Connor Mikula, soprano saxophone
Liz Ames, piano

Walking On The Ceiling - III. stumble: run

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.

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 - III. stumble: run

davebied