Mary Kouyoumdjian is a composer with projects ranging from concert works to multimedia collaborations and film scores. As a first generation Armenian-American and coming from a family directly affected by the Lebanese Civil War and Armenian Genocide, she uses a sonic pallet that draws on her heritage, interest in folk music, and background in experimental composition to progressively blend the old with the new. She has received commissions from the Kronos Quartet, Carnegie Hall, American Composers Forum/JFund, REDSHIFT, Nouveau Classical Project, Friction Quartet, Experiments in Opera, and Ensemble Oktoplus. She recently orchestrated on The Place Beyond the Pines.
 
—————————————-
 
Matt Marks’ work has been called “staggeringly creative” by The New York Times and “bright, catchy and continually turn[ing] Broadway clichés on their heads in surprising ways.” by the Los Angeles Times. His The Little Death: Vol. 1 was one of Time Out New York’s Top Ten Classical albums of 2010 and had one of Huffington Post’s Top Ten Alternative Art Songs of the Decade. Recent projects include his Strip Mall for the L.A. Philharmonic, Bluetooth Islands for the Brooklyn Philharmonic, a remix for Meredith Monk’s latest album, and a live realization of The Dirty Projectors’ album The Getty Address.
 
—————————————-
 
Composer Leaha Maria Villarreal brings a contemporary focus to classical music. With works described as “visceral” (Lucid Culture) and “austere” (New Music Box), her output includes music for dance, film, opera, and the concert hall. She has worked with organizations and ensembles such as Wild Rumpus, W4, Ear Heart Music, Boston New Music Initiative, BODYART, The Box is Empty, and PUBLIQuartet. Past composition teachers include Pulitzer Prize winner Roger Reynolds, Steven Kazuo Takasugi, and Chinary Ung. Villarreal holds a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego and studied at New York University with Julia Wolfe and Michael Gordon.