Connor Mikula, soprano saxophone
Liz Ames, piano

Walking On The Ceiling - I. heavy

Michael Ford transports listeners to deep emotional places with his music.
His 2009 solo release “Dream of the Wind” was nominated for best contemporary classical album by the Independent Music Awards.
In 2012, his next piano album "Simple Truth" was also nominated for best contemporary classical album by the IMA.

Composer David Biedenbender’s music has been described as “simply beautiful” [twincities.com] and is noted for its “rhythmic intensity” [NewMusicBox] and “stirring harmonies” [Boston Classical Review]. “Modern, venturesome, and inexorable…The excitement, intensity, and freshness that characterizes Biedenbender’s music hung in the [air] long after the last note was played” [Examiner.com]. David has written music for the concert stage as well as for dance and multimedia collaborations, and his work is often influenced by his diverse musical experiences in rock and jazz bands as an electric bassist, in wind, jazz, and New Orleans-style brass bands as a euphonium, bass trombone, and tuba player, and by his study of Indian Carnatic Music. His present creative interests include working with everyone from classically trained musicians to improvisers, acoustic chamber music to large ensembles, and interactive electronic interfaces to live brain data. He has had the privilege of collaborating with and being commissioned by many talented performers and ensembles, including Alarm Will Sound, PRISM Saxophone Quartet, Stenhammar String Quartet, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, U.S. Navy Band, Philharmonie Baden-Baden (Germany), VocalEssence, and Eastman Wind Ensemble, among many others. 

He is currently Assistant Professor of Composition at Michigan State University. He holds degrees in composition from the University of Michigan and Central Michigan University, and has also studied at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, the Aspen Music Festival, and in Mysore, India where he studied carnatic music. For more information, visit: www.davidbiedenbender.com.

Hailed as “the ideal collaborator for new music” and praised for his “beautiful tone and technique“ by Brutal New Music Review, saxophonist and new music curator Drew Hosler (he/him/his) is an advocate for contemporary music. Drew has commissioned, premiered, and collaborated on over 150 pieces by award-winning composers such as Andrew Mead, Jamie Leigh Sampson, David Heinick, Matthew Kennedy, and Marilyn Shrude. His upcoming debut solo album, delta waves, features thirteen world premiere recordings of 21st century works for the tenor saxophone funded in part by the EXCEL Enterprise Fund and ArtsEngine. His 2020 self-released EP Hope Will Carry Us COVID-19: Music for Solo Tenor Saxophone features eleven world premiere recordings from composers all over the world. It was featured on WSMR Florida’s Classical Music Station’s Modern Notebook hosted by Tyler Kline.

Drew is an avid performer as a soloist. In 2022, he gave the world premiere of Josh Trentadue’s tenor saxophone concerto, To fly and to fall with conductor Kim Fleming and musicians of The University of Michigan. Additionally, he has performed concerti by Walter Mays and William Albright with the Bowling Green Philharmonia and the BGSU Concert Band under the baton of Alexander Popovici and Bruce Moss respectively. He has also performed a variety of music for solo saxophone at the New Music Gathering, University of Kansas New Music Guild, 15-Minutes-of-Fame, New Music Mosaic, Boston New Music Initiative, as well as various North American Saxophone Alliance Conferences. He was awarded prize at the 2022 Vivaldi International Music Competition, the 2021 Charleston International Music Competition’s Contemporary Music Competition, the 2022 London Classical Music Competition, and the 51st Bowling Green State University (BGSU) Competition in Music Performance in 2017. Drew has also performed with ensembles such as the Saginaw Eddy Concert Band and the Lima Symphony Orchestra.

Drew is a founding member, saxophonist, and artistic director for the new music ensemble, The _____ Experiment. To date, the ensemble has worked with composers to premiere over 30 works for various mixed chamber instrumentations. In March 2020, The _____ Experiment released their debut album, Conversations, which includes seven world premiere recordings from five different composers which was funded partially by the Running Start Competition through Michigan State University. They were the guest ensemble for Praecepta’s New Music Mini-Fest at BGSU’s College of Musical Arts where they performed 10 pieces including 7 world premieres by BGSU graduate students and alumni. The ensemble has performed across the country, including the Michigan State University College of Music, SUNY Potsdam Crane School of Music, the Flint Institute of Music, and Narloch Piano Studio in Chicago. In addition, the ensemble was awarded multiple prizes through the Charleston International Music Competition’s 2021 Contemporary Music Competition. This includes first prize for their performance of Jasper Sussman’s …nice box! “Oh So Square“ for tenor saxophone and harp. Upcoming engagements include performances with New Music Chicago and the University of Florida. In addition, Drew currently serves as the Assistant Managing Director for the Cleveland Uncommon Sound Project. 

Drew holds a Master of Music in Saxophone Performance, a Master of Music in Chamber Music, and a Certificate in Arts Entrepreneurship & Leadership from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance. He also holds a Bachelor of Music in Saxophone Performance from Bowling Green State University College of Music Arts. Prior to that, he studied at the Flint Institute of Music. His primary instructors have been Timothy McAllister, John Sampen, and Jeffrey Price.

Collection of recorded compositions of Jonathan Posthuma, composer.

Sam Melnick believes that music is greater than the sum of our parts, and we must work together to create it. He focuses on collaborating with performers to write music that fits their unique abilities. Melnick also uses their feedback to further push his music to all that it can be. With inspirations from John Mackey to Caroline Shaw and Igor Stravinsky to Philip Glass, Melnick pulls from whatever influence he needs to achieve his musical goals. This synthesis created his style that uses development through repetition and lays melodies on top of textures, sometimes in layers.

	While not known as a performer, Sam Melnick has been an active member of various ensembles. They include concert bands, marching band, brass quintet, jazz band, choir, a cappella group, steel drums, and gamelan. These experiences have shaped his ideas of how different ensembles achieve different textures and how melodies can be layered or woven together. Melnick's music may layer interlocking parts to create an aggregate musical line like gamelan or assign roles to specific voices like in steel drums or jazz band. The experience of creating music with other musicians drives his creative output through process and style.

	Musicians have performed Sam Melnick's music at events such as the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference, the International Horn Society Symposium, the Austin Symphony Orchestra's Young Composers Competition and Concert, the TUTTI Festival at Denison University, and the Third Coast Trombone Retreat. Notable ensembles that have performed his music include the NOW Ensemble, the Austin Symphony Orchestra, the Anthony P. Hopkins Memorial Trombone Choir, and AVIDduo. Melnick's piece Painted Brick will be included on an upcoming recording project of music for piccolo and piano by Dr. Mary-Karen Clardy and Dr. Pamela Paul. 

	Sam Melnick graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor's of Music in Composition from the University of North Texas. There he studied composition with Dr. Panayiotis Kokoras, Dr. Kristen Soriano Broberg, and Dr. Joseph Klein. In 2015 he received the Outstanding Undergrad in Music Theory at UNT and the Province Senior Achievement Award for the South Central Province of Mu Phi Epsilon. While active in the Phi Tau chapter of Mu Phi Epsilon, Melnick programmed 14 free public performances as chair of the programming committee and Music Director. He is now an active member of the Mu Phi Epsilon Dallas Alumni Chapter and training to be a District Director. Melnick is also working with the Verdigris Ensemble as their Programs Administrator and the Dallas Chamber Symphony as their librarian.

Walking On The Ceiling - I. heavy

davebied