Composing Fellows

J. Andrés Ballesteros is a composer and administrator based in Boston. His work is centered in classical music but covers a range of styles. Many of his projects engage youth and community organizations in addressing social issues. Andrés has been recognized for his leadership in advancing diversity and representation in classical music.

Lewis is an Australian composer and pianist, based in Hong Kong. He recently premiered an orchestral work at the São Paulo Contemporary Composers Festival. Other works were performed by the Mivos Quartet (SONV in Vienna) and the HK Philharmonic. Lewis is a graduate of the Wharton School (UPenn) and the Lamont School of Music (Denver).

Jasmine Galante is a composer, playwright, and vocalist based in New York. Her works interweave musical and narrative elements, exploring the intersection of drama, timbre, and texture through her imaginative sound worlds. She received her BM in composition from Peabody Conservatory and is part of Beth Morrison Projects’ 2024 Producer Academy.

Gabriel Andrés Gallegos is a composer based in NYC. His music, described as elements of the avant-garde juxtaposed with classical and Hispanic folk music, features eclectic instrumentation with a flair for midcentury cinematic sounds. His compositions have been recorded by members of the NY Phil, Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, and the LSO.

Nacho Gonzalez Nappa has scored music for Amazon, Netflix and multiple videogames. In 2021 he received the Mass Cultural Council Fellowship, the National Classical Music Award in Uruguay. His concert music mixes tango and different Latin American influences with classical music. Nacho has released 7 albums and teaches at Berklee College of Music.

Chris Neiner is a Cleveland-based composer, performer, and educator. His recent commissions include works for NO EXIT New Music Ensemble, Stars in the Classics, the Ohio Music Teachers Association, and the Aurora School of Music. Neiner’s work has been praised by Cleveland Classical for its "zazzy colors, pleasant shocks, and melting cadences."

Daniel Regnier is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, professor of philosophy and filmmaker based in Saskatoon, Canada. His music draws on flamenco and Arabic influences and explores themes in philosophy. He is co-artistic director of the music and dance company Flamenco Borealis.

Ethan Resnik is a composer and pianist pursuing his Master of Music degree at Rice University. His works are inspired by places he visits, the natural world, personal memories, as well as his synesthetic associations between color and sound. Besides music, he enjoys riding roller coasters, studying French, going to beaches, and world geography.

Telmo is a 22-year-old music composer from Barcelona, Spain. Through his music, Telmo aims to explore the expressiveness of instruments, with an emphasis on melodic motifs and immersive soundscapes. His work seeks to blend tradition with innovation, creating music that fosters deep emotional connections and resonates with both musicians and audiences alike.

Katie Semro is a composer who creates evocative music with a strong narrative arc. Her composition process involves using patterns drawn from images or sounds to create the rhythms that form the building blocks of her music. Her work leans on beauty and melody, but does not shy away from texture and grit. She a private student with Elena Ruehr.

Xingyue Song is a Chinese-born emerging composer and pianist currently study in San Francisco Conservatory of Music with Mason Bates. Her piece was performed by telegraph quartet and International Orange Chorale. She was selected as the semi-finalist of the Zemlinsky Prize 2024 and will serve as composer in residence for SF Choral Artist in 2025.

Musician/Educator/Wearer-of-Many-Hats Derek J. Weagle is a Brooklyn-based artist and healer invested in the disruption of social and academic barriers around classical music, as well as the preservation of musicking as an act of joyful humanness. Their work as a composer explores narratives of spirituality, queerness, and community healing.

L. A. Ballesteros Gentile is a multidisciplinary artist with musical interests rooted in acoustics, language, cultural context, notational representation, and performance psychology. He recently partook in the Alba Music Festival and the Valencia International Performance Academy. He’s also a writer and actor. (And sometimes you can tell…)

James A. Devor is an American composer, sound artist and double bassist whose music utilizes an array of sounds to grapple with human emotions. He completed his graduate studies at The Hartt School and previously studied at West Chester University of PA. His recent work explores how live electronics can supplement performers in real time.

Frank Duarte is an American composer whose music is often inspired by history, literature, nature, and his Mexican and Indigenous backgrounds. His music has received awards from the American Prize, Global Music Awards, and ASCAP and has been performed in the US, Japan, Greece, and Colombia. He is a DMA Candidate at Michigan State University.

Composer, educator, and guitarist. Notable achievements in music include compositions performed by renowned ensembles, PBS broadcast, and international guitar tours. Pursuing a doctorate while instructing at the University of Michigan. Inspiring the next generation with a unique approach to music.

Noam Faingold is a DC-based multi-genre composer and educator, whose work often explores facets of his intersecting ethnicities. He has a PhD in music composition from King's College London, funded by a Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Fellowship, with additional fellowships through the Salzburg Global Seminar and The Bowdoin Music Festival.

Reviewers have called Gordon Green’s colorful music "twisted" and "terrifically inspired". His chamber music has been commissioned by a variety of soloists and ensembles. He has a BA and MFAs in music composition and visual art and has participated in various festivals and masterclasses.

Damian Norfleet is a gifted improvisational singer, performer-composer, actor, and social justice activist who has occupied a rare multi-dimensional space in the performing arts" (I Care If You Listen). Across spoken word, song, and poetry; Damian’s output focuses on space, language, and phonemic awareness.

Jennifer Ortiz Valverde is an Ecuadorian-American composer based in Boston. She writes music and stories inspired by her heritage, personal experiences, and imaginative worlds. Jennifer is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a concentration in Musicology and Ethnomusicology at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts.

Zhengtao Pan is a young composer who was born in 2003 and grew up in Shanghai. He is studying Jazz Composition and Compostion at Berklee. His music was performed by Grammy Winning Artist Steven Feifke’s Bigband in Newyork and he collaborate with Benny Benack III, Walter Smith III, Itai Kriss, Andrew Gould on his bigband composition, to name a few.

Violinist and composer, Paloma Pitaya born in 1994 in Brazil. Composer in residence at the Fundación Antonio Gala para Jóvenes Creadores (ES|2020-21). In 2023, she won the Prêmio Profissionais da Música in the best instrumental author category. Currently lives in the city of São Paulo, Brazil.

Isaac Stephan Silva Uria is an Ecuadorian music composer and piano player. He studied his bachelor degree in Ecuador and his MFA in Film Music Composition at UNCSA in the US. His music has been performed in several countries around the world as well as film festivals. Now, he is researching the Ecuadorian rhythms in his own music compositions.

Sheriffs Swanson (b. 1989) is an American composer and animator interested in visible and invisible movement. He recently received his master’s degree in composition from the Mannes School of Music. More recently he premiered new music at the Mostly Modern Festival in Saratoga Springs, New York.