Hannah Wolkowitz (age 18) is a saxophonist and composer from Chesterfield, Missouri. As a composer, Hannah was selected as an NPR From the Top Fellow (2024) and participated in Indiana University’s Jacobs Composition Academy (2022 & 2023). She was the 2024 winner of the international Young Composers Competition at the Community Music School of Webster University and awarded a top prize at the University of Missouri’s COMP competition in 2023. As a saxophonist, Hannah performed as a soloist with a variety of local orchestras, played alongside the U.S. Navy Band (2023 & 2024), and regularly performs with a St. Louis Klezmer band.

Marvel Jem Roth (age 18) is a composer-conductor from Los Angeles, California. She is honored to be recognized by organizations including National YoungArts, Penn State Ballora-Wang Awards, and ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. She was a 2021-2024 fellow in the LA Phil Composer Fellowship Program, mentored by Andrew Norman and Sarah Gibson, and a 2024 Apprentice Composer for Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the USA (NYO-USA), mentored by Sean Shepherd. Marvel’s compositions have been performed by the LA Philharmonic, LA Master Chorale, Kronos Quartet, NYO-USA, Juilliard School, Colburn School, Southeast Symphony, and more. Marvel is in her first year at Princeton University.

Peyton Nelesen (age 17) is a composer and pianist who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and currently lives in New York City and Branford, Connecticut. She has been honored by ASCAP three times in both the Herb Alpert and Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. She studies composition with John Syzygy and studied piano with both Penka Rodeva and the late Amonte Parsons. Equally facile in jazz, concert music and other genres, Peyton has scored many student films. Working with her mentor, Grammy nominated producer, Randy Emata, she has had the great fortune to have her music performed and recorded by outstanding Grammy winning and nominated musicians. Peyton attends Northwestern University where she is working on dual degrees in Music Composition at The Bienen School of Music and in Radio/TV/Film at The School of Communications.

Haeon Lee (age 18) is a composer and pianist from New York City currently studying at Princeton University. Inspired by colors, numbers, patterns, and wordplay, she writes music that is at once conversational and highly structured—both beautiful (she hopes) and disconcerting (she hopes more). Her work has been recognized by NPR’s From the Top, MATA Jr., ASCAP, YoungArts, Tribeca New Music, and the American Prize, among others. She studied composition with Manuel Sosa at Juilliard Pre-College and also participated in composition programs at the New York Youth Symphony, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Wildflower Composers Festival, and Curtis Institute of Music.

Ilaria Hawley (age 16) is a New York City-based composer and flutist. They are the recipient of a 2019 ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award and a Composers Now First Commissions Prize. Their music has been performed by the New York Philharmonic, the Kronos Quartet, members of the New York Youth Symphony, Greenwood Music Camp, and Face the Music. As a flutist they have performed at The Kitchen, LPR, and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and received the inaugural Pnea Foundation Young Flutist Award and a New York Flute Club award. In their free time they enjoy drawing and going to metal and punk shows.

Maria Isabel Emiliano (age 19) is a Dominican composer currently based in New York City. She is interested in ethnomusicology and folk music and has always strived to convey the sounds of traditional folk music while also experimenting with new methods and sounds. Many of her compositions are inspired by Latin traditional sounds, such as Venezuelan onda nueva and Dominican pambiche. Her compositions have been performed by the Arneis Quartet, and she has attended Boston University Tanglewood Institute of Music. She is currently studying composition with David T. Little at Mannes School of Music.

Isabelle Tseng (age 20) is a composer and violinist from Gainesville, Florida. She draws inspiration from culture and language in her music, which she has been recognized for through awards with ASCAP. Her works have been performed by International Contemporary Ensemble and in festivals hosted by the American Composers Orchestra, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and others. As a violinist Isabelle has played with the BUTI Young Artists Orchestra, All-National Symphony Orchestra, and Honor Orchestra of America. She currently studies composition with Thomas Weaver and has received mentorship from composers such as Veronika Krausas and Seunghee Lee. Isabelle currently studies at Princeton University.

Elaina Stuppler (age 16) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist from Portaland, Oregon. She has performed at the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, Lincoln Center, and the Grammy Museum. Her compositions have been recognized by The Juilliard School, the Seattle Symphony, Little Orchestra Society, Oregon Symphony, Portland Youth Philharmonic, and the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. Elaina works at All Classical/ICAN Radio Station serving 1 Million+ listeners and is their 2024 Young Artist in Residence. She is a YoungArts Award Winner in Classical/Composition & Voice/Song-Writer, an ASCAP finalist, Co-Principal Trombonist with the Portland Youth Philharmonic, Young Composers Project member, and received the U.S. President’s Education Award.

Andy Smith (age 17) is a composer, singer, and violinist from Nanuet, New York. They have been composing since March of 2020, playing violin since 2015, and singing since 2021. They have studied under Trevor Weston and Valerie Coleman at Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program. Andy has also studied with inti figgis-vizueta. Andy has recently performed with the New York Philharmonic, Renée Fleming, and Brian Stokes-Mitchel, and has had their works played at Juilliard, the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, and Wildflower Composers Festival.