A native Minnesotan and a Junior Composers alumnus, Eric now hails from Los Angeles, CA, where he makes his living as a singer-songwriter, producer, performer, and teacher. He blends traditional principles with modern trends and tools to create a unique compositional voice.
Sharon has had an active teacher for sixty years and is a leader in composition pedagogy in her own piano studio as well as initiating music theory standards in Minnesota, regional and national level. She considers herself to be teacher of the individual person using the medium of music. She is a published composer and maintains her own company at Weopleland Publishing.
The members of the Creative Faculty are professional composers or songwriters and maintain active careers as professional performers. They offer interactive labs that employ music theories and practices in all genres, one-on-one tutorial lessons devised to support and inspire composers' best musical expressions, and their advocacy and advice as performers and composers. Even more important, the faculty work as a team to help composers get the best results for their composing projects.
Sarah Miller = JCI composer, Piano Dr. Sarah Miller has been teaching composition, theory and piano at MacPhail Center for Music since 1997 after receiving her Ph.D. in music composition from Michigan State University. Sarah’s students have received numerous awards in composition contests both state-wide and nationally. Sarah has received numerous commissions including “All Hearts Beat as One” for the South High School Wind Ensemble (2017) and “One-Dog Sleigh,” a piece for GTCYS Concertino Orchestra (2016). She has just received a 2020 State Arts Board Grant to write “Musicians in Motion at Mia” a set of pieces for small ensembles inspired by works at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. 
Yue Lor Recordist, music tech music business composer Yue Lor (J.D.) is a Junior Composers alumnus living in the Twin Cities. Yue holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Theory and Composition from Concordia College (Moorhead) as well as a Juris Doctor degree from the Mitchell-Hamline School of Law. Yue is an active composer of both concert and library music. His pieces have been performed and used in television commercials around the world. When not composing, Yue often freelances as a Front-of-House Audio Engineer or Broadcast Audio Engineer for various churches and organizations. |
Jordyn Davis - COI Bass, Songwriter, Vocalist composer, Producer Jordyn Davis is from Inkster MI and In May 2019 became the first African-American woman to receive a Bachelor's in Music Composition and the first to receive both a Bachelor's Degree in Music Composition and Jazz Studies from Michigan State University, concurrently. She has composed & arranged over 20 works for film, various contemporary classical chamber ensembles, symphony orchestra, wind ensemble and jazz ensembles including her octet and big band. Her works have been performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, at the Detroit Institute of Art, Guarneri Hall [Chicago], the University of Michigan, and Michigan State University.. She founded the indie rock/neo-soul project called "Composetheway" & is currently pursing a Masters in Jazz Studies at Michigan State University. Email. 
Randall Davidson - JCI CELLO, Composer Producer, COI director One of the earliest faculty members for Junior Composers, he served as General Director and has continued on for 20 years. A longtime member of the Minnesota music scene, Randall is active as cellist, composer, producer and teacher. His works have received 100s of performances and are noted for their creative yet accessible musical language. His influential teachers have been Alf Houkom, Olivier Messiaen, Paul Fetler, Eric Stokes and Dominick Argento. He was one of the original members of the Minnesota Composers Forum, now the American Composers Forum. Email. |