The work of composer and pianist Jiyoun Chung has received many distinctions and awards and is often heard in festivals and concerts in Asia, Europe, and the United States. Her current interest in composition lies in encompassing various cultural influences into her works. Her own identity as a Korean immigrant plays a big factor in her music making, however, Chung’s works are not limited to the fusion of Korean and concert music. While the wealth of inspiration derives from the East Asian culture, other inspiration comes from various musical portraits and genres such as contemporary concert music, K-pop, jazz, musical theater, hip-hop, street music, and world traditional music. Languages, structures, timbres, and vocabularies from those different musical arts have expanded her musical palette, which helps to speak to a broad range of audiences.
 

Jiyoun Chung received her BM in Composition from Hanyang University in South Korea. She earned her MM in Composition and in Piano Performance from Illinois State University and received her DMA in composition at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Currently she is an Assistant Professor of Music Composition at Central Washington University.

Midori Larsen is a New York City-based composer. Her music integrates elements of Western classical, jazz, and Japanese music. A classically trained pianist, Larsen became a composer and taiko player while caring for a school-aged child. Within just two years, she received multiple grants for her original compositions including Queens Council on the Arts (2021), New Music USA (2022), and Flushing Town Hall (2022). She composes music based on empowering stories of the lived experiences of herself and other immigrant mothers and seeks to inspire her listeners–especially immigrant mothers and girls–to pursue their passion and lead their own lives. 

Ana Leira Carnero is an Argentine-Spanish composer. Her music lessons started at age 7. As a teenager, she was a student of the renowned piano teacher Ana Litowsky-Grunwald. At age 15, she was admitted to advanced courses at the National Conservatory in Buenos Aires, where she graduated as a Professor. Said courses included piano, harmony, contemporary style, choral conducting, history of music, etc. Once graduated, she was selected by the multi-award-winning pianist Aldo Antognazzi for an Improvement Training. Through separate studies, she learned composition, complex harmony, counterpoint and orchestration. Today she is an eclectic composer who uses multiple styles, from neobaroque to avant-garde, from jazz, blues and rock to folk music. Her catalog includes chamber and orchestral pieces, songs and piano compositions. Her works have been performed in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Spain, US and France. She became a member of the centennial Argentine Association of Composers. In parallel to her musical activity, she develops another one as a molecular biologist.