A native of New Orleans, La, is “a pianist and composer of panoramic interests” (New York Times). Her music is in conversation with various musical genres, including jazz and other types of experimental music, as well as traditional gospel, spirituals, and hymns. Focusing on bridging the sacred and the secular, Bryan’s compositions explore human emotions through sound, confronting the challenge of notating the feeling of improvisation. Bryan has academic degrees from Oberlin Conservatory (BM), Rutgers University (MM), and Columbia University (DMA), and completed postdoctoral studies in the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University. Bryan is the Albert and Linda Mintz Professor of Music at Newcomb College in the School of Liberal Arts, Tulane University and a Creative Partner with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. She was the 2018 music recipient of the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, a 2018 Hermitage Fellow, a 2019 Bard College Freehand Fellow, a 2019-20 recipient of the Samuel Barber Rome Prize in Music Composition, a 2020 United States Artists Fellow, and a 2020-21 Civitella Ranieri Fellowship recipient.

Her compositions have been performed by the London Sinfonietta, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, Chicago Sinfonietta, Chicago Symphony MusicNOW, American Composers Orchestra, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, International Contemporary Ensemble, La Jolla Symphony & Chorus & Orchestra of St. Luke’s. She has two recordings, Quest for Freedom (2007) and This Little Light of Mine (2010) and has a third recording in progress, Sounds of Freedom.

HELIX! is the resident new music ensemble at Rutgers. A modular group, highly adept and versatile, with a Pierrot ensemble at its core, HELIX! focuses solely on the music of living composers. From solo works to works for 16 players, HELIX! can adapt to the needs of almost any piece. World premieres by Rutgers faculty and students, along with works by leading composers world-wide who are defining new trends in composition are the ensemble’s staple.

Helix personnel:

Assistant Conductor – Christopher Beckett

Flute – Pavana Karanth
Oboe – Tyler Selvig
Clarinet – Tanner Age
Bassoon – Jonathan LiVolsi
Horn – Stefan Williams
Trumpet – Hugh Ash
Trombone – Salvatore Quaratino
Tuba – Dillon Jeffries
Violins – Wan-Chun Hugh, Ye Ji Kim, Ann-Francis Rokosa, Wenting Bian
Viola – Hsuan Chen, Pietro Molteni
Cellos – Tsung-Yu Tsai, Michael Zieglar
Bass – Tom Forletti
Piano – Stamatis Vlachodimitris
Percussion – Yu-Cheng Chang

Vocal Quartet for Yet Unheard:

Soprano – Lauren Barchi
Mezzo – Lauren Curnow
Tenor – Michael La Porte
Bass – Vincent Grana

A native New Orleanian, Joel Dyson is a force on and off the stage. She began singing in her father’s church at just four years old. Dyson’s love for music led her to the New Orleans mecca of art, The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, paving the way to Rochester, New York, where she excelled academically, receiving numerous awards, scholarships and performance opportunities at the Eastman School of Music. Dyson has had the privilege of studying under high esteemed vocal gurus such as Germaine Bazzle, Phyllis Treigle and Dr. Robert McIver to whom she attributes her success. Dyson has appeared in a vast array of performances and venues, representing global cultures and prestige, such as the New Orleans Opera Association, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and her role as Ti Moune in the Tony Award Broadway production, “Once on this Island”.  Dyson’s devotion to performance work and community inspired her to become an arts education advocate and leader. She is the founder and CEO of Beyond the Stage LLC, offering private theatre, piano and vocal lessons to children; as well as differentiated creative arts programming for youth in New Orleans.

Hailed by the NYTimes as ‘Incisive…first rate…brilliant’, Johns, a protégé of Maestro Lorin Maazel has conducted over 100 orchestras including the Israel Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonica della Scala, Netherlands Radio Symphony, Sydney Symphony and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestras. He has worked at Covent Garden and conducted at La Scala. Former Resident conductor of the Palau de les Arts, Valencia, music staff with New York City Opera, Johns currently serves in addition to his duties at Rutgers as Principal Guest conductor for the Orquesta Clasica Santa Cecilia, Madrid. He was awarded the inaugural ‘Centenary Medal’ from the Australian Government, conferred by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, for his services to the community through music.