Sam Pichardo (age 17) is a Dominican classical and jazz saxophonist raised in New York City. Sam’s musical career started from an early age on strings and then shifted to band. Sam has maintained a spot as the principal saxophone player in most groups they have been in. Sam has had the wonderful opportunity to play at Carnegie Hall twice! Sam finds inspiration from composers that are POC, especially Kelijah Dunton, Omar Thomas, and Kevin Day. Aside from music, Sam’s other hobby is writing poetry. Sam is very eager to learn new things and take on this new experience with Luna Lab.

Brannon Warn-Johnston (age 16) is an enthusiastic composer and multi-instrumentalist from Burien, Washington. She loves backpacking with her violin, often taking inspiration for her compositions from nature and the outdoors. Her compositions have been performed by the Seattle Symphony, Symphony Tacoma, Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Festival Orchestra, Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras (SYSO), and Seattle Conservatory of Music. Brannon’s music has won awards from the Foundation for Modern Music International Composers Competition, Simon-Fiset Composition Competition, National Federation of Music Clubs Composers Contest, 2023 SYSO Inspiration Award, and more. Brannon has participated in the Merriman-Ross Young Composers Workshop at the Seattle Symphony for three years.

Emilie Wolff (age 17) is a composer and cellist from Overland Park, Kansas. She first started composing music on the cello and quickly grew from there. Having a deep love for both music and film, she now strives to create cinematic works of music that could fit a bigger picture. Emilie has studied composition at the Interlochen Arts Camp. She currently plays in her high school’s symphonic and chamber orchestras where she frequently writes and arranges a variety of music for both groups. She is also a part of Golden Hornet’s Young Composers’ Collective based out of Austin, Texas.

Zoe Verduin (age 15) is a composer and violinist from Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. She is an advanced violin student at the Hoff Barthelson Music School in Westchester, where she also studies composition under the mentorship of Dr. Derek Cooper. Zoe has been awarded several scholarships in music composition, which is her passion, including an ASCAP Foundation scholarship to study at the Manhattan School of Music’s Summer Composition program. Her work was also selected for performance at the Young Composers Honors Concert at the annual NYSSMA conference. In her free time, she plays bass in a rock band.

Mia Turakhia (age 14) is a composer, violinist, and pianist from the San Francisco Bay Area. She is an 8th grader at The Nueva School and attends the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Pre-College. Introduced to composition by her piano teacher, Eva-Maria Zimmermann, Mia has continued to develop her skills at SFCM, studying violin with Alena Tsoi-Barantschik and composition with June Bonacich and Mauricio Rodriguez. She has participated in summer programs such as C’est Bon, Music at Tateuchi, and Heifetz. In spring 2024, Mia won the Kris Getz Composition Competition, and her work was premiered at the SFCM pre-college commencement.

Danity Pike (age 16) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She began playing piano at the age of 7 and has been interested in music creation ever since. Danity is currently excited by conceptual composition techniques and performance in songwriting. Her music is often inspired by storytelling, navigating the world between poetry and composition. Danity has taken part in various composition programs, such as Wildflower Composers, Luna Lab’s Adventures in Sound, and the Walden School Young Musicians Program. Her past works have been performed by the Network for New Music Ensemble, Friction Quartet, and International Contemporary Ensemble.