Composers

Joel Gressel (b. Cleveland, 1943) received a B.A. from Brandeis University and a Ph.D. in music composition from Princeton University.  He studied composition with Martin Boykan and Milton Babbitt, and computer music with Godfrey Winham and J.K. Randall.  His computer music has been recorded on the Odyssey,  CRI, and American Composers Edition labels.  He currently lives in New York and works as a computer programmer, maintaining and extending software that models tax-exempt housing-bond cash flows.

Rachel Lee Guthrie was born on November 3, 1979 in Des Moines IA. From an early age, she played the piano by ear and resisted formal lessons until the age of fourteen when she began studying with various college-level instructors. In 2004, Guthrie earned a degree in piano pedagogy from Drake University, graduating cum laude. Her passion has always been for Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Impressionist masters, and she has composed a number of new pieces in the classical tradition as well as works in a contemporary style.

Graham Hair divides his time between Scotland and Australia with frequent visits to the United States. In Scotland he is Professor Emeritus (formerly Gardiner Chair in Music) of Glasgow University's Music Department and a Research Fellow of its Centre for Music Technology (Department of Electronics and Electrical Engineering). Recent visits to the US include several 2003-2007 to Radford University and to Boston College. In Australia, he has been Adjunct Professor at Monash University in Melbourne 1999-2005, and at the Australian National University in Canberra since 2006.

Gregory Hall (b. 1959) was born in San Francisco, CA. He holds a B.A. degree in Music from the University of California, Santa Barbara (1982), completing studies with Emma Lou Diemer and Peter Racine Fricker, and a Diploma degree in Composition from the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, PA (1986), where he studied with Ned Rorem. In 2000 he was elected to the membership of the American Composers Alliance (ACA). His works are published by the ACA. He is a Fellow of the Ucross Foundation, a member of the American Composers Forum, and the American Music Center. He is the recipient of numerous commissions.

Jeffrey John Hall, a composer residing in Tucson AZ, was born in Milwaukee WI on May 22, 1941. His education includes both M.A. and D.M.A. degrees from Columbia University. He has written works for computer sound, voice, chamber ensembles, piano, and chamber orchestra. He has held resident fellowships at The Composers' Conference, Yaddo, and The Hambidge Center. His grants include a grant of computer time at Princeton University from 1980 to 1982, where he worked with Paul Lansky, as well as four grants from "Meet the Composer."

Kim Halliday (b. 1961) is an accomplished composer with a wide experience of writing music for film, television, theatre, multimedia and concert stage. His work includes scores for feature films, short films, documentaries and television, as well as pieces for multi-media, Internet and live performance.

Bruce Hamilton composes and performs music in a variety of genres. He is a Professor of Music at Western Washington University, where he teaches composition, theory, and directs the electroacoustic music program. He received his DM from Indiana University, and has performed as a percussionist, improviser, and electronic musician for over 20 years. His music is published by Non Sequitur Music and can be heard on the Albany, Memex, P'hill, SEAMUS, and Mark labels. Hamilton has received honors, awards and commissions from ALEA Ill, AMC, ASCAP, PAS, Barlow Endowment, Carbondale Community Arts, Indiana University, Jerome Foundation, National Society of Arts and Letters, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Whatcom Symphony, Russolo-Pratella Foundation, and SEAMUS.

Jason Haney's music has been performed in the US, Canada, the UK and China; at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Scotia Festival in Halifax, New Music Miami, Music2000 in Cincinnati, the Staunton Music Festival, Richmond's ChamberFest, the Composers Inc. concert series in San Francisco, and by groups such as the Chester Quartet, the Sunrise Quartet and the New Millennium Ensemble. He has won awards and honors from the National Association of Composers USA, ASCAP, the Music Teachers' National Association, and first prize in the Washington International Competition, among others. He teaches composition and music theory at James Madison University.

Joshua Harris holds degrees in music composition from Appalachian State University, Brigham Young University, and a Ph.D. from the University of North Texas. He began his career teaching high school band and choir before turning to composition full time. He is currently on the music faculty at Sweet Briar College in central Virginia. Previously he taught at Southeastern Oklahoma State University (2012-13), the University of North Texas (2009-2012), and Brigham Young University (2006-08).

Mara Helmuth has been enthusiastically involved with electronic and computer music composition and research for decades. Recent works include Racket Routes, for eight-channel audio, based on tennis sounds, Opening Spaces, for video, based on a Menger sponge model, Cold Brew, a graphic score for flute, clarinet, and fixed media based on the coffee genome, Onsen: Hot Springs, for vibraphone and fixed media, and Tranquilarea, for virtual reality installation. She is currently Professor of Composition at College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati and director of its Center for Computer Music, where she developed a program of courses in computer music.

Juliana Hodkinson’s practice moves within experimental music and sound art genres, and her works range from intimate chamber and object pieces through hybrid formats to larger electroacoustic and orchestral productions. Commissions include All around (BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra), Angel View (Spor Festival/Scenatet/Berliner Festspiele), Ground View (Ensemble Mosaik), Hauch and Ready for ecstasy (Neue Vocalsolisten), Can modify completely (WDR Sinfonieorchester), Turbulence (Chamber Made Opera), Lightness (Speak Percussion) and something in capitals (Phønix16).

Eric Honour has developed an international reputation as a composer, saxophonist, and audio engineer. A member of the Athens Saxophone Quartet, he performs regularly throughout Europe and the United States, and has presented lectures and master classes at many leading institutions.

Hubert Howe was born in Portland, Oregon and grew up in Los Angeles, California, where he began his musical studies as an oboist. He was educated at Princeton University, where he studied with J. K. Randall, Godfrey Winham and Milton Babbitt, and from which he received the A.B., M.F.A. and Ph.D. degrees. He was one of the first researchers in computer music, and became Professor of Music and Director of the Electronic Music studios at Queens College of the City University of New York. He also taught at the Juilliard School from 1974 through 1994. In 1988-89 he held the Endowed Chair in Music at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. From 1989 to 1998, 2001 to 2002, and Fall 2007, he was Director of the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College.

Maija Hynninen (b. 1977) — composer and sound artist — works in concert music, electronic instrument design, and multidisciplinary performances. The essence of her music builds on the unique moments where the parameters of this world are slightly altered to allow a glimpse of another reality to be present. It can be a moment where the timbre of purely acoustical writing gives surprising results or when electronics project sound into another domain, space, and reality.

John K. Leupold, II is an Annapolis, MD based composer and percussionist whose music combines a wide variety of influences including popular music and world music with a deep grounding in classical forms and traditions. His music often centers on rhythm and utilizes elements of minimalist textures. While often not explicitly stated, Leupold's works often communicate a narrative left up to the listener to decipher. The Washington Post described his music as "an imaginative exploration of instrumental timbres and ranges impelled by repetitive melodic figures." His works have been performed by such groups as Inscape Chamber Orchestra, the Left Bank Quartet, and Capital Reeds.

Barbara Jazwinski studied composition and theory at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw, Poland. She received her M.A. degree in composition and piano from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in composition from the City University of New York. Her teachers included Mario Davidovsky, Andrzej Dobrowolski, Gyorgy Ligeti and John Chowning.

Ben Johansen is an interdisciplinary composer fascinated with exploring new ways of creating and organizing sound, designing aesthetically compelling visuals, and working with small electronics to construct installation art. He challenges himself to 1) constantly expand the limits of performers and observers and 2) design atmospheres that foster improvisation and indeterminacy within boundaries that are accessible to participants. Teaching is a passion of his that accompanies his desire to continually learn, create, and research. Ben's schooling has greatly influenced his interests. He completed his Bachelor’s in Music Education and Master’s in Music Composition at Baylor University where he is currently employed. Ben earned his Ph.D. from University of North Texas in Music with an emphasis in Composition, a Specialization in Computer Media and a minor in Installation Art.

Mary Ann Joyce was born in Champaign-Urbana IL, and received her B.A. from Fontbonne University, St. Louis, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in theory and composition from Washington University, St. Louis. After graduate school, she moved to the New York City area where she has remained. She is an active composer of instrumental, choral and vocal music, and a professor of music at Manhattanville College. Her works have been performed at international festivals and concerts through the United States, Europe, and Russia. Mary Ann's works are published by Pioneer Drama, World Library of Sacred Music, Ars Nova, Scribner & Sons, and Gold Branch; her pieces are available on CDs from Navona Records, Capstone and Pioneer Drama.

Leonard V. Ball, Jr. was Associate Professor Emeritus of Composition and Theory at the University of Georgia, where he taught music theory, acoustic composition, electronic composition, and music technology. While at UGA, he was also Director of the University of Georgia electronic studio from 1987 to 1995; Director of the Roger and Phyllis Dancz Center for New Music Electronic Studios from 1995 to 2001; Director of the Roger and Phyllis Dancz Center for New Music from 2002 to June 2015; and Chair of the Composition/Theory area from 2010 to June 2015.

Thomas Juneau is active throughout the United States as both a conductor and composer. He is Music Director of Summit Chorale and the Juneau Vocal Alliance, as well as Director of Choral Activities at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia PA. His first choral pieces were published when he was 17. Juneau has numerous works in publication with Carl Fischer Music, ECS Publishing, Walton Music, Hal Leonard Corporation, Alliance Music, and Southern Music Company. He has conducted in major concert halls throughout the United States including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center.