Artists

Mark Dal Porto has received numerous commissions with his works receiving hundreds of performances by many instrumental and vocal ensembles throughout the United States and abroad. In 2019, he released Peace, Nature & Renewal¸ a CD featuring some of his orchestral, choral, and chamber works. In the 2013 CODA (College Orchestra Directors Association) International Composition Contest, he was awarded first prize for his orchestral work Song of Eternity. He has also received certificates of excellence in band, choral, orchestral, and chamber music composition from The American Prize organization.

Nan Avant’s music embraces thematic and rhythmic intentions often reflecting her Latin heritage, encompassing her passion for classical, jazz, world, and ethnic music. Avant’s music has been honored with numerous accolades and awards including her most recent recordings on the Navona Records label with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Zagreb Festival Orchestra garnering her three Silver Medals in the Global Music Awards 2022–2023, The American Prize: Winner – Pops/Light Orchestral Composition 2023, and Winner in two categories of the Clouzine International Music Award 2023.

Liova Bueno's music is performed in concerts and music festivals internationally, from Europe, the United States, and across Canada to countries in Central and South America. He has received commissions from and has collaborated with various ensembles, including Cuarteto de Bellas Artes (Mexico), Vox Humana Chamber Choir (Victoria, B.C.), the Victoria Choral Society (Victoria, B.C.), the London Symphony Orchestra (U.K.), the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra (Czech Republic), BRNO Contemporary Orchestra (Czech Republic), the Illinois Modern Ensemble (Illinois), the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional Juvenil and members of the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional (Dominican Republic), and members of the Victoria Symphony.

Widely acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, The London Symphony Orchestra was named by Gramophone as one of the top five orchestras in the world. A world-leader in recording music for film, television, and events, it was the official orchestra of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games ceremonies, memorably performing Chariots of Fire on stage in the opening ceremony, conducted by Simon Rattle and with Rowan Atkinson.

Barbara Jazwinski’s music has been heard throughout North America, Europe, and the Far East. Her portfolio, influenced by her Polish heritage and by the culture of New Orleans, her home for many years, includes over 100 original compositions in various genres and for many different vocal and instrumental ensembles. She has been commissioned by many artists and ensembles around the world and her works have been presented to critical acclaim at well-known concert series and international festivals. Barbara Jazwinski’s compositions are available on several recording labels, and on websites and radio stations around the world including Navona Records, Vienna Modern Masters, Capstone, Lorelt, Ravello and Musiques Suisses labels.

Vince Peterson is a respected choral conductor, composer/arranger, and teacher of music in the United States. His 20-year hybrid career spans the worlds of choral music, theater, sacred music, and music education. He has, however, established himself most prominently in the world of choral music, notably having founded the "shape-shifting" vocal ensemble Choral Chameleon in 2008. Across his work, he is responsible for presenting nearly 300 premieres of new choral and theater music in the last 15 years and has won critical acclaim in The New York Times, Time Out New York, The New York Concert Review, I Care If You Listen, The Examiner, and other publications. He is also a recipient of the prestigious ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming.

Choral Chameleon is an acclaimed vocal ensemble based in New York City, renowned for its diverse repertoire and innovative programming. Established in January 2008, Choral Chameleon consists of a semi professional chorus of over 50 voices and a core professional ensemble of 16 singers. The group is celebrated for blending popular music with Western art music, breaking down barriers between genres, and creating dynamic and transformative concert experiences. 

Timothy Schmalz is a composer with a focus on works for the concert hall and visual media. He has a multi instrumental background, with an emphasis compositionally on orchestral and chamber music. Given that much of his composition work began in media music, Schmalz is multi faceted — encompassing a wide variety of musical thinking and creativity.

Laura Ward is pianist and Co-Artistic Director of Lyric Fest. As a distinguished collaborative pianist she is known for both her technical ability and vast knowledge of repertoire and styles. Concert engagements have taken her to Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Spoleto Festival (Italy) and the Colmar International Music Festival and Saint Denis Festival in France.

Lyric Fest has been hailed in the press as “An irresistible mix of high art and humane feeling... As entertaining as a well-managed party” (Broad Street Review). Founded in 2003 with the goal of celebrating and revitalizing the art song tradition, it is the only performing arts organization in the Mid-Atlantic region with a primary focus on song in all its varied expressions. 

Dr. J.A. Kawarsky (b. 1959) is Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton in New Jersey. Kawarsky received his B.M. in composition from Iowa State University and his M.M. and D.M.A. from Northwestern University, where he studied with John Paynter, Alan Stout, and Frederick Ockwell. In 1982, Kawarsky conducted the Opera Company of the Negev Region in Be’er Sheva in Israel. Before coming to Westminster in 1989, he taught at Fort Hays State University, the University of Wisconsin, and Moraine Valley Community College.

Richard Thompson is a performer and composer whose work combines African-American and European traditions. Originally from Aberdeen, Scotland, Thompson made his debut as a pianist at the Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, in 1984. Thompson’s orchestral appearances include concerts with the Orchestra Nova, San Diego, San Diego State University Symphony Orchestra, Glasgow Chamber Orchestra, and Aberdeen Chamber Orchestra.

Soprano Ellaina Lewis is an accomplished soloist and collaborator who demonstrates an extensive range of vocal and dramatic ability. Her journey began as part of a richly musical family in Washington DC and has led to her current home in Seattle WA, where she is frequently seen on opera, concert, and recital stages. She has performed with Seattle Opera since 2011, most recently in X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, by Anthony Davis. Lewis has also worked among other companies including the Harmonia Orchestra and Chorus, Tacoma Opera, Seattle Choral Company, Puget Sound Opera, Everett Symphony, and as a guest of the Ladies Musical Club, among others.

Jennifer Jolley (b. 1981) is a composer, conductor, and professor. Her work is founded on the belief that the pleasures and excesses of music have the unique potential to engage political and provocative subjects. Addressing a range of topics such as climate change, #MeToo, feminist history, and the abuses of the Putin regime, Jolley strives to write pieces that are equally enjoyable and meaningful.

A versatile conductor, Eric Allen is sought as a conductor of all types of ensembles. At Texas Tech University, Allen serves as director of the Contemporary Music Ensemble. Under his direction, the CME has performed exciting and innovative programs in a variety of venues, providing opportunities for musicians to experience exploratory repertoire in a nurturing and collaborative environment.

Madison Choral Project seeks to enrich the lives of those in our community and beyond through the amazing power of humans singing together. Madison Choral Project has performed over 50 live concerts in Madison, Milwaukee, and beyond. They specialize in creating immersive and thoughtful concert experiences for each audience member through narrative story, art, text, lecture, and more. Nationally recognized for excellence, they won second place in the American Prize for Choral Music (Professional Division) in 2020.

Reed Chamberlin serves as director of bands at the University of Nevada, Reno, where he conducts the Nevada Wind Ensemble, teaches conducting, and guides the band program. He holds a doctor of musical arts degree in conducting from the Eastman School of Music where he was the assistant conductor of the Eastman Wind Ensemble, a Fennell Conducting Fellow, and recipient of the Walter Hagen Prize in conducting.

The nationally recognized Nevada Wind Ensemble is the flagship wind and percussion ensemble at the University of Nevada, Reno. Using one-per-part instrumentation, the Wind Ensemble performs a broad repertoire of classic and contemporary styles, ranging from large band works to chamber pieces. The ensemble tours regularly throughout the Western United States and provides the opportunity to collaborate with world-class guest conductors and guest artists. The group consists of graduate and undergraduate students.

William White is a conductor, composer, teacher, writer, and performer based in Seattle WA. Equally known for his original music as for his bold interpretations, White is an innovative programmer and conscientious leader in the musical community. His music has been performed throughout North America as well as in Asia and Europe. His music has been recorded on the MSR Classics, Cedille, and Navona Records labels, and he maintains a significant career as a composer of music for the concert stage, theater, cinema, church, radio, and film. 

Yuriy Bekker, critically-acclaimed violinist and conductor, has been a mainstay of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra (CSO) in Charleston SC for 15 years. He has recently been named the CSO’s artistic director and also continues to lead as concertmaster (2007) and principal pops conductor (2016). Bekker previously served as the orchestra’s Acting Artistic Director from 2010–2014, playing a major role in the orchestra’s successful resurgence.