Madeline Barrett is a Los Angeles-based composer of concert music evoking imagery of nature and fostering human connection. Raised in Phoenix, AZ, she draws inspiration from the world around her, whether it be the oceans of the North American coast, the deserts of Arizona, or the softly bustling streets of Boston.

 

Madeline’s works have been performed in the US and abroad, by esteemed groups such as the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini, Orchestra Senzaspine, Salastina, Carpe Diem String Quartet, Quatuor Diotima, Fivemind Reed Quintet, Boston New Music Initiative, and PHACE ensemble, as well as soloists Hila Plitmann, Stefano Greco, SUUVI, Lisa Pegher, and Michelle Rice. She is a recent winner of the 7th Annual Boston New Music Initiative Young Composer Competition for her work The Flowers That Close at Night.

 

Madeline has a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Chapman University and a Master of Arts from UCLA. She recently received her PhD in Composition from UCLA under the tutelage of Richard Danielpour and Ian Krouse.

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madelinebarrettmusic.com

Joan, a life-long composer, has been singularly focused on writing choral music since 2019. In
2025 her piece I AM - The Song of Myself was recognized as a winner in the HerVoice Composers Competition hosted by Stacy Garrop and Chicago a cappella. To date, her premieres include, The Star (SSAA), Lift My Soul (SATB), Three (SAA), Distant Murmurings (SSAA) and Tacit (SATB). Upcoming debuts for the 2025-26 season include Send Love (SATB) and The One Word (SATB).

The prestigious PROJECTtm ENCORETM Catalog of post-premiere choral compositions includes her scores The Star, Lift My Soul and Distant Murmurings. In 2024, Distant Murmurings won first prize in the *Inaugural Pioneering Voices Choral Series Composition Competition* at Mount Holyoke College, with Dr. Colin Britt. Two of her Art Songs were performed by soprano Lisa Neher and the Evergreen and Oak Trio. Joan was recognized as runner-up in the 2023 Celebris Ensemble Composition Contest. The Star debuted in 2020 was performed by Dr. David Fryling and the eVoco Voice Collective. Joan is a member of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA).

“Joan’s music is a delight to sing and a joy to conduct! Her musical language is sophisticated yet accessible, she treats her texts with great care, and her approach to the voice is effortlessly idiomatic.” —David Fryling, D.M.A.

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joanjohnsondrewes.com

Composer Rain(Yurui) Hou’s music is quirky, kaleidoscopic, and pensive. Growing up in Shanghai and constantly traveling between the U.S and her hometown, she is always inspired by the clashing landscapes. Among her works are vivid sounds that evoke the monsoon rainstorms in Shanghai, jazz clubs in Manhattan, and flickering street lamps.

Chosen as one of the Sounds Promising composers for the world-class chamber ensemble Salastina, her works have also been recognized by the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Competition, Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival, and the International Alliance for Women in Music, among others. While she’s soaking up the intense learning of her second year, her go-to activity is spending Saturdays at Village Vanguard listening to jazz.

Leah Reid is a composer, sound artist, researcher, and educator whose work ranges from opera, chamber, and vocal music to acousmatic, electroacoustic, and interactive sound installations. A Guggenheim Fellow, she has been honored with awards from the American Prize, the International “New Vision” Composition Competition, the KLANG! International Electroacoustic Composition Competition, Musicworks’ Electronic Music Competition, Sound of the Year’s Composed with Sound Award, and IAWM’s Pauline Oliveros Award, among others. She has received fellowships from the Hambidge Center, MacDowell, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Ucross Foundation, and Yaddo.

Reid has collaborated with and received commissions from ensembles including Accordant Commons, Blow Up Percussion, the Boston New Music Initiative Ensemble, Excelsis, Guerilla Opera, Neave Trio, and the Piedmont Duo. Her music has been presented at major international festivals and venues across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia, including IRCAM’s ManiFeste, BEAST FEaST, MUSICACOUSTICA-HANGZHOU, Prix Russolo, and ICMC. Most recently, she was awarded a Barlow Commission for a forthcoming work with the Grossman Ensemble.

Reid currently serves as IAWM’s Vice President, Vice President for Projects and Programs for SEAMUS, and as an Assistant Professor of Composition and Computer Technologies at the University of Virginia.

 

leahreid.com