The 2023 Program Fellows
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Madeline Clara Cheng *deferred to 2024Madeline Clara Cheng is a composer, saxophonist, and pianist from the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a 2023 YoungArts Award Winner, a 2019-2020 Luna Composition Lab Fellow, the winner of the 2020 National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Composers Contest, the two-time national winner of the Illinois Young Composer Contest, the first place winner of the Gonzaga Composition Competition, and a recipient of the ICEBERG New Music Young Composer Scholarship. Her works have received top awards and honors from the Golden Key Music Festival, Robert Avalon International Competition, American Composers Forum, Tribeca New Music, and the New Music on the Bluff Festival. Madeline’s compositions have also been performed by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the BIT20 Ensemble at the Bergen International Festival, the International Contemporary Ensemble, the Boston New Music Initiative, the Triple Helix Piano Trio, and the Julius Quartet. Madeline is an alumna of the Tanglewood Institute, for which she received a full scholarship, as well as the Yellow Barn Young Artists Program. She is currently studying composition at the University of Southern California as a Presidential Scholar. In addition to music, Madeline also enjoys sushi, fashion, bubble wrap, musical theatre, and guinea pigs.
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Jun Jie Edmund Song (2023 Leslie Bassett Graduate Award)Described with having “richness and variety from his double bass than one would have thought possible” (Straits Times, 2019) and “outstanding” (Straits Times, 2018) for his double bass performances and writing music which “emanated a variety of aromatic incenses” (pianofortephilia, 2022), US - Based Singaporean composer and double bassist Edmund Song is a re-imaginer of Eastern Traditional music with a Western flare. While regularly performing on the double bass, Edmund began as an engraver and copyist before arranging and orchestrating for numerous international singers like Nathan Hartono, Rahimah Rahim and Derrick Hoh. Through the collaborations, he would move into music production and game music working with 24 Gigakus (Sichuan) and Game Soul Technology (Taiwan) respectively. 2022 saw Edmund’s first staged work, 《The Chu Emperor》with Ding Yi Music Company and compositional award for《 A Joo Chiat Fantasy》as composer and producer. His recent compositional collaborations includes works for Hub New Music, PRISM Quartet and HyperCube Ensemble. In 2023, Edmund curated the Jacob’s School of Music’s first student-organised “film score in concert” at Auer Hall featuring entirely his own film scores and live foley presentations. Before leaving for the US, Edmund was the general manager of the Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra (ACSO) promoting multicultural performances with Asian traditional instruments through a symphonic setting since 2016. Edmund had produced concerts ranging for traditional staged, film scores in concerts, digital streaming and orchestral cross collaborations with dance and beatbox. Due an additional Asian ethnic section embedded into the Orchestra’s unique instrumentation, Edmund has been advocating and helping composers how to write and integrate Asian instruments into their compositions. Edmund currently studies film scoring and composition at the Jacobs School of Music (USA) with Larry Groupe and PQ Phan respectively. He is the appointed Composer-in-residence of Asian Cultural Symphony Orchestra and the Early Music Double Bassist with the Red Dot Baroque (Singapore), ensemble in residence at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music.
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Robert Furuya (2023 David Stock Undergraduate Award)Robert Furuya enjoys a challenge in composition, whether it be answering a call for scores for solo hammered dulcimer, setting e.e. cummings poems for choir, or explaining engineering concepts through sound. Flow 1, his wind quintet about fluid mechanics anchored by its middle movement, Major Headloss, Esq., was written in 2022 for the Air Force Band of the West. He enjoys exploring rhythm, contrapuntal textures, voicings, melodic fragments, and a sense of space throughout his music. Favorite composers and influences include Rautavaara, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Lili Boulanger, Alkan, Qigang Chen, and At The Drive-In. Robert is working towards a BM in Music Composition and a BS in Engineering Science at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX, studying with Dr. Brian Bondari for composition and Dr. Carolyn True for piano. On piano, he is currently preparing a non-required solo recital featuring some of his favorite music by Perkinson, Clermont Pepin, Alexina Louie, and Mozart. His rendition of Kurt Atterberg’s Piano Concerto drew rave reviews en-route to honorable mention in the Trinity Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition in 2022. He has also been a ringer in the Trinity University Handbell Ensemble throughout his time in college, and his music has been premiered by the group. When not making music, Robert can be often be found playing or watching any sport (especially basketball and soccer), cooking, or designing and modeling new unexploded ordnance sensors. Robert has won regional and national competitions based in NC, TN, and TX, and garnered recognition from MTNA, CAPTA, and CASA. Alba will mark his festival debut, and he is very excited for the opportunity!
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Dante AntonioDante Antonio is a multidisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, New York. He’s written for a variety of ensembles, from solo pieces to chamber orchestra, and is currently exploring the worlds of electronic and xenharmonic music. Dante’s studied with composers such as Emmett Drake, Eric Ewazen, Jessica Hunt, and Gabriela Lena Frank. He tries to listen to music from many different time periods and locations (so that he never really has any idea what music actually is), and is currently interested in problems of language, cultural context, and performance psychology (and spends a lot of time complaining about notation). Past awards and programs Dante’s been involved with include East Chamber Music’s Fall 2022 Composer Festival, the Korea-Holland Music Association’s 2022 Toy Music Festival, and the New York Youth Symphony’s Composition Program. He’s also a writer and actor (and sometimes you can tell…).
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Felicity Mazur-ParkFelicity Mazur-Park, an English composer, pianist, and organist based in Texas. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from The Boston Conservatory, a Master of Education degree from Tennessee State University, and a Master of Music degree from Texas Christian University, where she is studying towards her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Music Composition with a cognate in organ performance and is an instructor of record for elementary theory. Her Master of Education thesis, World Music in Nashville: A Choral Approach, won the university’s graduate oral presentation award at its Spring 2017 Research Forum for the Arts, and her Master of Music thesis is an hour-long opera based on Anton Chekhov’s play, The Seagull. Mazur-Park is having Act 3 of her opera premiered at Texas Christian University in March. She has over a decade of experience in music ministry and has served multiple churches in various roles including as a director of music, organist, and choral accompanist. She is currently the Director of Music at Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church in Fort Worth, TX. Her works have been performed by ensembles including: Les flûtistes de Montréal, Xanthos, Juventas New Music Ensemble, The Boston Conservatory Orchestra, Ludovico Ensemble, Texas Christian University Symphonic Band, Brave New Works, The Estrella Consort, and Q365 Saxophone Quartet. She has studied music composition with Andrew M. Wilson, Jan Swafford, Dalit Warshaw, Andy Vores, Marti Epstein, Olga Harris, Robert Xavier Rodriguez, Martin Blessinger, and Blaise Ferrandino.
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Blake BeuhlerBlake Dylan Buehler (b. 2000) is a composer, educator, and artist-activist currently based in Nacogdoches, Texas. Buehler’s catalogue includes a diverse output of music for ensembles including choir, jazz quintet, horn trio, percussion ensemble, and wind symphony, as well as solo works for piano, voice, percussion, clarinet, and flute. His compositions focus on unique timbres and powerful soundscapes. He fuses the emotion and thematic material of punk music with the nuance and traditions of classical composition. Buehler has a passion for innovative music and the betterment of society through music. He served as the projects chair and fraternity education officer for Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity Gamma Eta Chapter and was president and co founder of Sexuality and Faith Exploration (SAFE), which explores the intersectionality of religion and sexuality and supports LGBTQ+ persons in the greater Greenville, South Carolina area. His active role in service earned him the Furman University Harry B. Shucker Outstanding Student Leader Award in 2022. He was also a research fellow on the project “The Time Signature – How Life Experiences Have Shaped Perspective, Success, and Longevity for 50 Educators Over the Age of 50” under the direction of Dr. Sue Samuels; the findings of which were presented at the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference 2021. Buehler’s music is a place of radical acceptance, and he is dedicated to activism and leadership through music.
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Gibson MahnkeGibson Mahnke (b.2004) is a composer, oboist, and percussionist from Denver, Colorado. He has worked with groups such as the Boulder Philharmonic and the Greater Boulder Youth Orchestra. Mahnke’s compositional style can be described as meditative and reflective, and his music works to bring people together and redefine the place of music in the modern world. Mahnke is also deeply committed to spreading his love of music with younger students. Previously, he worked under the mentorship of Dr. Matthew Dockendorf (Assistant Director of Bands, University of Colorado Boulder) as well as interned at Westlake Middle School under the supervision of Mr. Michael Windham (Director of Bands, Westlake Middle School). Mahnke previously studied composition with Dr. Sean Friar, Dr. Brian Ebert, and Max Wolpert and oboe with Maureen Farkash. Mahnke just finished his first year at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music where he studies composition with Dr. Veronika Krausas and Dr. Brian Head. Alongside composition, he studies oboe with Dr. Joel Timm.
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Guang YangA recipient of both the 2020 Margaret Creal Shafer Prize in Composition from the Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle and the 2022 “Excellent Work” Award from the Soundways International Composition Competition, Guang is a Chinese composer, pianist, writer and educator who is based in Boston, United States. After earning his B.A. in philosophy with Prof. Daniel Berthold and B.A. in music with Joan Tower, George Tsontakis and Lera Auerbach from Bard College, Guang is currently pursuing MM in music composition at Boston University School of Music, studying with Joshua Fineberg. His works have been publicly performed by Euclid String Quartet, Da Capo Chamber Players, Zhejiang Conservatory Ensemble, The Orchestra Now and Bard Conservatory musicians. Guang’s compositions were heard at venues such as Fisher Center of Music at Bard College, Arthur Zankel Music Center of Skidmore College, Bito Conservatory Space, Xuelu Art School, Xianzhao Buddhist Temple and Yuhang Grand Theatre. An active pianist, Guang has held hour-long piano recitals in Annandale-on-Hudson (upstate New York) and Hangzhou (China), he frequently preforms his very own compositions.
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Edward ShiltsEdward Shilts received their Bachelor’s degree from Concordia College in Moorhead MN, their Masters in Music Composition from Shenandoah University, and Master of Arts in Opera Making and Writing from Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Edward's musical style is influenced by their interest in opera, politics, mental health, and gender expression. As an artist, Edward is interested in creating music that's expressionistic in emotion, but surreal in experience through temporal manipulation and the distortion of sound. Edward has participated in festivals including the Walden Creative Musicians Retreat, Charlotte New Music Festival, Hypercube Composition Lab, and Longy’s Divergent studio; their work has been performed by ensembles such as the Mivos Quartet, Hypercube, and Loadbang. In June of 2022, Edward’s second chamber opera “Samhain Bloom” was premiered as part of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Opera Makers programme. Currently, they are enrolled at the University of Miami pursuing a DMA in composition.
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Sharon OmensSharon Omens is a prolific composer, performer and music educator who has a deep passion for music. After receiving her Bachelors of Music and Certificate of Music Therapy, she has devoted more than 40 years training young musicians and using music as a source of healing with those in need. She has been a spiritual performer of both piano and voice and has produced six albums with her original compositions. Over the past few years, Sharon has expanded her repertoire and has written many contemporary classical chamber works which have been showcased regularly at the Timucua White House, the Accidental Music Festival, The Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts and the Orlando Contemporary Chamber Orchestra. Her thematic expressions offer exceptional musicianship and a wide range of compositional, poetic and artistic arrangements which guide the listener on an emotional journey. Whether one is relaxing, meditating, imagining angels dancing through the heavens, feeling the angst of our nation on election night or understanding the emotional turmoil of a holocaust survivor, Sharon gets her message across through her music.
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Nicholas SasseNicholas James Sasse (B. 2001) is an American composer and clarinetist, who is currently based in Washington State. Nick considers himself a “social composer” whose goal is to make notated music accessible to the common listener. He strongly believes that notated music isn’t something that only a trained ear can appreciate; it is something that anybody can connect with. He furthers this belief in that music should reflect the world we live in. Nick constantly pursues his philosophy through his compositions, always drawing meaning in everything he writes. In being a “social composer”, Nick believes that his music should be used as a tool to spark conversations about life and our world. Therefore, Nick’s music is not categorized as only “fun to listen to”, but also as music which evokes emotions in people, immersing them in musical journeys which better connect them to the world, and to their own self. Nick has studied musical composition at a collegiate level since 2020 under the direction of Dr. Martin Kennedy and later under Dr. Jiyoun Chung. Notable achievements include winning the Trudie Woll Memorial Composition Competition, being a finalist in the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, having his music programmed in The College Music Society Northwest Division Conference, and being a composition fellow for the Alba Music Festival.
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Isaac Duquette Isaac J. Duquette is an American composer and horn player based in the Philadelphia, PA area. His undergraduate degree was in Horn Performance and Music Composition with a minor in music production at West Chester University and graduated with honors in 2020. He is a recent graduate of Temple University where he studied horn performance with Ernesto Tovar of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Isaac’s main compositional influence is psychology and the mentality behind how we experience life. Isaac's influences include composers like Adam Schoenberg, Henryk Górecki, and Theodor Adorno. Isaac has received several commissions, most recently from the Reading Choral Society (RCS), West Chester University Concert Band, and Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra. In 2021, the RCS premiered his work Dispirited Walls with text by Marlene Miller, which critically discusses the cultural sacrifices we all experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2022, The West Chester University Concert Band premiered his work A Journey Through Life which handles the fickleness of life, the chaos that life brings, but the beauty that results from life. Later this year, the Reading Symphony Youth Orchestra will be premiering his work Lugeo Eam. This work tackles the melancholy and mourning of a lost loved one. Isaac was runner-up in the 2022 National Band Association Mentorship Project for his work Melancholia: a Series of Absurd Manic Depressive Delusions. Isaac currently works as a freelance hornist and luthier near Philadelphia, PA.
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Joey Willette M Joseph Willette (b. 1997) is a composer and educator currently residing in the bustling city of Lincoln, Nebraska. Often drawing inspiration from queer life and spaces, Joey (they/them) utilizes delicate timbres and rich sonorities to capture the idyllic intimacies and onerous tribulations of the human experience. Their music for chamber ensembles, wind band, and choir has been performed around the United States, with recent projects including collaborations with the Wichita State University Dance Department scoring the film She Moved the Prairie, which has been the recipient of numerous awards from film festivals all around the world. Joey holds a Bachelor’s degree of Music Education from Troy University, and a Master’s degree in Music Composition from Wichita State University, where they studied with Dr. Traci Mendel and Dr. David MacDonald, respectively. Joey is an amateur photographer, and is fond of poetry, scented candles, and a #4 from Taco Bell with a Baja Blast (no ice). They are an alumni member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
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Ethan ResnikEthan Resnik is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music Degree in Composition at the Eastman School of Music. His works are often inspired by nostalgia, nature, and places that he visits, as well as his synesthesia, as he associates colors with letters, numbers, and sounds. Ethan is the recipient of awards including the Eastman School of Music Belle Gitelman Award, the Louis Lane Prize, the Susquehanna University Composition Prize, and he received first prize in the Akron Symphonic Winds Young Composer’s Competition and the Villa Musica Call for Scores. His music has been performed by ensembles including the American Modern Ensemble, Tacet(i) Ensemble, Quartetto Zuena, North/South Chamber Orchestra, Atlantic Music Festival Contemporary Ensemble, Akron Symphonic Winds, The Rhythm Method string quartet, and the Julius Quartet. In addition, he was featured as a composer on NPR's From The Top, which aired in February of 2020. As a pianist, he was a soloist with the North Shore Symphony Orchestra, a finalist in the Yonkers Philharmonic Concerto Competition, and he received first place in the American Fine Arts Festival Concerto Competition. He also enjoys performing chamber music, accompanying, and arranging. For two years, Ethan studied composition with Eric Ewazen at The Juilliard School Pre-College Division. He also participated in the New York Youth Symphony Composition Program, International Composition Institute of Thailand, EMERGE Workshop, Atlantic Music Festival, Mostly Modern Festival, Lake George Composer Institute, Curtis Summerfest, and the Maine Chamber Music Seminar. Besides music, Ethan enjoys riding roller coasters, hiking, studying French, and going to beaches.
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