March 2025 by Ricardo Morales (Principal clarinetist of the Philadelphia Orchestra), Domenic Salerni (from the Grammy-Award-winning Attacca Quartet) and the artistic directors of Chiarina Efi Hackmey and Carrie Bean Stute. Mr. Moya was the Composer-in-Residence of the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra from 2021-24, and he wrote two works during his residency period: Polo Romanesco (premiered at the Harris Theater for Dance in Chicago in March of 2022), and Rise for cello and orchestra premiered by Joshua Roman in January of 2023.
Elliott Miles McKinley
Elliott Miles McKinley has had music performed in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Commissions include those from the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Music Society, the SOLI Chamber Music Ensemble, the Martinů String Quartet, and the Janaček Trio. The Minnesota Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic, and the Czech Radio Symphony have performed his orchestral music, and his works have been featured on many international festivals. He is the recipient of a number of awards, grants, and fellowships including those from BMI, ASCAP, SCI, Meet the Composer, the American Music Center, the American Composers Forum, and Indiana University, the Bogliasco Foundation, and the MacDowell Colony. McKinley earned degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music, University of Michigan, and University of Minnesota. He has taught at Indiana University, the University of Tennessee, Washington and Lee University, and is currently Professor of Music Composition, Theory, and Technology at Roger Williams University.
J Anthony Allen
J. Anthony Allen, a musical polymath who defies easy categorization. A Michigan-born, Minneapolis-based creator has penned orchestral scores, produced popular dance tracks, and taught electronic music to over a million students worldwide. Allen’s musical footprint spans continents, with compositions performed across Europe, North America, and Asia. From the Minnesota Orchestra to Netflix jingles, his work knows no bounds. But Allen isn’t content with just creating; he’s on a mission to revolutionize music education for the 21st century. In 2011, he founded Slam Academy, an electronic music school aimed at making production accessible and affordable. His disruptive spirit was further showcased in 2024 when he famously received tenure and quit his university job on the same day. As a composer, Allen is a musical magpie, weaving diverse influences into unique sonic tapestries. Lately his favorite thing is writing “acoustic music inspired by dance music, and dance music inspired by acoustic music.”