Madeline Yang (16) is a pianist, composer, and sound artist from Huntington Beach, California. In an attempt to explore our complex histories and identities, her music often transcends genres, fusing gospel and jazz with traditional Chinese elements, experimental sounds with popular music, and any other hodgepodge she can dream up. As a musician, she has performed at Musco Center for the Arts, Queens College, Segerstrom Hall, and Carnegie Hall, among others. She is an alumna of Dwyer Vocal Ensemble, where she now serves as the accompanist. She studies piano with Dr. Hedy Lee and composition with Mr. Isaac Loew.

Maya Proulx (age 17) is a pianist, violist, singer, and composer from South Pasadena, California. She sang with the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus and with the All Saints Children’s Choir as she trained vocally in classical and jazz styles. Proulx attends high school at California School of the Arts – Duarte, studying creative writing, classical and jazz guitar, and vocals. She plays in the CSArts jazz band as both guitarist and lead singer. She recently wrote a piece for the Pasadena Chorale through the Listening to the Future program and was named a 2024 YoungArts winner with distinction in vocal jazz.

Daniela Escalante Lopez (age 18) is a composer and multi-instrumentalist from San Francisco, California. She is a freshman composition major at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. Music has been a part of her life since she was young, so pursuing a career in this field is really meaningful. As a composer, Daniela’s goal is to eventually score films, particularly live-action or animated films. One of her greatest inspirations is the soundtrack for The Batman (2022).

Leo Egen (age 17) is an oboist and composer from Kalamazoo, Michigan. As a composer, Leo strives to tell a story and communicate their emotional landscape with their audience. They enjoy intertwining styles and techniques from all eras of music, from the Baroque period to the 21st century. As an oboist, they perform all varieties of music as both an orchestral musician, a chamber musician, and a soloist. Outside of music, Leo enjoys studying the social sciences, reading, and fashion.

Max Bissonnette (age 15) is a composer, writer, and artist from New York City. Their work focuses on storytelling through music, often working with text and musical theater. Their music has aired on WQXR, and has been played by musicians including The Knights and Parhelion Trio. They currently attend Special Music School High School, where they are majoring in music composition.

Emily Bai (age 15) is a composer, violinist, and pianist from Clarksville, Maryland. Her music is inspired by anything from brief phrases of words to artwork to existence itself, and seeks to explore the idea of connectivity and transformation through sound. Her works have been recognized by competitions such as MTNA, the American Prize, and Tribeca New Music. Emily currently studies composition with Mayflower Art Center’s Yiming Wu, and has participated in Juilliard’s Summer Composition Program. She is attending her junior year at the Bryn Mawr School.