Sarah Miller has been active as a pianist all her life, both as a collaborator and a soloist. She received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in piano performance at Michigan State where she studied with Ralph and Albertine Votapek and accompanied many soloists and the top choirs. Since becoming active as a composer she has premiered her own works and many works for her colleagues as well as students at MacPhail Center for Music and Junior Composers Institute.
Because of COVID-19, composers were not be able to compose works for acoustic chamber ensembles because our performers were not be able to play in the same space.
During the week of COI, composers were invited to compose short pieces for one or two soloists of their choice. They received composers' completed works (via email) on July 17th and they recorded them on Saturday and Sunday, July 18-19. Creative projects were shared on Monday, July 20, 2020 after the recordings had been uploaded.
During the week of COI, composers were invited to compose short pieces for one or two soloists of their choice. They received composers' completed works (via email) on July 17th and they recorded them on Saturday and Sunday, July 18-19. Creative projects were shared on Monday, July 20, 2020 after the recordings had been uploaded.
Songwriters & composers with the experience, ambition and gear had the opportunity to work with their instructor/coach to create a multi-track composition using a digital audio workstation (DAW) to put together a work with digital or digital/acoustic tracks. For helpful information, composers referred to Eric's Song Blog for a list of gear and the DAWs they might use..
Composers were encouraged to work on an acoustic or DAW project before COI; to take some time before COI to decide which instrument(s) challenged or sparked their imagination. Each performer presented an introduction at the beginning of the Institute to give composers an opportunity to interact with them.
Bob Adney percussion Bob Adney is the principal timpanist of the South Dakota Symphony and during the summers he is the timpanist for the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra. In addition he is a founding member of the Minnesota Percussion Trio (1987). Bob is the author of several self-published instructional books for percussion as as a handful of arrangements and original compositions for percussion ensemble. On the administrative side, he coordinates MacPhail's School Clinic Program & All-State Video Online Tutorials as well as Lead Teacher for the Online School Partnership program. |
Mark Nelson trumpet Mark Nelson is a native of East Grand Forks, MN. After completing his undergraduate degree at the University of North Dakota, he attended DePaul University in Chicago, where he earned his master’s degree in trumpet performance. While there, he studied with John Hagstrom of the renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra brass section. Mark has also performed with the Bemidji Symphony, the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony and the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra. Most recently (2013), he was appointed as principal trumpet of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. |
Randall Davidson Cello Randall Davidson has made a career of bringing composers' new music to life. After studying cello with Eula Simmons (Casals student) and Joyce Geeting (Starker student) he has gone on to premiere dozens of new works with the American (formerly Minnesota) Composers Forum, Junior Composers Institute and continues to work with the immersive arts ensemble, Paris 1919. He is active as a chamber music performer and works on new music theater projects in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. |
Louisa Byron five-string violin Louisa Byron is a multi-genre violinist/violist and composer for multimedia. She is currently studying Film Scoring and Violin Performance with minors in Conducting and Video Game Scoring at Berklee College of Music. Performing in and writing for the Berklee Instant Strings, Louisa has headlined with artists in the Newport Folk Festival and the FreshGrass Music Festival. She has had the privilege to perform with artists such as Kermit the Frog, Brandi Carlile, and Paquito D’Rivera. In 2019, Louisa’s string quartet was awarded first place in the American String Teacher’s Association competition. They performed many works including an original piece composed by Louisa. In 2019, she was awarded the Video Game Audio Endowed Scholarship for Women. She was also awarded the Performance Division String award recommended by the Berklee String Department. Recently in the Spring of 2020, Louisa was recognized by the Berklee Film Scoring Department and was awarded the Barnes & Noble Award. |
Moriah Custer harp Moriah Custer is a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa where she grew up studying the harp and piano. She frequently performs in large and chamber ensembles, and has soloed in nearly a hundred different professional venues, including weddings, banquets, corporate events, charity events, and numerous recording projects. Moriah currently resides in Greenville, South Carolina, where she remains active as a teacher, solo and ensemble performer, and accompanist. |