Rain Hou

At the age of 20, Rain Hou is an accomplished composer and pianist. She is currently in her sophomore year in New York City, majoring in creative writing and minoring in music at Columbia University. She also studies composition with Melinda Wagner at the Juilliard School. Her works have been recognized by the ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Competition, the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival Quartet Composition Competition 2024, and the Belvedere Chamber Music Festival 2024 Composition Contest. While she’s soaking up the intense learning of her second year, she loves spending Saturdays at Village Vanguard listening to jazz.

Veronika Reutz Drobnić

Veronika Reutz Drobnić is a composer and performer known for integrating folk and pop references in her compositions as well as working with non-traditional animated scores. She earned her bachelor’s at HMDK Stuttgart and completed her master’s at HfM Karlsruhe and Kunitachi Tokyo. Currently pursuing a PhD, her works have been performed worldwide by renowned ensembles such as HNK Zagreb, PART-Ensemble and the SWR Orchestra. Her achievements include multiple awards and scholarships, including the Suntory Hall Prize, Oak Bay Award, and a Cusanuswerk PhD scholarship.

Sergey Nesterov

Sergey Nesterov is a Los Angeles-based composer, orchestrator and songwriter. He has collaborated with acclaimed artists such as Moscow Conservatory Symphony Orchestra, Banatul Philharmonic of Timișoara, Hong Kong SAR Philharmonic Orchestra, Diotima String Quartet, Alexander Boldachev, and Toni Arnold.

 In 2022, Sergey moved to the United States on a scholarship to study composition at UCLA with Professors Richard Danielpour and Ian Krouse. Previously, he studied composition, conducting, piano, and vocals with the luminaries of the music field in Moscow, Russia, and graduated from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with honors.

Nicholas Edwards

Composer and conductor Nicholas Edwards thrives on collaboration and the intersection of art and science. Deeply inspired by nature, he often begins compositions in the wilderness. Representative works include Pinnacles, named for the eponymous national park, and K'esugi Ridge, written during a week of hiking in the backcountry of Denali National Park. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Vanderbilt University, studying both composition and biology; his research in the latter is published in the scientific journals BMC Biology and Insects. Above all, Nicholas is grateful for his musical collaborators who continually inspire his creative journey.

Daixuan Ai

Daixuan Ai is a Chinese-American composer, performer, teacher, and interdisciplinary artist known for her innovative fusion of traditional and modern, Eastern and Western musical styles. Born in Hunan, China, DAIX started her music journey at the age of three when her parents put her in front of a piano for the first time. Somehow she knew then that she would devote her life to music. 

DAIX’s compositions have been performed by prestigious ensembles such as the Chicago Symphony Civic Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, and Indiana University New Music Ensemble. DAIX's works often explore themes of identity, violence, healing, and social justice, and she has been recognized for her efforts to raise awareness about racial injustice and promote racial equity.

DAIX is currently a doctoral candidate in music composition and theory at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she studies composition with Han Lash and Aaron Travers, and jazz piano with Juke Gillespie.