Meet the Composition Studio
Meet the Composition Studio
The UNCSA Composition Program is led by Composition faculty Lawrence Dillon and Jared Miller.
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. In 2025, Beth's Rubber Band was recorded by vibraphonist Ksenija Komljenovic. She is a college junior 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 second-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's Eldersong was premiered in 2026 by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra. He is a college senior studying with Lawrence Dillon.
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.
Saul Garcia
Saul Garcia is a college freshman studying with Jared Miller. Hearing Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 as a freshman in high school inspired him to pursue music and shaped his desire to create compelling musical experiences. He primarily composes for orchestra, wind ensemble and film, focusing on connecting performers and audiences through immersive storytelling. He is especially interested in the ways music can drive interactive narratives. His writing style blends contemporary and neo-Romantic elements with subtle minimalism in an effort to make his music hypnotic. Over the last few years, he has collaborated with bands and led brass ensembles in Alabama, North Carolina and Puerto Rico. In addition to composing he dabbles in other creative disciplines such as video editing, graphic design and photo editing.
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. In 2026 her Bridge of Spiderweb was 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 graduate student studying with Jared Miller.
Adam Isidto
Victoria King
Victoria King is a fourth-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. In 2025, 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. In 2026, her Nonna's Song was premiered by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra. This season she is Assistant Music
Director for two School of Drama musicals and her work will be featured on UNCSA's
Winter Dance.
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 junior studying with Dr. Jared Miller. In 2025, his explicit, episodic was recorded by vibraphonist Ksenija Komljenovic.
Sarah Martin
Ian Matthies
Ian Matthies is a composer and trombonist who received his bachelor’s degree in music with a minor in math from UNC Chapel Hill in 2024. While his music education has been mainly focused on trombone performance, Ian began composing in high school, mainly writing small pieces for himself and arranging music for his fellow classmates. In his undergraduate studies, Ian accepted invitations to participate in the UNC wind ensemble, orchestra, jazz band, low brass ensemble, and sackbut quartet. However, once he began composition courses in college and later received the Thelma Thompson Composition Award, he knew he wanted to pursue composition as a career.
Ian’s music takes inspiration from jazz and the early to mid 20th century classical, utilizing complex harmony and unusual colors and textures. His percussion quartet “Chromatic Aberrations” was performed by the Icarus Quartet in 2023. Other performances include his trombone quartet “In the Rough” and low brass sextet with film accompaniment “Manikin” by the UNC low brass ensemble, as well as a jazz chart performed by the UNC jazz band. Ian is a first-year masters student studying with Lawrence Dillon.
Magnus Myers
Magnus (Max) Myers, originally from Asheville, North Carolina, is an Undergraduate
Senior 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.
In 2025, the Paris-based trio Intercolor recorded hs "Carried Down." In 2026, the
UNCSA Symphony Orchestra premiered his Where the Roots Grow.
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 sophomore 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.
Charlotte Setzer
Maxim Urban
Maxim Urban is an 18-year-old American composer and classical vocalist. He is currently studying composition under Jared Miller at University of North Carolina School of The Arts.
As a composer, his work focuses on contemporary chamber works for voice, piano, and small ensemble. Last season, his opera “My Dear Brother,” was premiered by UNC School of the Arts’ New Works Club. The opera, based on the life and relationship of Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo, was hailed as being “an extraordinary accomplishment,” and having a “soaring score,” by opera conductor James Allbritten and singer Johnathan McCullough. This summer, his second opera, “The Voices We Hear,” will premiere. The piece explores the HIV epidemic and queer narratives.
Apart from composing, Maxim is an award winning vocalist at the national level and has sung in many operas around America, his most recent role being First mate in Benjamin Moore’s Odyssey. When composing he draws inspiration from opera and chanson as it is what he grew up studying. The late romantic and post-minimalistic modernism eras such as Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, to Britten, and Sondheim, are major inspirations to his work as a composer.
