2023 Season Fellow Bios
Michael Dudley, Jr.
Michael R. Dudley Jr. is a trumpet player, composer, producer, educator and photographer based in Upstate New York. With more than a decade of professional experience as a musician, he has played at venues like NYC’s Birdland Jazz Club and Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola with groups such as the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Christian McBride Big Band and the South Florida Jazz Orchestra. His performances as a fellow with the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra allowed him to share the stage with John Williams and Quincy Jones, among other amazing artists. He most recently performed at the 2022 Newport Jazz Festival with the Maria Schneider Orchestra as well as with his own group (featuring Eliza Salem and Robert Papacica).
Michael can be heard as a lead trumpet player on multiple GRAMMY-winning recordings by the John Daversa Big Band and Brian Lynch Big Band in addition to his self-produced single (“Another Star”) featuring vocalist Makayla Forgione and saxophonist Melvin Butler, having recorded with numerous groups while completing his graduate studies at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music.
As a composer and arranger, he has studied with Maria Schneider, Miho Hazama, Gary Lindsay, Noam Wiesenberg, and Stephen Guerra, recently earning a 2022 ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award for his piece “Overture to The Before And After Times.” He has collaborated with artists such as Donny McCaslin, and his compositions and orchestrations have been performed by the Sphinx Virtuosi (for their 2022-23 international tour), Charlotte Symphony, Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, New Canon Chamber Collective, and Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, with more premieres scheduled soon.
Emil Enström
Originally from Stockholm, Sweden, composer Emil Ernström grew up in Sweden, Hungary and the United States and his work draws from a variety of influences. Traversing electronic music, sampled sounds, and traditional instruments, Emil’s music frequently explores the contrast between immersive textures and rhythmic structures through minimalist procedures and unconventional sound worlds. His music has been performed by Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Mare Balticum, Musica Vitae, Sō Percussion, the Yale Symphony Orchestra, Icarus Duo, among other ensembles. Awards include a scholarship from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music (KMA), SWEA San Francisco Scholarship, Yawkey Community Service Fellowship and an Ellen Battell Stoeckel Fellowship from the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.
Besides concert music, Emil’s music often interacts with theater, dance, installation and film and his work has been heard at Inter Arts Center, the Yale Center for Collaborative Arts and Media, and the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. In 2019 his music theater piece Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights was performed at Yale University, based on a text by Gertrude Stein and in collaboration with director Jack McAuliffe and production/lighting designer Ryan Seffinger. He has also worked with the LA-based Echo Park Film Center on Artspace’s Summer Apprenticeship Program, leading New Haven students through the process of scoring and improvising music for their film exhibition, The Sounds We See: A New Haven City Symphony.
Emil earned a Masters in Music Composition from the Malmö Academy of Music at Lund University, where he studied with Bent Sørensen and Alessandro Perini. He graduated from Yale College with a BA in music, studying composition with Kathryn Alexander and Konrad Kaczmarek.
Akari Komura
Akari Komura is a Japanese composer-vocalist. She grew up in Tokyo until she was twelve, then moved abroad due to her parent’s work to spend her teenage hood in Indonesia. This transition impacted her to develop a deeper connection to music and to communicate with others regardless of the language barrier. From an early age, Akari has been involved in performing arts through playing the piano, singing, and dancing modern ballet.
Her interest in the somatic practice and embodied consciousness is central to her creative process. Akari imagines her score as an invitation for the performers to contemplatively engage with listening and soundmaking. She is interested in curating a participatory performance space that invites a community of musicians and listeners for a collective conscious, meditative and healing experience. Akari’s artistic exploration is oriented towards heightening physiological and psychological perception attuned to the ecological sonic soundscapes. The works of Pauline Oliveros, Yoko Ono and Hildegard Westerkamp are especially influential in her artistic practice.
Akari’s breadth of work spans multimedia/electronics, vocal music, chamber ensemble, and interdisciplinary collaborations with dancers, visual artists, and architects. The incorporation of multi-sensory experience has been integral to her creative process from an early stage. It has been an ongoing concern to contemplate the intersection of accessibility and artistic experience for both virtual and in-person platforms.
Her works have been presented at the Atlantic Music Festival, Composers Conference, Resonance 104.4 FM (UK), International Composition Institute of Thailand, Nief-Norf, Montreal Contemporary Music Lab (Canada), Penn State New Music Festival, Radiophrenia 87.9FM (Scotland) and soundSCAPE (Italy).
She holds a M.M. in Composition from the University of Michigan (recipient of the EXCEL Enterprise Fund and Sonic Scenographies Research Grant) and a B.A. in Vocal Arts from the University of California, Irvine. Her major teachers include Evan Chambers, Roshanne Etezady, Stephen Rush, and Frances Bennett. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D in Composition at the University of California San Diego.
Armando Atanda
Violist Armando Atanda obtained his bachelor’s degree in music performance at Jacksonville University and is now currently in pursuit of his master’s degree in viola performance, studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. As a first prize winner at the Kings Peak Music Competition, he has won numerous awards, including Landon Classical Music Competition and Marker Pioneer International Competition.
Katie Baird
Katie Baird, a passionate violist and arts advocate, has established herself as an emerging leader among her generation of violists. Within the past two years, Katie was named the 2021-22 Presser Scholar, the Undergraduate Creative Achievement Award Winner, and The University of Arizona College of Fine Arts Outstanding Senior. Katie recently graduated from The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music, where she obtained a Bachelor of Music degree in Viola Performance under the tutelage of Dr. Molly Gebrian.
Katya Barmotina
Katya Barmotina is a viola teacher that enjoys an active freelancing career in NYC. They are a member of The Achelois Collective, a virtual contemporary music ensemble dedicated to community-based collaborative music. A lover of new music, they have been part of the outdoor world premiere of John Luther Adams’ Sila: The Breath of the World and part of the new music collaboration project Mix Nouveau for three years. They earned their master’s degree in viola performance at the Mannes School of Music.
Sam Brinkley
Sam Brinkley is an experimental cellist and historical instrumentalist. Born in Raleigh, NC, Sam left his hometown to attend Oberlin Conservatory. He is enrolled in Oberlin’s double degree program with majors in cello performance and religion. While his principal curricular study has followed a classical track, he is also deeply influenced by work in free improvisation and collaboration with living composers. He will graduate from Oberlin this spring and soon plans to reside in NYC, where he will dance, write, find community and make music as much as possible.
Peyton Cook
Violinist Peyton Cook was named a “Memphis Music All-Star” by The Commercial Appeal. He is a winner of the Germantown Concerto Competition, Beethoven Club Competition and recently was an Emerging Artist at Music from Salem. He also served as Assistant Director for the Promisek Bach Workshop. Peyton received a bachelor’s degree from Boston Conservatory and is currently working on his master’s degree at Mannes School of Music. He collaborates with choreographers and artists and is exploring film performance projects.
Michael Ferri
Italian-American violinist Michael Ferri forges a multifaceted career spanning solo, chamber and orchestral playing. A graduate of Yale and Rice Universities, Ferri is first-prize winner of the Mika Hasler Young Artist Competition, Shepherd School of Music Concerto Competition and Duquesne Young Artists National Competition; second-prize winner of the Luigi Zanuccoli International Violin Competition; and recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award.
Jordan Grantonic
Violinist Jordan Grantonic (she/they) recently graduated with her master’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder where she studied under former Takács violinist Károly Schranz. Previously, she completed her bachelor’s degree in violin performance at Youngstown State University. Jordan is a passionate chamber musician, advocate for new music and representation in classical music, and teacher at El Sistema Colorado.
Robert Hurley
Robert Feifan Hurley is a Taiwanese-American cellist pursuing a master’s degree at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Robert served as principal cellist of the UC Berkeley Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, and led Celli@Berkeley, the campus-wide, all-cello ensemble. Robert holds a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley. He currently attends the Jacobs School with the generous support of the Alfred Hertz Memorial Traveling Scholarship.
Camille Jones
A passionate collaborator and advocate for diversity in the arts, Camille Jones has worked with various festival orchestras and chamber groups, including the National Orchestral Institute and Festival (NOI + F) and Bowdoin International Music Festival. As a 2019 Sphinx Orchestral Futurist Fellow, she has helped commission works and curate a professional development workshop for K-12 students in Prince George’s County, Maryland. She currently works as a teaching artist for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensembles as well as the Sphinx Overture program in Detroit. Camille received her B.M. in Violin Performance in 2020 at the University of Maryland, College Park. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 2022 with an M.M. in Violin Performance, having studied under Danielle Belen.
Julie Kim
Julie Kim is a cellist whose artistry has been shaped by the opportunities she’s had to perform in a wide variety of disciplines. From her roots as a classically trained cellist, she’s since branched out; recently, her work has been centered on improvisation, multimedia and interdisciplinary performance, as well as performing works by living composers.
Dominic LaMorte
Dominic LaMorte is a multi-instrumentalist and composer who enjoys adapting, collaborating on and supporting a wide range of folk music, contemporary art and theater. He is a member of the Brooklyn-based Frost Trio, a string ensemble dedicated to arranging 13th-century English hunting songs, Norwegian lullabies and American Suffragette anthems, in addition to performing new and improvised music.
Miriam Liske-Doorandish
Miriam Liske-Doorandish politely demanded her first cello at age 2 and has since worked with Lisa Liske-Doorandish, Bartholomew LaFollette (Royal College of Music), Amir Eldan (Oberlin) and Paul Watkins (Yale School of Music). Raised in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, Miriam is motivated by a love of collaboration, which has led her into traditional chamber settings as well as fiddling sessions.
Marlena Nova
Marlena Nova is a dynamic and versatile violinist, violist and creator originally from Toronto. She has been a part of many notable premieres as a featured soloist with the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. Marlena was the winner of the 2022 NUMUS Emerging Curator Competition, which culminated in a performance of contemporary works for viola, including the premiere of an original composition for viola, poetry and fixed media.
Lucas Raulino
Lucas Raulino started his musical journey in 2005 in a social project in northeastern Brazil. To pursue a musical career, he participated in musical festivals and then was granted a scholarship to spend a year in Briançon, France. After that, Lucas studied at Sao Paulo University, where he graduated. In 2022, Lucas started an Artist Diploma program at Texas Christian University and has been playing in several orchestras in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Thomas Roggio
Violinist Thomas Roggio is an active musician based in Northwest Florida. He is a Doctor of Music student at Florida State University and a teaching assistant to Dr. Benjamin Sung. In 2023 he won FSU’s Doctoral Concerto Competition. A passionate performer of new music, Thomas has worked with composers Pamela Z and Aaron Jay Kernis. He has recorded works by FSU composers with members of the Burgin Quartet for NPR.
Lindsay Rosenberg
Lindsay Rosenberg is an upright and electric bassist based in NYC. She is a versatile performer of classical, musical theater and pop who has played with Opera Italiana in Central Park with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra to The Broadway Sinfonietta with Laura Bell Bundy. Recently, she joined the Legally Blonde National Tour as the electric bassist. She holds a master’s degree with a departmental string studies award in double bass performance from New York University. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in double bass performance and music education from University of Hartford, The Hartt School.
Eya Setsu
After completing her dual master’s degree in violin performance and music theory in Akron, OH, Eya Setsu pursued her graduate professional diploma at The Hartt School. A New Yorker at heart, she received her bachelor of science in biology and music from Stony Brook University, where she was the 2018 recipient of the Elizabeth Ball Kurz Music Prize.
Joy Yamaguchi
Joy Yamaguchi is a classically trained violinist and educator based in Boulder, Colorado. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in violin performance and a graduate certificate in music theory at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she is a teaching assistant to Károly Schranz of the Takács Quartet. Joy previously studied at the University of Minnesota and Florida State University.
Megan Yao
Megan Yao was born in Taiwan and began her violin studies at age five. After graduating from the Juilliard School Pre-College Division in 2018, Megan is now studying at the DePaul University School of Music as a sophomore double majoring in violin performance and economics.
Jay Beardsley
Jay Beardsley is a white, nonbinary dancer, multimedia artist, and teacher currently based in Brooklyn, NY. They work and perform with Ballez (Company Artist), TheRedProjectNYC/Johnnie Cruise Mercer (Media Artist and Movement Ensemble Artist), Katerina & Jay (Co-Artistic Director and Founder), GREYZONE (Grants Assistant), Cornfield Dance (Co-Administrator), and MICHIYAYA Dance, among other freelance projects. Their involvement with artists spans performance, choreography, community organizing, content and media creation, and grant writing. Jay is also a teacher of movement and theater at various local venues and within the NYC DOE schooling systems.
Jay attended Virginia Commonwealth University, graduating in 2020 with an Outstanding Choreographer award and the Bobby Chandler Award for Theatre. During their time at VCU, Jay studied with and performed works by the likes of Jenna Riegel, Trebien Pollard, André Zachery, MK Abadoo, Christopher K. Morgan, and Scott Putman along with many other valued guest artists and faculty. Jay has deepened their performance research through a multitude of workshops and intensives with artists/organizations including Sidra Bell, Jasmine Hearn, Kristopher K.Q. Pourzal, and American Dance Festival.
As a creator, Jay produces multimedia, immersive dance experiences that investigate queer spiritualism, political and historical events, collective memory, and trans embodiment. Their choreography and media work has been produced by organizations such as Movement Research (NYC), Proteomedia (NYC), Dance Place (Washington, D.C.), and Dogtown Dance Theatre (Richmond, VA). They will be presenting work at the Performance Mix Festival in June 2023 and will be an inaugural artist-in-residence at a new venue curated by MICHIYAYA in early 2023.
Flora Ferguson
Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, Flora Ferguson is a multifaceted dance, literary, and visual artist. She is the recipient of the Edith Rosenhouse-Baehr scholarship, Stephen E. Somers scholarship, and the George J. Jakab Enrichment Grant. Flora has trained at the Quinte Ballet School, Canada’s National Ballet School, Joffrey Ballet School, ProArte Danza, and Springboard Danse Montreal. During her time at Juilliard, Flora has had the opportunity to work with and perform works by Spenser Theberge and Jermaine Maurice Spivey, Sidra Bell, Ami Schulman, Ohad Naharin, Andrea Miller, Trisha Brown, and Donald McKayle. In choreography, Flora has showcased her work in Juilliard’s Choreographer’s and Composers, Juilliard’s student Choreographic workshops, and will premiere a new work in Juilliard’s Senior Production Concert, this May. Flora is also a published poet, with work featured in the Young Writers of Canada Anthology, and The Juilliard Journal. Flora strives to gather all that she has learned through movement, creation, writing, speech, and visual arts, to give forward to those who are as curious and eager as she is about artmaking.
Ameeya Singh
Ameeya Singh is a dancer, choreographer, and multi-disciplinary artist who resides in New York City. She graduated from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in 2020 with a BA in dance and nutritional biochemsitry. At CWRU, Ameeya trained under artistic director Gary Galbraith and performed works by Larry Keigwin, Shannon Sterne, Yizhen Hu, and others. She is a recipient of the CWRU Department of Dance full-tuition scholarship and the Vera Orlock Award for excellence in dance. Outside of school, Ameeya attended intensives with Gibney Company, GroundWorks DanceTheatre, and GagaHomeLab.
Waverly Fredericks
Waverly Fredericks (he/him) is from Washington Heights, New York, and began his training at Dance Theatre of Harlem. He later attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, The Ailey School and MOVE|NYC|. Waverly appeared as a Top 8 finalist on So You Think You Can Dance, Season 17. His summers have taken him to Alonzo King LINES Ballet and Jacob’s Pillow. At The Juilliard School, he performed the works of Amy Hall Garner, Sonya Tayeh, Ohad Naharin, Norbert De La Cruz III, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Spenser Theberge and Jermaine Spivey, amongst others. His choreographic works have appeared in Choreographers and Composers 2021, Choreographic Honors 2022, and MOVE|NYC|’s Young Professionals Program. Waverly feels an extensive amount of gratitude for the journey he has been on and can’t wait to see what else is in store.
Shoshana Isaacs
Shoshana Isaacs is currently attending the University of the Arts, they will graduate in May 2023 with a BFA in Dance and minor in Photography. At UArts, they have performed in several shows, in person and online, including Winter and Spring Dance Series and the Festival of Senior Works. Notable performances include Doug Varone, Joanna Kotze, Jesse Zaritt, and Sara Shelton Mann, Sheer Spectacle, and Jordan Demetrius Lloyd. Recently, they have performed outside the university with George Staib at The American Dance Festival, the Fidget Space at the Great Marsh Institute, and in “Chapters of Paradox” by Ethan Cohen at Washington Square Park. They completed their BFA Dance thesis this spring exploring ideas of performance and multimedia art as well as implementing tech elements learned throughout their time working backstage at UArt’s and in the world of photography. As they continue their career in the arts, they plan to continue working with these mediums and expand their creative process through movement, performance, and fine arts.
Jamie Muth
Jamie Muth is a freelance dancer based in New York City. She graduated from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in May 2022 with a BA in Dance and BS in Nutrition. At CWRU on a full tuition dance scholarship, Jamie trained under artistic director Gary Galbraith and performed works by Pam Tanowitz, Larry Keigwin, Gary Galbraith and others. Additionally, she has furthered her training at professional intensives with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Gibney Company and Point Park University. Recently, Jamie has been able to perform with choreographer Ameeya Singh at ESTIA Day Fest and the Emerging Choreographer Series presented by Mare Nostrum Elements. Outside of dance, she is pursuing a career in social justice and advocacy work as she completes a year of service with AmeriCorps at a grade school in Harlem.
Kate Williams
Kate Williams is a multi-media artist. Her work centers around movement improvisation and choreography as well as designing clothing. She started her process of “dance” in college, where she began her focus into narrative dialogues based on personal experiences. Through movement she has been making it a part of her practice to learn how to further express and delve into these experiences, because it is a never-ending process. She is a self-taught sewer, making her own clothing since high school. This is a craft she continues to grow and learn more about. Kate’s work is to merge her two practices at the center of expression—using clothing and wardrobe she creates as a sculptural element of her movement work. She has performed in various places around New York City and abroad: as part of Cruising Utopia in Bergen, Norway, CreamCake in Berlin, Germany, and Wisp Kollectiv in Athens, Greece. Currently, she is part of the management team, as well as a member, of Otion Front Studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn. As well as in her own practice of doing personal commissions and sewing/tailoring for individuals. She makes everything from reworked jeans to dance costumes. She attended Bard College (May 2020) where she was a joint major of Dance and Human Rights with a concentration in Gender and Sexuality Studies.