Artists

A man whose music has been described as “infectious , loud, and fun” (Gramophone Magazine), and “fascinatingly strange” (BBC Music Magazine), award-winning composer Arthur Gottschalk is Professor of Music Composition at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. His music is regularly performed domestically and overseas, and his works are recorded and distributed on Navona Recordings, New Ariel, Crystal Records, Summit, Capstone, Beauport Classical, ERMMedia, AURecordings, Golden Crest, MSR Classics, Ablaze Records, Naxos, Amirani (Italy), and Delage (France). His works are published by Subito Music, Shawnee Press, European American Music Distributors, Alea Publishing, Trevco Music, The International Horn Society, Potenza Music, Delage Musique, and The Spectrum Press.

Houston TX based Apollo Chamber Players “performs with rhythmic flair and virtuosity” (The Strad) and has “found fruitful territory” (Houston Chronicle) through innovative, globally-inspired programming and multicultural new music commissions. Winner of Chamber Music America’s prestigious Residency Partnership award, the quartet has performed for sold-out audiences at Carnegie Hall, and it holds the distinction of being the first American chamber ensemble to record and perform in Cuba since 1960. Apollo is featured frequently on American Public Media’s nationally-syndicated program Performance Today.

Ellasón was founded in 2012; a musical group  based on Baby Bass, vocals, chorus, guitar/voice guitar trio/chorus, congas, bongos, cowbells, two clarinets, violin, and a voice leader.

The musical execution of this very young feminine octet concentrates on finding a more contemporary aesthetic of  “La Trova” and the Latin-American and Cuban traditional music.  Following the research of the different rhythms, and inspired by the legends of “La Trova” and the traditional Cuban music, these girls have come together to revive this music using  Compay Segundo as a paradigm, and the work of Sindo Garay and Mexico: the Yucatecan Trova as a foundation. Within the music genre acquired of Ellasón, they have  the Changüí, Chachachá, Son, Bolero, Canción, etc. With a new music design, they have established standard use of the clarinets and a constant tribute to the Aragón violin. This new format stamps the results of a typical approach to the sonority created by Charanga, and recreates an atmosphere of an authentic Jazz Band, which transports us back in time to the era bloomed in which these groups where flourishing. 

Steven D. Block was born in New York City on November 5, 1952. He is currently Dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley after having served as Chair of the Department of Music at the University of New Mexico for 17 years. As Dean, he is building new Arts programs, including that of the School of Music, from two separate legacy campuses. Block has appeared in the various personae of composer, music theorist, music critic, pianist, and both classical radio and disco d.j., among others. His compositions have been performed worldwide including performances in Australia, Paris, and Poland. His articles as a music theorist and music critic have appeared in such journals and magazines as Perspectives of New Music, Integrales, Music Theory Spectrum, the Journal of Music Theory, the Annual Review of Jazz Studies, Music Library Notes, and High Fidelity.

Christina Rusnak, a Northwest-based contemporary composer and explorer, is passionate about composing about place and the human experience. She works at the intersection of place, nature, culture, and history, and seeks to integrate context into her pieces. The composer also strives to create thought-provoking music that engages both the performers and the audience.

Sergio Cervetti, a Uruguayan-born American composer, came to the United States in 1962 to study composition. By 1966 he attracted international attention by winning the chamber music prize at the Caracas Venezuela Music Festival. After graduating from the Peabody Conservatory in 1967, where he studied with Ernst Krenek and Stefan Grové, he was invited by the DAAD to be a composer-in-residence in Berlin, Germany in 1969-70. From 1972-97 and 2007-08 Cervetti was Professor of Music at New York University / Tisch School of the Arts.

In August 2020, Jeffrey Jacob was named Composer-in-Residence with the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. He has written six symphonies, three piano concertos, three string quartets, and numerous works for piano and chamber ensemble. Raymond Leppard and the Indianapolis Symphony premiered his Symphony: Winter Lightning. The London Symphony recorded his Symphony No. 3. The Moscow and St. Petersburg Symphonies premiered respectively his Piano Concertos 1 and 2 with the composer as soloist.

Composer, cellist, and conductor, Heidi Jacob is Associate Professor of Music at Haverford College. A graduate of both the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, she has performed throughout the United States and Europe, including the Phillips Collection in Washington DC, Bedford Springs Festival, “Mozart on the Square” in Philadelphia, the Dubrovnik Festival, and on National Public Radio. She has recorded for Capstone Records, Albany Records, and Navona Records, and was featured on WRTI’s “Notes from Philadelphia,” highlighting performances of her album conducting the Chamber Orchestra of Bryn Mawr. In addition, Curt Cacioppo’s “Invocation and Dance of the Mountain Gods,” conducted by Jacob, from the album LAWS OF THE PIPE was recently selected by PARMA Recordings for inclusion on the label’s online digital release FINE MUSIC, Vol. 4.

As a composer, Bunny composes contemporary classical music as well as jazz and ballads. Her most recent works include “Breathe” for jazz ensemble, “Suite for Sarro” for string trio, “Fantasy for Saxophones”, (quartet) “Fantasy for Brass” (quintet) and the suite “Two Rivers and An Ocean” for mixed percussion ensemble. Her client commissions include arrangements. Bunny holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Music Composition from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Roger Bourland (b. Dec. 13, 1952, Evanston, Illinois) received his education from the University of Wisconsin/Madison (B.Mus),the New England Conservatory of Music (M.M.), and Harvard University (A.M., Ph.D.). His teachers have included Leon Kirchner, Gunther Schuller, Donald Martino, John Harbison, and Randall Thompson. He received the Koussevitzky Prize in Composition at Tanglewood, the John Knowles Paine Fellowship at Harvard, two ASCAP Grants to Young Composers, numerous Meet the Composers grants, and was a co-founder of the Boston-based consortium “Composers in Red Sneakers.” Bourland has composed over one hundred works for all media: solo, instrumental, chamber, vocal and choral music, electro-acoustic music, and music for orchestra, wind ensemble, and other large ensembles, which are published by Yelton Rhodes Music, ECS Publishing, Dorn Publications, Inc. and Associated Music Publishers, Inc. His works have been recorded on Northeastern Records, 1750 Arch, Open Loop, Cambria, and GM Recordings.

Don Bowyer is Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Arkansas State University. Having previously taught at every level from kindergarten through university in the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Sweden, Bowyer received his Doctor of Arts from the University of Northern Colorado, Master of Arts from California State University-Northridge, and Bachelor of Arts from West Virginia Wesleyan College.

In a career of over 45 years, composer/pianist Margaret Brandman has composed a variety of music ranging from orchestral, chamber and choral works, to instrumental solos, and works for solo voice with piano accompaniment.

John A. Carollo studied piano as a child and was a member of a Catholic Church choir which sang for the congregation during weekend services. In 1986, he began composing for the piano and graduated from San Diego State University with a Masters Degree in Psychology.  After moving to Honolulu HI in 1987, he started a career as a mental health counselor and social worker with the State of Hawaii, Department of Health.  In 1997, he began private composition lessons with Dr. Robert Wehrman.

A native of Texas, Mel Mobley (b. 1966) currently resides and teaches in Monroe, Louisiana. He holds degrees from the University of Texas, University of South Florida, and University of Illinois. Active as a performer, composer, and advocate of new music, Mel has been involved in new music festivals and performances all around the country. Performed here and abroad, his works include orchestral, band, chamber, choral, and electronic music. His largest work to date, a chamber opera titled Sylvan Beach, premiered in the spring of 2010. His percussion trio with piano titled [pleez], (plez), /pliz/ was released on the 2013 Revello Records compact disc, Piano Concerti with Percussion Orchestra.

The music of composer Michael Murray (b. 1964) has been described as “well crafted,” “expertly and adroitly handled,” and consisting of “pleasing washes of sounds and tone colors.” Reviewers have praised his writing for voice as “excellent,” “lovely,” and “a gift to singers.” In addition to works for the concert hall, he has written music for film, theater productions, dance, and visual arts installations. He currently lives in Springfield, Missouri, where he teaches composition and music theory at Missouri State University.