Quinn Albinus

Quinn Albinus is a senior 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.  Last season, Quinn's "Baum Bridge" was premiered by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra.

Bethany 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.  Last season, Beth's Rubber Band was recorded by vibraphonist Ksenija Komljenovic.  She is a college sophomore in Jared Miller’s studio.

Perrin Antonopoulos

Perrin Antonopoulos was introduced to the idea of making his own music through a music production class in his freshman year of high school and quickly found his passion in instrumental music. He never really considered composing as a career path until he attended a film scoring camp in his junior year, and fell in love with the process. Ever since then, Perrin has wanted to put music to visual media, as well as experiment with less conventional instruments in an orchestra in the future. He is inspired by modern film composers such as John Williams, Bear McCreary and Ludwig Göransson, and is also drawn to the romantic styles of Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, and Elgar. He is currently a first-year undergraduate student studying under Dr. Lawrence Dillon.  

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.  Last season, the Paris-based trio Intercolor recorded his "The Bells."  Barrett is currently working on a piece for a recording session with the Balourdet String Quartet and a composition to be premiered by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra.  He is a college junior 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. In his sophomore year, he composed music for the DeCoda Ensemble, the UNCSA Trombone Ensemble, and the UNCSA School of Drama production of "Twelfth Night."  Last season, his "Second Home" was premiered by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra.  Jacob’s hobbies are films, musical theatre, tennis and escape rooms. Jacob is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying with Jared Miller.

Matt Dewees

Matt Dewees started composing in his sophomore year of high school, taking his inspiration from his experience in marching band, choir, and wind ensemble. In his senior year of high school he decided to go to school for composition and applied to UNCSA. That same year, he had his first piece premiered by his high school concert band, and won the John Phillip Sousa music honors award. He is a college freshman in Lawrence Dillon’s studio; his Train of Thought will be premiered by the UNCSA Bass Quartet in the spring.

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. Last season his Trio for Bassoon, Horn and Piano won a competition sponsored by UNCSA Performance faculty, leading to a premiere. He also wrote a piece that was premiered by the UNCSA clarinet ensemble.  Joshua 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. Last season she had a new work recorded by pianist Dmitri Shteinberg.  This year she is composing a new work to be premiered by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra.

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 second-year graduate student studying with Jared Miller.

Victoria King

Victoria King is a third-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.  In her freshman year, her "Toll Entire" was recorded by pianist Dmitri Shteinberg.  Last year, the Paris-based ensemble Intercolor recorded her trio "One Day in December."  Victoria also composed music for harp for a collaboration with the UNCSA School of Dance.  This year she is working on a piece to be premiered by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra. 

Ashton Latimer

Ashton Latimer is a second-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, composer 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 sophomore studying with Dr. Jared Miller.  Last season, his explicit, episodic was recorded by vibraphonist Ksenija Komljenovic.

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 sophomore studying with Jared Miller.  Last season, Edan's Metallurgic Concatenations was recorded by vibraphonist Ksenija Komljenovic.

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.

Last season, David's Whiggish won a UNCSA faculty sponosored competition, leading to a premiere in February.  This year he is working on a piece to be premiered by the UNCSA Symphony 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!

Sarah Martin

Alene Sathish

Alene Sathish discovered her love for music at age three, inspired by her father’s passion for music and his dream of becoming a film composer. Her first solo performance came at age four, and since then, music has remained central to her life. She began learning piano and guitar to build a strong foundation and later started training in Carnatic vocals to broaden her versatility. Over the years, she has been grateful for opportunities to perform with choirs such as Cary Apex Youth Choir and Capital City Girls Choir, where she earned awards and solos as the youngest member in advanced ensembles, and to play guitar with the Triangle Youth Jazz Band. She has also arranged and performed piano accompaniments for a full wedding repertoire in Syriac tones. 

Currently, Alene is a high school freshman in the UNCSA Composition Program, studying under Dr. Jared Miller. Her compositional voice began to take shape through works like Chain of Doubts, Canto Minore, and A Day, and grew further during the UNCSA Composition/Music Technology Intensive, where she wrote The Unpredictable and scored the short film Goodbye, Brother. Influenced by artists and composers such as Hans Zimmer, A.R. Rahman, and many others, Alene hopes to create music that blends global styles—pop, hip-hop, R&B, EDM, ballad, jazz, orchestral, and Indian classical—while fostering cultural appreciation. Her ultimate goal is to continue learning and growing as a versatile composer and performer, with aspirations to score for films and live productions. 

Magnus Myers

Magnus (Max) Myers, originally from Asheville, North Carolina, is an Undergraduate Junior 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.  In his freshman year, he had his music recorded by pianist Dmitri Shteinberg and included in a collaboration with the UNCSA School of Dance Choreographers so-lo performances.  Last season, the Paris-based trio recorded hs "Carried Down."  This year, he is working on a new piece to be premiered by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra.

Jesse Sawaya

Jesse Sawaya is a 15-year-old composer and pianist in the studio of Jared Miller. Originally from Missoula, Montana, he composed his first pieces at the age of 7 and his first concertino at 9. Jesse took music courses at the University of Montana and the Interlochen Arts Camp, winning first prize in both the Northwest Music Festival and MTNA North Carolina composition competitions under the instruction of Drs. Amanda Harberg and Lauren Bernofsky. 

Jesse had excerpts from his 2023 opera, The Nightingale, performed by students from the Interlochen World Youth Symphony Orchestra in 2024, and a chorale piece, Lines Written in Early Spring, was premiered and recorded by the World Youth Honors Choir in 2025. His Cello Concerto was premiered in 2024 by Israel Kim, and his 4th opera, Of Mice and Men, looks to be staged in a small student production conducted by the composer. 

His music takes inspiration from late romantic to modern masters like Ravel, Mahler, Korngold, Lili Bouglanger, John Corgliano, and Arvo Pärt, as well as rock bands like Pink Floyd and Emerson, Lake & Palmer; Jesse is also influenced by folk music and holds a deep love of J.S. Bach, whom he plays a lot of as a pianist.