John Mackey is a composer currently based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He's also lived in New York, Austin, Los Angeles, and Ohio, but he prefers not to talk about Ohio.

As a frequent collaborator, John has worked with a diverse range of artists, from the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps to choreographer David Parsons, from the Alvin Ailey Dance Company to the US Olympic Synchronized Swim Team. (The team won a bronze medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics performing to Mackey's work for clarinet and percussion, "Damn.")

John has served as a Meet-The-Composer/American Symphony Orchestra League Composer In Residence with the Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphony and with the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has been Composer In Residence at the Vail Valley Music Festival in Vail, Colorado, and in 2005, at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.  He returns to Cabrillo this summer for  performances of his trombone concerto, "Harvest," conducted by Marin Alsop, with trombonist Joseph Alessi of the New York Philharmonic.

John holds degrees from The Juilliard School and The Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with John Corigliano and Donald Erb, respectively.

To entertain himself while procrastinating on commissions, John enjoys photography and road cycling (but not at the same time). You can hear his music and see his photography (mostly of food, and the backs of conductors’ heads) on his website: www.ostimusic.com

"Whitacre is that rare thing, a modern composer who is both popular and original"
- The Daily Telegraph, London

Eric has inspired millions as composer, conductor, innovator, broadcaster and charismatic public speaker. His compositions rank among the most popular and frequently performed of the early 21st century, their reach broadened since 2010 by the extraordinary success of his online Virtual Choir project. Light & Gold, his first album as composer and conductor, won the 2012 Grammy® Award for Best Choral Recording and instantly topped the US and UK classical album charts.

Born in Nevada, he discovered a passion for choral music while studying at UNLV and he began composing soon after. He went on to study at the Juilliard School of Music in New York under John Corigliano. Many of his choral compositions, Cloudburst, Lux Aurumque and Sleep among them, have entered the standard choral repertoire and his orchestral music has been performed by some of the world’s most distinguished orchestras both sides of the Atlantic. Eric is currently Composer-in-Residence at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University, UK.

A distinguished speaker, Eric has been invited to address the UN Leaders Programme, give the closing plenary at Davos World Economic Forum and to speak for UNICEF and Google among others. He has appeared twice on the main stage at the global TED conference in Long Beach CA, earning standing ovations on both occasions. Recent Virtual Choir projects include ‘Glow’ written for the Winter Dreams holiday show at Disneyland© Adventure California and the Virtual Youth Choir, in association with UNICEF, which premiered at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Broadcast live to 119 countries worldwide, Eric made his iTunes Festival debut with his professional choir in 2014, inviting multi award-winning composer and conductor Hans Zimmer to join him on stage. The performance was consequently released as a live album. Eric returned to the Minnesota Orchestra for a second residency in 2015 culminating in three performances at Orchestra Hall.


Julie Ann Giroux was born in Fairhaven, Massachusetts on December 12, 1961. She graduated from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge LA in 1984.  Her first published work for concert band, published by Southern Music Company was composed at the age of 13.
Julie began composing commercially in 1984. She was hired by Oscar winning composer Bill Conti as an orchestrator, her first project with Conti being “North & South” the mini-series. With over 100 film, television and video game credits, Giroux collaborated with dozens of film composers, producers, and celebrities including Samuel Goldwyn, Martin Scorsese, Clint Eastwood, Madonna, Liza Minnelli, Celene Dion, Paula Abdul, Michael Jackson, Paul Newman, Harry Connick Jr. and many others.
Projects she has worked on have been nominated for Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Golden Globe awards. She has won individual Emmy Awards in the field of “Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Direction”. When She won her first Emmy Award, she was the first woman and the youngest
person to ever win that award. Giroux has also published a large category of classical works with emphasis on original compositions for Wind Band which are published by Musica Propria and distributed internationally.
She is greatly sought after as a composer and recently completing her 5th Symphony “Sun, Rain & Wind” which premiers in June, 2018. Her music has been recorded and reviewed internationally receiving rave reviews and has been performed at major music festivals the world over.
Giroux has been a true force in a male dominated field and has accrued many previously male only awards. She is a member of ASCAP, The Film Musicians Fund, Kappa Kappa PSI, Tau Beta Sigma and a member of the American Bandmasters Association. She is a recipient of the Distinguished Service to Music Medal Award, The Emmy Awards and was the first female composer inducted into the American Bandmasters Association in 2009.

hhsbands is following