BIOGRAPHIES
Patrick Houlihan
Patrick Houlihan is a native of New Orleans and studied at the University of Mississippi and Florida State University. He is currently on the music faculty at Ouachita Baptist University, where he serves as chair of the Department of Music Theory/Composition.
Houlihan has received commissions, grants, and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, Meet the Composer, the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters, the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center, the Florida College Music Teachers Association, and other organizations. In addition to composing music for concert performances, he has written music for modern dance, for worship, and electronic music for collaborative museum installations with sculptor Wallace Mallette. Houlihan's works are published by Warner Bros., Lorenz, Alliance, and other publishers.
He lives in Arkansas with his wife, Jill.
Joungmin Lee
Joungmin Lee’s music has been performed in the US, Europe, and Asia. He is a Gold Medal Winner of Global Music Awards for his string quartet ‘Vexatious’. Also it will be published by ABLAZE Records, Editro Sconfinarte, and 31st volume of the SCI CD Series, which will include his award-winning work. In addition, his electro-acoustic piece ‘Heterogeneous’ has been selected for ABLAZE Records Electronic Masters Vol. 5 disc. Lee's work has been recognized by numerous competitions and “Call for Scores”, including Salvatore Martirano Memorial Composition Award, the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble Live from Prague project, Florence String Quartet Competition, Chang-Ak Contemporary Music Society Composition Competition, Valencia International Performance Academy & Festival, SIME International Electroacoustic Music Competition, Musinfo Opus-centrum, Bozzini_Lab Montreal Workshop, Cicada Consort, National Student Electronic Music Event, and Radio Transmission Art Pieces - www.wgxc.org (New York 90.7-FM), among many others. Additionally, Joungmin's music has been featured by the JACK Quartet, Ascanio Quartet, the Midwest Composers Symposium, UI Dance and International Writing Program Collaboration, University of Iowa Center for New Music, University of Kansas Murphy Hall, The University of Oklahoma Catlett Music Center, University of Alabama Moody Concert Hall and Recital Hall, Seoul Arts Center and Busan International Modern Dance Festival. Currently he is pursuing the DMA Composition at The Ohio State University with Thomas Wells. He holds degrees from Sang Myung University (M.Mus in Computer Music) as well as New York University (M.Mus in Music Technology). Joungmin has studied with David Gompper, Josh Levine, Bryan Haaheim, Hyunsook Choi, Kenneth J. Peacock, and Dafna Naphtali, in addition to private studies with Elainie Lillios.
Paul SanGregory
Paul SanGregory's music might be described as harmonically colorful, melodically clear, rhythmically and texturally varied, sometimes dramatic and often possessing a complexity not immediately apparent. Underlying structures create direction and logic, but his music typically remains flexible and intuitive on the surface. He has an eclectic approach to technique, sometimes combining more recent compositional approaches with elements from Chinese music, earlier Western music, or blues, for example, yet he folds them into a consistent musical personality. His music has been performed in Taiwan, China, and other Asian countries, the US, Europe, Canada, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. It has been broadcast and discussed on NPR affiliated radio in the US, Hong Kong Radio, and Radio New Zealand Classic. He has been commissioned by institutions, ensembles, and individuals, including large and small university ensembles and colleagues in various parts of the world. Recordings of his works are available on CDs produced by Early Music Society Taiwan, Capstone Records, Leyerle Publications, The Asian Composers League, and ShineCreativity.
In the US, Mr. SanGregory taught at the University of Indianapolis and the University of Toledo. He then moved to Taiwan and taught at National Kaohsiung Normal University, National Sun Yat-Sen University, and National Pingtung University. During those years, he also coached, conducted, and composed for NKNU's Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. He is currently Associate Professor of Music Theory and Composition at National Kaohsiung Normal University and serves on the board of directors for the Asian Composers League’s Taiwan Section.
Originally from northern Ohio, Mr. SanGregory completed the Doctor of Music degree in composition at Indiana University where his major teachers were Claude Baker and Frederick Fox. He also studied composition with Eugene O'Brien, Mark Phillips, and David Jex, and has studied piano with Michel Block, Richard Syracuse, Thomas Hecht, and Anthony Pattin.
Mike McFerron
Mike McFerron is professor of music and composer-in-residence at Lewis University and he is founder and co-director of Electronic Music Midwest (http://www.emmfestival.org). A past fellow of the MacDowell Colony, Ucross, June in Buffalo, and the Chamber Music Conference of the East/Composers’ Forum, honors include, among others, first prize in the Louisville Orchestra Composition Competition, first prize in the CANTUS commissioning/residency program, recipient of the 2005 CCF Abelson Vocal Music Commission, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s “First Hearing” Program. He serves on the board of the directors for the Metropolitan Youth Symphony Orchestra and also as the Chair of the Executive Committee for the Society of Composers, Inc. McFerron’s music can be heard on numerous commercial recordings as well as on his website at http://www.bigcomposer.com.
Justin Writer
Justin Writer is Associate Professor of Composition and Music Theory at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Writer’s music is performed by professional and university ensembles throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico, and South America. His music is published by Cimarron Music Press, Media Press, and Fatrock Ink. Writer’s works have been performed at important conferences such as the International Tuba and Euphonium Association, North American Saxophone Alliance, European Bass Congress, Viola Congress, College Music Society National Conference, International Trumpet Guild, The Society of Composers Inc. National Conference, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, Chicago Bass Festival, and many regional, state, and local venues.
Aaron Alon
Aaron Alon’s music has been performed in concert halls, conservatories, universities, and arts venues around the world by some of the most acclaimed performers of new music. His concert works have been released on four labels and awarded numerous national and international composition honors, including those from ASCAP, the National Association of Composers, the National Federation of Music Clubs, the Society of Composers, Inc., Meet the Composer, the Lotte Lehmann Foundation, the Renée B. Fisher Composer Awards, and Mu Phi Epsilon. He is a member of ASCAP and a past chapter president of Mu Phi Epsilon.
Alon is also highly active as a teacher. He is a Professor of Music at Lone Star College-CyFair, where he was named a 2014 Distinguished Faculty member and a 2015-2016 Faculty Excellence Award winner. He is also the Director of the Composition program at the American Festival for the Arts.
Since 2009, Alon has also been highly active as a playwright, lyricist, and musical theatre composer. His plays and musicals have been read or performed around the US and in the UK. He has recently written the music, screenplay, and lyrics for the critically acclaimed musical Bully (bullythemusical.com), which will be released as a feature film in 2017 by Thunderclap Productions, a nonprofit production company he cofounded. He co-wrote Death, the Musical (deathmusical.com), penned lyrics for the title song of a feature film Mixed Emulsions, and wrote the new play Positive. Current projects include several new musicals, plays, revues, and films.
Alon holds a DMA from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, an MM from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a BA from the University of Chicago. His past teachers include Karim Al-Zand, Anthony Brandt, Shih-Hui Chen, Jean Milew, Marta Ptaszynska, and Orianna Webb.
For more information, please visit Aaron Alon’s website at aaronalon.com.
Michael Pounds
Michael Pounds began his career as a mechanical engineer, with a BS from Ohio University. After employment at the NASA Lewis Research Center, he returned to the academic world to study music composition with a focus on computer music and music technology. After undergraduate music studies at Bowling Green State University, he earned graduate degrees in music composition from Ball State University, the University of Birmingham in England, and the University of Illinois, where he completed his doctorate. His creative work includes compositions for fixed audio media, live interactive computer music, and collaborative intermedia projects. His awards include the ASCAP/SEAMUS Student Commission Award, a Residence Prize at the Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Competition, a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship for studies in England, and residencies at the MacDowell Colony and I-Park. His work has been presented throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australasia. He was a co-host of the 2005 National Conference of the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the U.S. He also co-hosted the 2014 National Conference of the Society of Composers, Inc. Michael is the Assistant Director of the Music Media Production program at Ball State University, where he teaches composition, acoustics, music perception, recording, and computer music.
Jeffrey Loeffert
Loeffert is a very active chamber musician. As a founding member of the h2 quartet, Loeffert has won numerous chamber music prizes including First Place at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, First Place at the North American Saxophone Alliance Quartet Competition, and First Place at the Union Française des Artistes Musiciens Chamber Music Competition (France), among others. Loeffert is featured on ten commercially available discs and a DVD, as well as on a PBS television episode of Backstage Pass.
Loeffert graduated Summa Cum Laude from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Music double major in Saxophone Performance and Jazz Studies. At Northwestern, Loeffert won the Program Honors Award for his graduating class. A Frank Huntington Beebe Scholar, Loeffert studied in Paris at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Cergy-Pontoise where he received the Médaille d'Or à l'Unanimité - Saxophone, and the Médaille d'Or à l'Unanimité - Musique de Chambre. Loeffert also studied at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Boulogne-Billancourt where he received the diploma Cycle d'Orientation Professionnel with an emphasis in contemporary music. Loeffert completed graduate studies at Michigan State University as the recipient of a University Distinguished Fellowship. He received a Master of Music degree and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Saxophone Performance as well as a Master of Music degree in Music Theory Pedagogy. At Michigan State, he was awarded the Paul Harder Award for music theory and composition.
Loeffert is a Yamaha and Vandoren Performing Artist and plays exclusively on Yamaha saxophones and Vandoren reeds, mouthpieces, and ligatures.
Stephen F. Lilly
Stephen Lilly (stephenlilly.net) is a composer, performer, audio engineer, and sound artist. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Stephen ventured east to study composition at the University of Maryland. In addition to his graduate degrees from UMD, he also has composition and bass performance degrees from the University of Idaho and spent a year studying at the Institute of Sonology in The Hague. Theatricality, language, and abstraction are themes that continually resurface in his work, the majority of which is scored for chamber ensembles, often incorporating signal processing and computer generated sounds. Stephen has written works for CoMA (Contemporary Music for All) Britsol, pianist Hayk Arsenyan, saxophonist Steven Leffue, and soprano Stacey Mastrian, and has worked closely with a collective of composer-performers he helped found: the Bay Players Experimental Music Collective. His writings on contemporary experimental music have been published in Organised Sound, Performance Research, Perspectives of New Music, and Computer Music Journal. Recordings of his compositions are available from ink&coda, the SEAMUS Electroacoustic Miniatures Recording Series, the SCI CD Series, and C7 Music, and recordings he has engineered have been released on Neuma, Navona, and Albany Records. Stephen currently lives in DC where composes and performs (most often with the band These Quiet Colours).
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