Matthew Aucoin is an American composer, conductor, and a 2018 MacArthur Fellow. He is a co-founder of the pathbreaking American Modern Opera Company (AMOC).

This summer, Aucoin conducts his new vocal symphony, Music for New Bodies, at Tanglewood and Lincoln Center, in a staging by Peter Sellars. Aucoin's operas, which include Eurydice and Crossing, have been produced at leading companies including the Metropolitan Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Boston Lyric Opera, and many others.

His orchestral and chamber music has been performed, commissioned and recorded by Yo-Yo Ma, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, the MET Orchestra, Zurich's Tonhalle Orchestra, and the BBC Scottish Symphony, among others.

Aucoin's conducting engagements include appearances at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, and Salzburg's Mozarteum Orchestra.

Aucoin's book about opera, The Impossible Art, was published in 2021. He is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books and The Atlantic.

Maia Jasper White is a violinist, educator, and arts leader based in Los Angeles. She is Co-Founder, Co-Artistic Director, and Executive Director of Salastina, an award-winning chamber music series now in its sixteenth season. Salastina is known for inviting, insightful performances and strong community-building work. Its recordings feature premieres by Eric Whitacre, Derrick Skye, Philip White, Reena Esmail, and Mieczysław Weinberg. A member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Maia also performs regularly with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and has recorded hundreds of film soundtracks, including Frozen, Encanto, Star Wars Episodes VII–IX, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Oppenheimer. She has served as the Director of Chamber Music at Caltech since 2016 and previously taught at the Colburn School of Performing Arts and the Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music at Chapman University. Maia holds degrees from Yale and USC, with further study at the Paris Conservatory.

Marianne Gedigian, former Academy of Distinguished Teachers at UT Austin, professor of flute, and holder of a Sarah and Ernest Butler Professorship, joined the faculty at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in 2023. She was Acting Principal Flute with the Boston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and Boston Pops for a decade prior to her appointment at UT.

She can be heard on dozens of Evening at Pops broadcasts with the Boston Pops with John Williams and Keith Lockhart conducting, soundtracks from Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List, and has a brief appearance in the film Blown Away. She recorded as principal flute with the Boston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and Boston Pops Orchestra on several Grammy-nominated recordings and as soloist on the Grammy-nominated CD The Shadow of Sirius with the UT Wind Ensemble. She published an allegory book, Survival of the Flutist, with illustrator Patti Adams and Flutistry Boston.

David Garcia has been Solo Trombonist of the Philharmonia Zürich, Orchester der Opera since 2007.  Previously he was Principal Trombonist of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Florence, Italy) and the Hartford Symphony.  As a guest he has performed worldwide with orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Orchestra of St. Lukes, San Antonio Symphony, US Coast Guard Band, Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, Orquestra Sinfonia de Galicia (Spain) and Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne (Germany).  He has worked with renown conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Kurt Masur, Christian Thielemann, Franz Welser-Möst, Fabio Luisi and Bernard Haitink among others.  He can be heard on numerous CD and DVD performances with the Philharmonia Zürich and the Maggio Musicale. 

As a soloist he has performed with the Hartford Symphony, the Zürich Opera Brass and in recitals in Europe, the United States, and Mexico.  He has taught at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste and gives masterclasses in Europe as well as the United States and Mexico.  He performs regularly on alto, tenor, bass trombone, bass trumpet as well as on period instruments.   

Originally from San Antonio, Texas, he studied with Donald Knaub at the University of Texas at Austin (BM) and with Joseph Alessi at The Juilliard School (MM).

Kevin Fitz-Gerald’s performances have garnered international acclaim recognizing him for his “hypnotically powerful and precise pianism” and “dynamic and distinguished” interpretations. Concert tours have taken place throughout North and South America, Asia, Europe, and Australia and are frequently recorded for national and international radio and television networks. His CD recordings on numerous labels may be found in all major music stores and websites.

He has collaborated extensively with internationally renowned performers and leading artist teachers of the 20th and 21st centuries. He also regularly performs duo piano with his wife, Bernadene Blaha, appearing at prestigious festivals and concert venues throughout the world.

Fitz-Gerald is Professor of Keyboard Studies and Director of Keyboard Collaborative Arts at the USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles and a regular guest teacher and performer at many internationally acclaimed music festivals. A winner of several major competitions, he enjoys an international reputation as a master teacher presenting master classes and lecture-symposiums throughout the world. His students are prize-winners in major international competitions and can be found performing and teaching at the finest music institutions throughout the world.

PEI-TSUN CHIANG 29, born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is earning her Doctor of Musical Arts Piano with a minor in Collaborative Piano at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying with Evelyne Brancart. There, she also serves as a faculty member of the Young Pianist Program and as an Associate Instructor in Piano.

FORREST HOWELL ('23) 33, born in Sokcho, Korea, is a Postdoctoral Lecturer at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The returning Music Academy alum has recently performed with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra under Ken-David Masur and as a soloist with the Ann Arbor Symphony conducted by Dean Whiteside.

CHAN LEE 25, born in Daegu, North Gyeongsang, Korea, recently completed his master's degree at Northwestern University, studying with Christopher Guzman, Yasuko Oura, and Alan Darling. There, he serves as both an accompanist and opera rehearsal pianist, and on staff as an accompanist at North Park University.

BENJAMIN PAWLAK ('20, '21, '23) 29, born in Horseheads, New York, recently completed his master's degree at The Juilliard School, studying with Jonathan Feldman. He has appeared as an orchestral pianist with the New York Philharmonic. Also a composer, he performed his work Sonata for Trumpet and Piano in New York, Houston, and Los Angeles in 2025.

AMBER GINMI SCHERER 28, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is earning her Doctor of Musical Arts at The Juilliard School, studying with Jonathan Feldman and Lydia Brown. She won the 2024 Federation of Art-Song Fellowship Competition and the Juilliard Vocal Arts Honors Auditions, and is a Piano Faculty member at Brooklyn Music School.

YOSHINO TOI ('24) 27, born in Tokyo, Japan, is earning her Doctor of Musical Arts at New England Conservatory, studying with Pei-Shan Lee and Cameron Stowe. The returning alum won the prestigious Duo Competition at the Music Academy of the West in 2024.

YIFANG XU ('24) 25, born in Hangzhou, China, is earning her Doctor of Musical Arts at Boston University, where she studies with Shiela Kibbe. The returning Music Academy alum won the Liszt International Youth Piano Competition in 2019 and performed at The Cleveland Cello Society Scholarship Winner’s Recital.

TEDDI YOO 23, born in Rockville, Maryland, completed her master's degree at the University of Maryland, and studies with Rita Sloan. She won the 2018 Concert Artists International Virtuoso Competition III and the Reinecke Chamber Music Competition. She performed as soloist with the University of Maryland Symphony Orchestra under David Neely.

LYDIA AI-LING YU 26, born in Taipei, Taiwan, is earning her Doctor of Musical Arts at Indiana University Bloomington, studying with Anne Epperson. She has performed in her first-year DMA recital and other degree recitals at University, and was a 2024 Bowdoin Music Festival Collaborative Piano Fellow.

ANDREI BANCOS 20, born in Cluj, Romania, is earning his bachelor's degree at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, studying with Yehuda Gilad. He previously attended NYO-USA, Sarasota Music Festival, and the 2024 National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute.

SYLVIA BEACH 19, born in Gainesville, Florida, is earning her bachelor's degree at The Juilliard School, studying with Erik Ralske and Carolyn Wahl. She was the 2022 winner of the Pinellas Youth Symphony Concerto Competition and runner-up in the 2023 Juilliard School Horn Concerto Competition. She has served as principal with the Juilliard Orchestra.

SAEYEONG KIM 24, born in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, Korea, is earning her Doctor of Musical Arts at New England Conservatory, studying with Cynthia Meyers. She won the 45th Annual James Pappoutsakis Flute Competition in 2025 and has served as Principal Flute with the Peoria Symphony Orchestra under George Stelluto.

JAMIE YOOJIN LEE 24, born in New York, New York, completed her master's degree at The Juilliard School, studying with Elaine Douvas. She won the 2020 Dong-A Music Competition and the 2017 Japan Wind and Percussion Competition. She has performed with the Juilliard Orchestra, Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra, and Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra.

CHARLES ALBERT JOHNSON ('22) 23, born in Las Vegas, Nevada, is earning his master's degree at New England Conservatory, studying with James Markey. He won the 2025 American Trombone Workshop's National Trombone Quartet Competition as a member of the 224 Trombone Quartet. He performs bass trombone with both the Boston Pops and Boise Philharmonic.

MIA KIM BERNARD 20, born in Hoboken, New Jersey, recently completed her bachelor's degree at The Juilliard School, studying with Astrid Schween. She has performed as a soloist with the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, and as a section member with the Juilliard Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. She was a 2024 fellow at The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.

GLORIA LEE 23, born in Teaneck, New Jersey, is earning her master's degree at The Juilliard School, studying with Timothy Eddy and Zvi Plesser. She is a member of the Juilliard Orchestra, was Principal Cellist for the Peabody Symphony Orchestra, and is a recipient of both the Juilliard and the Morse and Elliott Scholarships.

KATE LEE 20, born in Irvine, California, is earning her bachelor's degree at The Colburn School of Music, studying with Robert Lipsett. She won second prize in the 2022 SoCal Philharmonic Competition and was as a soloist with the South Coast Symphony. She has collaborated with renowned artists Pinchas Zukerman, James Ehnes, and Augustin Hadelich.

POYU LEE ('23) 24, born in Taiwan, Province of China, is earning his master's degree at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Simon James and Cordula Merks. He won the 2023 Telegraph Chamber Competition, is a regular substitute in the San Francisco Ballet, and has performed with the San Francisco Symphony.

CECILE MCNEILL ('24) 24, born in Whangārei, New Zealand, is earning her graduate certificate at USC Thornton School of Music, studying with Yura Lee. She won the 2020 Auckland Chamber Music Society Prize, was a finalist in the 2024 USC Thornton Solo Bach Competition, and has performed with the Auckland Philharmonia and Whakatipu Music Festival.

YOONA PARK 22, born in Seoul, Korea, is earning her bachelor's degree at The Juilliard School, studying with Hsin-Yun Huang and Heidi Castleman. She won the YoungArts National Competition in 2021, is the assistant principal viola of The Juilliard Orchestra, associate viola faculty at Cremona Music Studio, and was principal viola of the New York Youth Symphony Orchestra.

STEVEN SONG ('23, '24) 26, born in Naperville, Illinois, earned his master's degree at Yale University School of Music, studying with Tai Murray. He was a semifinalist in the 2023 Lipinski International Violin Competition. He serves as Assistant Concertmaster with Yale Philharmonia and is a section violinist with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.

MITSURU YONEZAKI 26, born in Yokohama, Japan, has recently completed her graduate certificate at New England Conservatory, where she studied with Donald Weilerstein. She has recently performed with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, in a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste.