Kathryn Blake is a Maryland-based composer, violist, and educator. The District New Music Coalition, T1International, and the Hong Kong Cellist Society have featured her work. She holds performances by Balance Campaign, the STRATA Trio, the Bergamot Quartet, the OLEA Ensemble, Airi Yoshioka (violin), Christian Hartman (cello), Jonathan Sotelo (percussion), Joseph van Hassel (percussion), Alexander Dudkin (clarinet), and members of the Achelois Collective. Additionally, Kathryn is a passionate educator; she strives to diversify the music she brings into her students’ lives and helps them find enjoyment in their creations. Beyond her musical life, Kathryn is a vocal advocate for disability rights, mental healthcare, and social justice – all themes that bleed into her work.

Ying-Chen Kao (高盈真) is a Taiwanese-American composer, pianist, educator, and graphic/web designer. Her concert music has been praised as “exceedingly beautiful” by Soundboard UK, a “challenging and rich work” by the Coral Gables Gazette, and “an evocative and surreal soundscape” by minor7th.com. Ying-Chen’s music has been featured at prestigious events and venues worldwide, including MUSIQA, the North American Taiwanese Professors’ Association, the Taiwan Culture Center in Washington D.C., the Sylvia Adalman Chamber Series, the Union Square Chamber Music Society, The Stone, Ningbo Grand Theater, Hangzhou Grand Theatre, Kaohsiung Music Center, WBJC, and NPR. Her compositions, “Frustration Factory” and “Ancient Memory,” are published by Warwick Music/Hal Leonard Europe. Her Prix D’Ete-winning work, “Lilac . Star . Bird,” was featured as the title track on guitarist Tracy Anne Smith’s debut album. Ying-Chen is an alumna of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Miami. Beyond her musical pursuits, she co-founded ycArt design studio LLC, where she continues to create visually engaging materials as a graphic and web designer. For more information about Ying-Chen Kao, please visit yingchenkao.com.

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