Trey Makler (he/him) is a queer composer based in Sacramento whose music blends memory with cultural theory to produce moving narratives filled with playfulness and longing. His work spans chamber, orchestral, operatic, dance, and electronic media, and he frequently produces substantial interdisciplinary work from the ground up with his trusted collaborators.

Trey’s music has been heard across the United States and Brazil, and has been performed by Alarm Will Sound, Berlin PianoPercussion, ultra-soprano Emily Thorner, Empyrean Ensemble, Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, The Great Noise Ensemble, The Juilliard Orchestra, Magela Herrera Quartet, PinkNoise, Mizzou New Music Initiative, NEO Sound Orchestra, Splinter Reeds, the University of Missouri Philharmonic Orchestra and Opera Workshop, and members of the St. Louis Symphony. Trey has received commissions from Camellia Symphony, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, the New York Choreographic Institute, saxophonist Nick May and the I Exist Project, and Vallejo Symphony. Notable presenting venues have included Alice Tully Hall, Areté Venue and Gallery, the Empress Theatre, the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, National Sawdust, Sheldon Concert Hall, and the Jewel Box in Forest Park (St. Louis), among others. 

Trey has been the recipient of several top honors in composition, including the Arthur Friedman Prize in Orchestral Composition (The Juilliard School), the Sinquefield Prize (University of Missouri), and was selected as the winner of the first annual Boston New Music Initiative Young Composers Competition. His scholarly and creative research has been supported by the Bilinski Educational Foundation, the New Music USA Creator Fund Award, and the Sacramento Creative Growth Fellowship.

Trey is a Lecturer in Music at the University of California, Davis and California State University - Sacramento. He holds degrees from The University of California, Davis (PhD ‘24), The Juilliard School (MM ‘19), and the University of Missouri (BM ‘17). His recent site-specific immersive chamber opera, Waiting Rooms, originally staged at the Sacramento Gender Health Center, explores our relationship to memory and absence through the cultural materials and experiences of AIDS.

By joining enormous  piano spaces  of  SC I feel somewhat  like Avatar at the end of his space epic ...all this incredible and limitless beautiful piano tunes ... quite often is  giving me joyful thrills with  dependency  of addiction ...

For me piano always new and fresh...

 In  sharing my Piano with the World  I would like to add a bit of my heart  into worldwide delight of  the beautiful piano music...

"....Tune up your golden strings and bring your soul melody thread  into the stormy oceans  of this ever changing world ..."

Greatest Ukrainian Poet - O.Oles' , circa 1907 ?

( I strumin' vlasnoi dushi
Uluy v shumlyache more...)



Historias de ciencia para niños y niñas

Originally from Goshen, Indiana, Ethan Setiawan tried out numerous instruments before finding his way to the mandolin.  “I played the cello, and tried out banjo and ukulele as a kid”, he explains, “But I really liked the mandolin, it was small but packed a bigger punch than the ukulele. Anyway, that was the one that stuck”, he laughs.  Years later, Setiawan has a command of the instrument far beyond his twenty-some-odd years, and has won both the National Mandolin Championship at Winfield, KS and the Rockygrass Mandolin Championship.  On his new album, “Gambit”, Setiawan takes the calculated musical risks of a seasoned player.  He moves aptly between stylistic influences, harkening back to the experimental string band music pioneered in the early 80s while presenting entirely original compositions. 

Setiawan is one of three children who were homeschooled by folk-loving parents. His childhood was untraditional, and full of exploration.  “As a teenager, I loved the idea of going to jams and having this community of people I could hang out with”, he explains. He began driving to Chicago to take lessons with Don Stiernberg, and traveled to California to attend The Mandolin Symposium.  After finishing high school, Setiawan attended Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship. “I think I came into Berklee as a very technically oriented musician, but just being exposed to so many different styles and incredible musicians really broadened my musical horizons, and gave me a deeper understanding of artistry and musicality beyond technical proficiency”, he explains.

Since then, his path has wended its way through traditional bluegrass, to Bach partitas, to free jazz. His debut full-length album, “Flux” is made up of original tunes drawing from all these wells.  In retrospect, Setiawan can see immense growth in himself since the release of “Flux”.  “I can look at most of those tunes and point you back to a Matt Flinner tune or a Bela Fleck tune that I drew inspiration from, but it feels more like a school project to me, something that I set out to do with a specific goal in mind, whereas “Gambit” feels more like my own artistic statement.” 

Produced by legendary fiddle player Darol Anger, the project features Anger’s signature chamber music influenced arrangement styles.  “What I love about the album is that the sum of it is greater than its parts”, explains Setiawan.  “It starts with an introductory meditation, and it moves through a Swedish tune, a real jammy number, some more jazz and new age influenced pieces, as well as the old time and bluegrass elements.  It’s not one thing, it’s a whole record”.  In working with Anger, Setiawan found that he was able to make the most musical choices for each tune, leaving academic influences aside.

“Gambit” was recorded in Maine at the Great North Sound Society, and features an all-star cast of musicians including Anger (fiddle), Tony Trischka (banjo), Sam Leslie (guitar), Brittany Karlson (bass), Ethan Jodziewicz (bass), Louise Bichan (fiddle), Joe K. Walsh (mandolin), Mike Marshall (mandolin), Neil Pearlman (keys), and Matt Arcara (banjo).

In addition to his solo projects, Setiawan is an in-demand side man and band member, and can be seen playing with his band Corner House, Darol Anger, and Tony Trischka among others.  One listen through to “Gambit” will explain why Setiawan is in high demand.  Throughout the record, his technical proficiency is rivaled only by his restraint, leaving room for the music to thrive.

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