Peien Ai

Peien Ai is a Taiwanese composer who enjoys exploring new and intriguing sounds in daily life and especially using percussion instruments. She grew up in a musical family and began studying piano and violin in childhood. Before she came to the U.S. to attend UNCSA, she and her family held a concert with 300 people in the audience featuring several of her compositions. As a Hakkanese, a minority in Taiwan with a well-known culture of singing in Taiwan, she feels she has a mission to promote Hakka music as a composer. In 2018, her piece “The way home,” which is a Hakkanese song inspired by her mom’s childhood story, got an award in the Public Mixing Category of New Choral Songs of Taiwan from Taiwan Choral Association which led to a performance at Soochow University. In addition, the way that Disney movies and Studio Gihibli have brought music from minorities or different cultures to the world inspired her to pursue training in advanced composition and film scoring. She has also composed for the Prism Saxophone Quartet.  This past summer, she attended the Atlantic Music Festival, working with Zhou Long, Chen Yi, Melinda Wagner and George Tsontakis.  Peien is currently a second-year graduate student studying with Lawrence Dillon.

Beth Anderson

Beth Anderson started composing when she was 14, first on digital audio workstations designing relaxed music and simple electronic tunes. Two years later, she had her first piece performed in UNCSA’s Watson Hall during the Music Technology Summer Intensive before starting the high school program that fall. In her senior year of high school, she won the Giannini Award in composition for her piece Loaded Deck. Beth takes inspiration most from Erik Satie for his melancholic writing and flowing melodies. She currently gravitates towards tonal composition with emphasis on rhythm and 7th chords.  She is a college freshman in Jared Miller’s studio.

Quinn Albinus

Quinn Albinus is a junior Composition student in the studio of Jared Miller. After majoring in Voice in high school at UNCSA, Quinn got a full scholarship to Oberlin. A year there, though, showed him that his true passion lay with Composition, so he returned to UNCSA in the fall of 2022. Quinn’s music tends to favor complex rhythms in interweaving patterns. His "Arachnids and Insects" was premiered by the UNCSA Guitar Studio and “Nunc Dimittis” was premiered by tenor Glenn Siebert and pianist Allison Gagnon in the spring of 2022.  The following year, Quinn composed incidental music for the UNCSA School of Drama production of "Twelfth Night," as well as a performance by the UNCSA Trombone Ensemble and a recording session with DeCoda Ensemble.

Barrett Bailey

If you had asked four-year-old Barrett Bailey what he wanted to be when he grew up, his answer would have been a zoologist, astronaut or most commonly, a composer. He was intrigued by Ludwig van Beethoven when he was very young and began to teach himself piano. Since then, he has picked up many instruments, from the violin to the talharpa. Recently, voice became a primary part of his life and he took part in the Fletcher Opera Institute production of "Linda di Chamounix" in January 2022. His "Vast" was premiered in April 2022 by the UNCSA Saxophone Ensemble.  His music has also been recorded by pianist Dmitri Shteinberg and the Pacifica String Quartet. His "King Charle Trey" won a competition sponsored by Watson Brass for premiere in January 2023. The following year, Barrett had a scene from his opera "Kane" performed by UNCSA's Undergraduate Opera Scenes.  Barrett is a college sophomore studying with Lawrence Dillon.

Jacob Burnette

Originally from Rutherfordton, North Carolina, Jacob Burnette began his musical journey at twelve years old, when he started taking piano lessons and performing saxophone for middle school. He would develop his musical skills more deeply in high school, finding a keen interest in film, video games, and classical music. With his experience in piano, Jacob would create his first piece, “The Change of Seasons” for solo piano at the beginning of his junior year of high school. After becoming more serious with his interest in the musical world, Jacob started taking lessons with composer Alan Theisen throughout his senior year of high school. Jacob’s musical comprehension expanded with Dr. Theisen’s teachings, ultimately making Jacob choose music composition as his college career path. Composers that most inspire him today are Tchaikovsky and John Williams. This past season, he composed music for the DeCoda Ensemble, the UNCSA Trombone Ensemble, and the UNCSA School of Drama production of "Twelfth Night."  Jacob’s hobbies are films, musical theatre, tennis and escape rooms. Jacob is a third-year undergraduate student studying with Jared Miller.

Sam Darnell

Growing up in a musical family, Sam Darnell was from early childhood steeped in the beautiful brass ensembles and choral hymns of the Moravian tradition.  He began composing in the sixth grade when he found a website that allowed him to make simple harmonies, melodies and rhythms.  In the ensuing years, he expanded his musical horizons, developing proficiency on trombone and euphonium and studying piano and composition at UNCSA Community Music School with Deborah Suárez.  He especially loves composing for large ensembles.  Currently a high school senior in the studio of Lawrence Dillon, Sam has had his music recorded by pianist Dmitri Shteinberg.

Joshua Dellinger

Growing up more a history buff than a musician, Joshua Dellinger's deep engagement with music began with the onset of chronic illness in his mid-teens. Classical music became an outlet and a solace. The more he listened, the more the desire grew in him to compose, to express what he wanted to hear in the music. After beginning studies at Catawba Valley Community College, he started taking music classes on the side and creating his first compositions. He became increasingly involved in the music department and with other musicians, eventually switching his major from history to music. Joshua has also worked as a piano technician for just over two years. As a composer, he draws particular inspiration from the late-Romantic and early-Modern Era. Currently, he is writing a trio for horn, bassoon, and piano, as well as a clarinet quartet. He is a student of Lawrence Dillon.

Erin Giuliano

Erin has loved music since before she was born. Literally—while her mom was pregnant, her parents played classical music to her on headphones! Growing up listening to the greats of classical and jazz, Erin began piano lessons at age eight and immediately found a sense of freedom and deftness in the language of music. She began composing as soon as she had the tools to do so, and never stopped.

In school ensembles, Erin picked up the trumpet and the viola with the specific intention to learn the ropes of composing for those instruments. She was also lucky enough to have opportunities to dabble in euphonium, percussion, and even guitar. Erin started her undergraduate degree as a Film Scoring major but found the lack of creative freedom too chaffing. She switched to Piano Performance in the middle of her third year and graduated three semesters later. She composed and debuted two pieces for piano — “The Sky Triptych” in three movements, and “Piano Duo in D Major” in four movements—at her junior and senior piano recitals respectively. She is excited and determined to expand her oeuvre with larger-scale works.

Erin’s greatest inspirations are soundtracks (especially Nintendo games and Studio Ghibli), late-Romantic composers like Tchaikovsky and Saint-Saëns, musical theatre (in which Erin dabbled as both a performer and pit musician), and the beauty of nature. She is passionate about women’s history and hopes to uplift minorities in her ventures as a young composer. She also has far too many hobbies including sewing, writing, marathon running, and art. Erin is a first-year graduate student studying with Jared Miller.

Victoria King

Victoria King is a second-year undergraduate in Lawrence Dillon’s composition studio who has always had an appreciation for music as an exercise in empathy and communication. Although she wouldn’t have called herself a composer before high school, she has been creating melodies since she could reach the piano. Her music is deeply melodic, story-driven, and emotive. Victoria’s hope is to create music that all people can, in the very least, empathize with, if not enjoy.  This past season, her "Toll Entire" was recorded by pianist Dmitri Shteinberg.  She also composed music for harp for a collaboration with the UNCSA School of Dance.  One day she aspires to write an opera, a musical, and a ballet. 

Ashton Latimer

Ashton Latimer is a first-year undergraduate student in Jared Miller’s composition studio who came from British Columbia, Canada. He has received recognition for his musical ability and dedication to the arts in his community.  Ashton has played French horn with ensembles including the Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra, BCMEA Honor Wind Ensemble, the Kiwanis Celebration Band, premiering new works for wind band repertoire, and the Fraser Valley Wind Ensemble.

Beyond his instrumental proficiency, Ashton's interest in composition started fairly recently, prompted by an IB music school project. Since then, his flurry of creative ideas led him to participate in composition competitions such as the Langley School of Music Composition Competition, the Edmonton Pops Composer Competition, and the Hugh Davidson Composer Readings alongside the Victoria Symphony Orchestra. Ashton has also received a SOCAN award for young composers in 2024. 

Ashton's creative vision is fueled by a profound appreciation for music and the natural world. His artistic influences are reflected in a musically diverse set of inspirations, and some of his favourite composers include Maurice Ravel, Andrew Norman, and John Corigliano.

Hunter Levin

Inspired by progressive rock of the past, first-year undergraduate Hunter Levin picked up the electric bass early in his life, initially hoping for a hobby that would connect him more closely to the icons who inspired him. After playing in jazz and rock ensembles, he soon started writing his own songs, instilling in him a greater understanding and appreciation of all music. After his first classically orientated performance playing double bass in his high school wind ensemble, Hunter decided to dedicate himself to music composition to express both the joy and the challenges of the human experience. With his various experiences in music, he attempts to reflect many styles in his works, having written for various ensembles at his high school and in the community. Although having no favorite, Hunter enjoys works including the likes of Shostakovich and Corigliano. Hunter is currently a college freshman studying with Dr. Jared Miller.

Edan Love

Edan Love has a background in piano and bass, playing bass in a band for several years, doing small gigs and experimenting with singer-songwriter formulas.  He has primarily been attracted to metal and rock.  When he left the band over creative differences, his cousin started mentoring him in music theory.  She gradually introduced him to the realm of classical and film music and started teaching him composition.  He created a number of works under her mentorship, then increasingly on his own, before entering UNCSA, where he is currently a freshman studying with Jared Miller.

David Huang Mailman

David Huang Mailman (he/they) is a composer, arranger, and researcher whose works fuse his musicological studies and compositional output into an interdisciplinary practice where research and expression go hand-in-hand. Their music is variously inspired by scenes from the natural world, stories from history, their proud Chinese heritage, and the perseverance of the LGBTQ+ community.

As a researcher, David’s concentration is in twentieth-century Chinese music, particularly the interaction of politics, national identity construction, and musical composition in the mid- and late-twentieth century. He recently presented his work on the political subtext of the Yellow River Piano Concerto’s (re)orchestration at the 2024 American Musicological Society South-Central Chapter Meeting. They also work to introduce high-quality editions of Chinese classical music to Western performers and presenting organizations.

In 2021, David was the collegiate winner of the National Association for Music Education’s Student Composers Competition. Their work for band “Dazhai” was a finalist in the 2023 “The President’s Own” Marine Band Call for Scores and was featured as the finale work for the 2024 Florida State University Festival of New Music. His “Starburst Preludes” will be recorded by pianist Kris Carlisle in 2025 as part of Carlisle's award-winning project cataloging contemporary voices in American classical music, “The American Evolution.” Their works have been commissioned, premiered, and performed by groups including the Eugene Difficult Music Ensemble, Vanderbilt University Orchestra, Close Quarters Saxophone Quartet, New Works Project, and Florida State University Wind Orchestra.

David earned his undergraduate degree studying Chinese history, music, and musicology at Vanderbilt University, where he studied composition under Michael Slayton and Stan Link. They are currently attending the University of North Carolina School of the Arts to earn their M.M. in music composition, studying with Lawrence Dillon.

You can hear more of his music at davidhuangmailman.com!

Andrew McFarland

From when he first began playing piano at age 5, Andrew McFarland knew music would always be a part of his life. He picked up the cello at age 9 and pursued it through college, attaining both cello performance and music education bachelor's degrees from the University of Kentucky. Throughout his life, Andrew always had a passion for making his own music, and often could be found improvising on the cello and writing ideas for his own songs and music. He wrote his first solo cello piece at age 12, and his first ensemble piece at age 18. By the time he began teaching elementary music, Andrew had taken an interest in composing music to teach students, eventually integrating composition as part of his pedagogy. His musical influences range from Bach and Debussy to Sondheim and Webern, and he aims to create music that inspires passion for music in both the young and old. He has composed music for the Prism Saxophone Quartet and a collaboration with the School of Dance.

Hannah Mufuka

Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Hannah Mufuka has always been musically inclined. At the age of seven, she began formally studying piano. However, for each piece she played, she felt the need to add alternative endings and contrasting sections. By the age of eight, she had officially transitioned from this habit to composing completely unique compositions. By eleven, Hannah had branched out and started studying flute privately in addition to her piano training. This led her to write a concert band piece within the same year, which was her first non-piano composition. Throughout high school, she performed and composed for various wind ensembles, jazz combos, orchestras and other groups for both piano and flute, which expanded her love for different types of music. Aspects of these diverse genres appear throughout her compositions. Hannah's "Writer's Block" was premiered by the UNCSA Saxophone Ensemble in April 2022. She has also had her music recorded by pianist Dmitri Shteinberg, the DeCoda Ensemble and the Pacifica String Quartet. In 2023, she participated in the summer program of the Film Scoring Academy of Europe, in Sofia, Bulgaria. Last season, her works were performed by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra and the UNCSA Wind Ensemble.  She has been very successful with film scoring: a documentary she composed music for was included in the 2024 NFTTY Film Festival in Seattle.  This past summer she took part in the VIPA Festival in Valencia, Spain. Hannah is currently working on the project "See/a/Change," through which a team of artists do field research, write proposals, and create meaningful connections between the watershed in North Carolina, environmental justice, cultural change, and the arts.  Hannah Mufuka is currently a college senior studying with Lawrence Dillon.  She is a 2024 winner of the UNCSA Faculty Endowed Scholarship.

Magnus Myers

Magnus (Max) Myers, originally from Asheville, North Carolina, is an Undergraduate Sophomore Composition student in Dr. Lawrence Dillon’s studio. He started his musical career playing piano at age 7, then started with trumpet at age 11. He is fascinated with the music creation process, ranging from classical composition, to songwriting, to recording and producing. Interning at Drop of Sun Recording studio his senior year of high school, Max has been exposed to many different styles and workflows of music and wants to continue his education further in a wide array of areas. His work “Latin Dance for Flute and Piano” and “Disturbance” were performed at the UNCSA Composition Summer intensive, as well as his public debut, with his piece “Impromptu in G” was premiered by the Asheville High School Wind Symphony last Spring of 2023.  This past season, he had his music recorded by pianist Dmitri Shteinberg and included in a collaboration with the UNCSA School of Dance Choreographers so-lo performances.

Jasil Olabode

In junior high, Jasil heard the Transformers soundtrack for the first time and decided he wanted to write music that emotionally resonated with people. His first composition was marked by a deeply personal experience as he wrote a piece in honor of his great-grandfather's passing. Initially drawn to the violin, he soon found himself interested in the versatility of musical instruments and began learning the double bass, trombone, piano, acoustic guitar, and electric bass guitar. He began actively playing and writing music for his church and performing at various events. He pursued a bachelor's degree in Composition at Illinois Wesleyan University, which was a transformative period as he discovered his passion for interdisciplinary collaboration, forging partnerships with dancers, poets, and visual artists with the goal of creating spaces where artists could thrive, push boundaries, and grow. His work draws on various genres, including film music, jazz, hip-hop, and indie, seeking to explore the emotions and perspectives we experience as people.