Interplay Faculty and Participant Chamber Music Concert - July 17

Dr. Joel Brennan enjoys a diverse career as a performer and teacher. He has performed with orchestras around the globe, including the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (Australia), Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra (Korea), Rotterdam Philharmonic (Netherlands), Winnipeg Symphony (Canada), Malaysian Philharmonic, and Bilkent Symphony Orchestra (Turkey), and has served as principal trumpet of the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra (Japan) and Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra (Netherlands).

A proponent of contemporary music and chamber music, Joel has commissioned and premiered dozens of new works, with a particular emphasis on working with emerging composers and those from underrepresented demographics. He is a member of Ensemble Three, a unique trio of trumpet, trombone, and guitar which has been praised as “an inspiring example of forward-thinking classical music culture” and won the 2017 Melbourne Recital Centre Contemporary Masters Award. He is also a member of Lyrebird Brass, a collective of players dedicated to performing the finest brass chamber music.

Joel received his bachelor's degree from Oberlin Conservatory of Music before pursuing graduate studies at the Yale School of Music from which he is a recipient of the Doctor of Musical Arts degree. Awarded a Fulbright Grant 2007, Joel spent a year performing, teaching, and studying in the Netherlands.

Deeply devoted to education, Joel is Associate Professor of Music Performance at Melbourne Conservatorium of Music (University of Melbourne, Australia). He has also served on the faculty of Brandon University (Canada) and the Juilliard School's campus in Tianjin (China) where he worked with students in the pre-college program and graduate school in addition to performing with the Tianjin Juilliard Ensemble. He has been a guest teaching artist at the Australasian Trumpet Academy, Danish/German Brass Academy, and Oberlin Trumpet Workshop. He is the creator of "Poper's Game," a unique practice app for trumpet players.

Joel is a Yamaha Performing Artist.

XiuZhang Cao learned piano at the age of 6 and began learning trombone from his father at the age of 12. In 2019, he got into the third year of junior high school affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music studied under Professor Guo Pengyuan. In the same year, he was admitted to the pre-college at Tianjin Juilliard School under the guidance of Professor Lee Allen. In 2021, he received the highest scholarship to enter the Interlochen Art Center in the United States studied under Professor Thomas Riccobono. In 2023, he received a full scholarship to enter the Curtis Institute of Music in the United States studied under Professor Nitzan Haroz and Professor Matthew Vaughn.

XiuZhang Cao won first place in the trombone category at the 5th Yantai Youth Instrumental Music Competition in 2015. In 2019, participated in the 7th China International Brass Music Festival and won first place in the Trombone Youth Group. In January 2021, won the first place in the Youth trombone performer category at the first New Zealand International Brass Competition. In August 2021, participated in the 8th International Brass Music Festival in China and won second place in the professional category. In October 2021, he won the championship of the 64th Interlochen Concerto Competition in the United States and collaborated with the Interlochen Orchestra to perform David trombone concerto. Received the Interlochen Young Artist Award in May 2023.

XiuZhang Cao has served as the trombone principal of the World Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Interlochen Orchestra, and participated in collaborative performances with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at the Lincoln Art Center in New York. During this period, he collaborated with well-known orchestras such as the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Symphony In C Orchestra in the United States. Currently serving as the principal trombone of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra.

XiuZhang Cao was generously supported by Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Ryan Chao’s musical career revolves around the concept of “play” an evolution of what music and sound-creation can involve, imagination and its realization, and conscious response to audiences and community. These ethics are the product of over a decade-long artistic journey—from orchestral and chamber experience to sound design and production.

As a percussionist, Ryan has premiered numerous chamber and solo works. He’s likewise appeared on multiple studio recordings, including the orchestral arrangement of Wooli and Codeko’s “Crazy” (2022) and “The Hollywood Collection” (2025) by the inaugural Studio Intensive Orchestra. Ryan is currently based in Boston, Massachusetts where he performs regularly with the New England Philharmonic and Reynaliz Herrera's theatrical percussion company, "Ideas Not Theories." He also maintains an active role in the contemporary scene through ongoing collaborations with composers and occasional chamber concerts.

Outside of performance, he also explores creative outputs through composition, graphic design, and baking! Ryan holds an M.M. in Contemporary Classical Music Performance from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and a B.M. in Performance from Indiana University Bloomington.

Ryan Chao was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

DJ Combs is a trombonist who has performed around the world, from San Diego to New York City, Jazz à Vienne in France, The Montreax Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy.

DJ has been involved in music since he was young. Starting at age 7, his first instrument was piano. As he grew, he also studied violin, string bass, trombone, euphonium and tuba. For nearly a decade, DJ has played trombone in jazz bands, orchestras, brass quintets, marching bands, and more.

Currently pursuing a master’s degree in music, DJ plays in various ensembles at the Lynn Conservatory of Music. Additionally, he has performed under the baton of Sir Donald Runnicles during the Montana Youth Symphony’s visit to the Grand Teton Music Festival. DJ holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Utah State.

When not in the practice room or at the concert hall, DJ is an avid hiker, rock climber, loves making delicious food from around the world at home, and is learning how to knit. DJ feels most alive when he is high up on the side of a mountain and loves to take pictures of his travels and the beauty of nature.

DJ Combs was generously supported by the Banff Cetnre Artists' Awards.

The multi-award-winning Spanish clarinetist Jose Franch-Ballester (FrAHnk Bai-yess-TAIR) is considered one of the finest classical soloists and chamber music artists of his generation. He has been hailed for his “technical wizardry and tireless enthusiasm” (The New York Times), his “rich, resonant tone” (Birmingham News), and his “subtle and consummate artistry” (Santa Barbara Independent). The recipient of a prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2008, and winner of both the Young Concert Artists and Astral Artists auditions, he is a solo artist and chamber musician in great demand.

As a concerto soloist Mr. Franch-Ballester made his New York debut in 2006 with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Lincoln Center. He has also performed with the BBC Concert Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, Wisconsin Philharmonic, Louisiana Philharmonic, Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, and various orchestras in his native Spain.

Mr. Franch-Ballester made his New York recital debut at the 92nd Street Y, and has appeared in recital at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Iowa State University, the Buffalo Chamber Music Society, and the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. He performs regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center both in New York City and on tour, and also acts as principal clarinet of the Santa Barbara-based chamber music collective Camerata Pacifica.

U.S. festival appearances include the Saratoga Chamber Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Mainly Mozart, Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Music from Angel Fire, Chamber Music Northwest, and Skaneateles Festival. Abroad, Mr. Franch-Ballester has appeared at the Usedomer Musikfestival in Germany, the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, the Cartagena Festival Internacional de Música in Colombia, the Kon-Tiki Festival in Norway, and the Young Concert Artists Festival in Tokyo.

Gahlord Dewald is a creative musician devoted to experimentation in acoustic, electric, and synthetic bass frequencies. He works seamlessly through the spectrum of composed and improvised musical expression, often blending acoustic and synthetic sound worlds to create complex textures and soundfabric.

For The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, he assembled a quad sound, synthetic sound texture to stir the inner workings of the mind, the heart, and the body. Each fragment was performed once and only once, an ephemeral experience of music, time, and space. 

Gahlord lives in Vermont along the banks of the Winooski River. He drinks an awful lot of coffee.

In February 2022 she released her debut album under Warner Classics: "Mozart and Strauss Oboe concertos" with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra & Daniel Barenboim. Highly acclaimed by the critics, it was rated with 5-stars by the BBC Music Magazine: “Mozart and Strauss works that mesmerise the ears".

Cristina Gómez Godoy takes on the 2023-24 season with numerous exciting performances, including concerts as a soloist with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra. In addition, she will complete her three years-residency as a "Junge Wilde" artist at the Konzerthaus Dortmund in December 2023.

She develops an intense activity as soloist and chamber musician. Gómez made in 2019 her recital debuts at Carnegie Hall and Pierre Boulez Saal with the pianist Michail Lifits. Shortly after, she was selected by the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) as "Rising Star" for the season 2020-21.

Recent highlights include appearances as a soloist with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Festival Strings Lucerne, Saarländisches Staatsorchester, Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona and Orquesta Sinfónica de la Región de Murcia. Past solo concerts have also been held with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra and Stettin Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

Cristina frequently collaborates with such artists as Daniel Barenboim, Guy Braunstein, Pablo Ferrández, Mario Häring, Radek Baborak, Sophie Dervaux, Sara Ferrández, Calidore String Quartet, Streichquartett der Staatskapelle Berlin and Castalian String Quartet, at renowned festivals and halls such a Ravinia Festival(USA), Lucerne Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Liceo de Cámara XXI, East Neuk Festival, Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, Elbphilharmonie, Paris Philharmonie, Mozarteum, Konserthuset Stockholm, Berlin Philharmonie, Sage Gateshead, Köln Philharmonie, Barbican Centre, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Müpa Budapest, Bozar Brussels, Casa da Música in Porto, L’Auditori and Palau de la Música in Barcelona, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid and Vienna Musikverein.

Born in Linares (Spain) in 1990. Her musical education took place at the conservatories of Linares, Jaén and Seville while she simultaneously joined the Academia de Estudios Orquestales of the Barenboim-Said Foundation at the early age of 14. She finished her studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock.

She was a Prizewinner at the 60th ARD International Music Competition including the BR-Klassik Prize and at the Internationaler Instrumentalwettbewerb Markneukirchen.

In 2013, Gómez was appointed principal solo oboist of the Staatskapelle Berlin under the baton of Daniel Barenboim. Furthermore, she is since October 2015 and adjunct professor at the Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK).

Aiyun Huang enjoys a musical life as soloist, chamber musician, researcher, teacher and producer. Globally recognized since winning the 2002 First Prize and Audience Prize of the Geneva International Music Competition. She is a champion of existing repertoire and a prominent voice in the collaborative creation of new works. Huang has commissioned and premiered over two hundred works in her two decades as a soloist and chamber musician. The Globe and Mail critic Robert Everett-Green describes Huang’s playing as “engrossing to hear and to watch” and her choice of repertoire as capable of “renovating our habits of listening.” Her past highlights include performances at the Victoria Hall in Geneva, Weill Recital Hall in New York, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra’s Green Umbrella Series, LACMA Concert Series, Holland Festival, Agora Festival in Paris, Banff Arts Festival, 7éme Biennale d’Art Contemporaine de Lyon, Vancouver New Music Festival, CBC Radio, La Jolla Summerfest, Scotia Festival, Cool Drummings, Montreal New Music Festival, Centro Nacional Di Las Artes in Mexico City, Cervantino Festival, and National Concert Hall and Theater in Taipei. Her recent highlights include performances with St. Lawrence String Quartet, L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Taipei Symphony Orchestra and San Diego Symphony Orchestra. Her recent premieres include works by Philippe Leroux, David Bithell, Nicole Lizée, George Lewis, and Eliot Britton.

My name is Kaitlyn Jones and I am from Spring Texas, located north of Houston. I started playing the French Horn in 2015, and as I finished high school in 2022, I recognized that I wanted to make a career out of playing the horn, so I decided to apply to college with that in mind. For the next school year, I will be a Senior Music Performance Major at Baylor University studying under Dr. Kristy Morrell. I have participated in masterclasses with Canadian Brass, WindSync (specifically Anni Hochhalter), and Pablo Ortiz. I have played in various orchestras over my playing career, including several from summer festivals such as Sewanee Summer Music Festival and Monteux Music School, and various Baylor University ensembles. Additionally, I enjoy various outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, and tennis and/or pickleball. When I’m not curating my next best YouTube video, I love being around animals and friends as much as possible!

Kaitlyn Jones was generously supported by the Rebecca Levant Performing Artists' Scholarship.

Madison Keats is a dynamic percussionist from Ontario, Canada, known for her engaging performances and commitment to inspiring others through music. With a passion for inclusivity and empowerment, Madison strives to make everyone feel the sense of belonging she discovered through music, particularly encouraging young girls to pursue percussion and showcasing that no goal is out of reach.

As an accomplished orchestral percussionist, Madison regularly collaborates with many different ensembles. She has also represented Canada at the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (WASBE) Conferences in Prague and Gwangju, South Korea. Her versatility extends to musical theatre and operatic pit orchestras, including productions like Little Women, Into the Woods, and Les Miserables, among others.

In addition to her orchestral and theatrical work, Madison co-founded Mirrored Percussion, a percussion duo with a focus on accessibility, inclusion, and collaboration. Her dedication to chamber music has led to engagements with organizations like the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Orchestra and NUMUS concerts.

Madison is also deeply committed to music education and community outreach, having worked with Bandology, the Kitchener-Waterloo Youth Concert Band, and the Awesome Music Project, where she uses music to support youth mental health and development.

Madison Keats was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Tyrell Loster Peitzsche has been playing the horn since he first learned what instrument plays the Force Theme in Star Wars: A New Hope in an instrument petting zoo at 11 years old. He recently graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Diploma in Music Performance Studies studying with Dr. Valerie Whitney and has a Bachelor of Music from the University of Victoria with a Major in Musical Arts and Germanic Studies studying with the late Kurt Kellan. He has participated in chamber music festivals, most recently the Friends of Chamber Music competition in Vancouver. No matter the setting, Tyrell will always be happy to make music. He has been working in the public service for over five years. When he is not practicing and performing, he can be found outdoors cycling, hiking, and playing soccer or volleyball. He keeps himself busy with all aspects of life; body and mind.

Tyrell Loster Peitzsche was generously supported by the Alice and Betty Schultz Scholarships Endowment Fund for Dance and Music.

Alexander Meagher is a versatile and dynamic Australian percussionist from Melbourne/Naarm who enjoys surprising audiences with unique repertoire to create exciting and evocative performances. While classically trained from both the University of Melbourne and the Australian National Academy of Music, he enjoys the multifaceted nature of percussion and is adaptable to all sorts of situations, as a soloist or ensemble member, from early music and exciting rhythms to sweet melodies, harmonies and experimental performance theatre.

Alexander is passionate about music that is energetic or transportive, and has performed in (amongst other things) Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Asia TOPA, Speak Percussion, Astra Chamber Music Society, APRA Music for Screen Awards, CLOC Musical Theatre, Victorian Opera, Adelaide Festival, and as a session musician for dance projects and film. Recent performance highlights include performing in the Asia TOPA commission “Opera for the Dead”, presenting his original work “A Brilliant Seagull” as part of Speak Percussion’s Bespoke Artist Program, playing bodhrán in “Come From Away”, and being the Foley Artist Fish in “The SpongeBob Musical”. Alexander also trains in the Brazilian martial art of capoeira and hopes to one day be a musician in Cirque du Soleil.

Alexander Meagher was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Selen Nsabiyeze is a 19-year-old violinist pursuing a Bachelor of Violin Performance at the University of Toronto, studying under Jonathan Crow, Concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Originally from Calgary, she trained for 12 years with Heidi Behrenbruch while actively participating in prestigious programs at the Mount Royal Conservatory of Music, including the Advanced Performance Program and the Calgary Youth Orchestra, where she served as Concertmaster.

A 2023 graduate of Bishop Carroll High School, Selen was not only the Concertmaster of the Bishop Carroll Virtuosi Strings but also explored choral music through ensembles like the Bishop Carroll Chamber Choir and Vocal Jazz ensemble. Passionate about chamber music, she has performed in numerous small ensembles—piano trios, string quartets, and piano quintets—at conservatories and summer festivals, including the renowned Meadowmount School of Music.

Beyond performance, Selen finds joy in teaching. She has worked with El Sistema Calgary, a nonprofit dedicated to providing music education to underserved communities. She currently teaches privately at the Willowdale School of Music in Toronto. Looking ahead, she aspires to establish a free violin program in her father’s home country of Burundi, bringing classical music to a region where it is scarce.

In her spare time, Selen enjoys painting, singing, and writing music.

Selen Nsabiyeze was generously supported by the Edith Marion Ramsay Memorial Endowment.

Born in Lithuania. For her international musical activities, she received official compliments from President Grybauskaite and President Nauseda for the success and achievement of her international debut. She won the Grand Prix of the 7th Aoniyoshi Music Competition in Nara, the 3rd Prize of the 7th S. Vainiunas International Chamber Music Competition, and the Special Prize for the Best Interpretation of a composition by S. Vainiunas, among others.

Žydrė has performed as a soloist with the Vilnius State St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra, many Lithuanian orchestras, and the Toyohashi Symphony Orchestra in Japan. She was concertmistress of the Davos Camerata of the Davos Music Festival and the St. Christopher's Chamber Orchestra.

In recent years, Žydrė has been interested in collaboration with other arts (dance, visual art) and contemporary music. Living in Japan, she has been broadening her knowledge of Japanese composers and exploring the fusion of classical and contemporary music with traditional Japanese arts, traditional Japanese instruments, and Lithuanian culture and music.

Žydrė Ovsiukaite was generously supported by the OK Gift Shop Endowment.
 

Savannah Seibel began her studies on the violin in 2010. Upon moving to Edmonton, Alberta in 2013, she continued lessons for violin and added the viola to her studies two years later. In 2019, Savannah was accepted into the Honours program at the Mount Royal University Conservatory for Young Artists in Calgary, where she studied viola with Nicholas Pulos until the fall of 2022. She then began her studies as a Bachelor of Music student at the University of Alberta with Keith Hamm. Currently, Savannah is finishing her bachelor’s degree at the Glenn Gould School with Steven Dann. She was awarded scholarships from the Winspear Fund Scholarship for Advanced Classical Music and the Anne Burrows Music Foundation to put towards her studies.

Savannah was accepted as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada in 2022 and 2023. Here, she worked with artists Neal Gripp, Mark Fewer, the Formosa Quartet, and other skilled professionals. She won the blind audition for the viola solo in Ravel’s “Ma mère l'Oye” and sat as principal and assistant principal violist for multiple pieces. Savannah has also participated in the Rosamunde Summer Music Academy, and was a finalist in the Northern Alberta Concerto Competition in 2022. Her goal is to pursue orchestral and chamber music professionally.

Savannah Seibel was generously supported by the Alice and Betty Schultz Scholarships Endowment Fund for Dance and Music.

Fiona Shonik is a recent graduate of Northwestern University, where she earned a double major in Classical Trumpet Performance and Entrepreneurship & Organizational Strategy, graduating summa cum laude with Northwestern’s Undergraduate Leadership Certificate. Her primary teachers include David Bilger, Thomas Rolfs and Michael Sachs.

An avid chamber musician, one of Fiona’s highlights at Northwestern was performing with her brass quintet, On the Spot Brass. She has spent summers as a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, Chautauqua Institution, the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute and the National Brass Ensemble Academy.

Fiona is the recipient of the 2021 International Trumpet Guild Award, the 2020 Marguerite Suozzi Music Scholarship, and the 2020 New York State Council of Administrators of Music Education Award. In 2024, she was awarded an Undergraduate Research Grant at Northwestern for her independent study on the relationship between environment and musicians' well-being, conducting fieldwork in Hawaii to explore how natural surroundings influence artistic identity, mental health and creative performance. Passionate about new music and interdisciplinary collaboration, she has commissioned several works and enjoys exploring innovative programming in performance contexts. She is also deeply interested in the intersections of philosophy, psychology and religion, particularly in how they shape human perception and experience.

Outside of music, Fiona is a headshot and portrait photographer who loves solo travel and spending time outdoors. She enjoys hiking, writing and high-adrenaline activities like playing ice hockey and bungee jumping. Fiona is originally from Long Island, New York.

Fiona Shonik was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Hailing from Taiwan, Tsai is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts in Cello Performance at Rutgers University under the mentorship of Professor Jonathan Spitz. He holds degrees from McGill University and SUNY Stony Brook, where he studied with Matt Haimovitz and Colin Carr.

An avid chamber and orchestral musician, Tsai has performed at prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, KKL Luzern, Lincoln Center, Maison Symphonique, and Seiji Ozawa Hall. He has worked under the baton of esteemed conductors such as Marin Alsop, Sir George Benjamin, Susanna Mälkki, and Andris Nelsons, and has collaborated with renowned artists including Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Yo-Yo Ma, Lucy Shelton, and Carol Wincenc, as well as composers Unsuk Chin and Thomas Adès. His chamber music training has been enriched by mentorship from members of the Emerson, Juilliard, Orion, and Formosa Quartets, along with guidance from David Finckel, Gilbert Kalish, Matthew Lipman, Min Kwon, Carmit Zori, and Daniel Panner.

Tsai’s festival appearances include the Lucerne Festival, Tanglewood Music Center Fellowship Program, National Orchestral Institute, National Arts Centre Orchestra Mentorship Program, New York String Seminar, and Sarasota Music Festival. 

Tsung-Yu Tsai was generously supported by the Margaret (Peggy) Sampson Memorial Endowment.

Patrick is an Australian clarinettist and bass clarinettist based in Melbourne with a passion for contemporary orchestral and chamber music. He performs regularly as a freelance musician, touring with various orchestras and ensembles across Australia and internationally. A recent graduate of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, he studied with Paul Champion and Associate Professor David Griffiths. As an emerging artist, Patrick’s musical endeavours have taken him overseas. In 2023 he attended the International Akaroa Music Festival in New Zealand, where he performed in a series of chamber music concerts. In 2024 he traveled to Santiago, Chile to perform at the Portillo International Music Festival where he performed in a wind quintet and the festival academy orchestra. Patrick also has a strong interest in supporting and performing contemporary works by Australian composers. He has had the privilege to be able to collaborate with several such composers, performing and premiering works by Katy Abbott, Melody Eötvös, Elliott Gyger, Tom Henry, Stuart Greenbaum, and Nicholas Buc.

Patrick Vaughan was generously supported by the Frederick Louis Crosby Memorial Endowment.

Cassandra Wolff is a freelance percussionist and musician from St. Catharines, Ontario. She holds a Master’s degree in Performance from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor’s degree in Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University. She also holds a Diploma in Chamber Music from Laurier. She studied under the tutelage of Aiyun Huang, Beverley Johnston, Charles Settle, Ryan Scott, Brennan Connolly, and Dave Campion during these post secondary educations.

Cassandra thrives as a musical artist, enjoying many different styles of music from classical to modern, and continues to expand her horizons and abilities to as many genres as she can. As an orchestral percussionist, Cassandra has played with many orchestras across the Kitchener-Waterloo and the Greater Toronto areas, and toured Canada in both 2023 and 2024 as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. As a contemporary artist, Cassandra has performed with the NME ensemble at the Glenn Gould School, and in 2022, she won the NUMUS Emerging Improvisers Competition; she improvised alongside Ben Grossman and Kathryn Patricia Cobbler in their Double Bill show.

When she’s out of the practice rooms or not performing, Cassandra can be found reading a good book and drinking a good hot chocolate. 

Cassandra Wolff was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Shahrokh Yadegari, composer and computer musician, has collaborated with such artists as Peter Sellars, Robert Woodruff, Ann Hamilton, Christine Brewer, Gabor Tompa, Maya Beiser, Steven Schick, Keyavash Nourai, Siamak Shajarian, and Hossein Omoumi. He has performed and his productions, compositions, and designs have been presented internationally in such venues as the Carnegie Hall, Royce Hall, Festival of Arts and Ideas, OFF-DAvignon Festival, International Theatre Festival in Cluj/Romania, Ravinia Festival, Ruhr-Triennale, Vienna Festival, Holland Festival, Tirgan Festival, Forum Barcelona, Japan America Theatre, The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, and the Institut für Neue Musik und Musikerziehung (Darmstadt).

Yadegari holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University, a Master's in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT's Media Lab, and a Ph.D. in music from University of California, San Diego. He has worked at Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM), and he is one of the founders and the artistic director of Kereshmeh Records and Persian Arts Society, organizations dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of Persian traditional and new music. Yadegari is currently on the faculty of the department of Music at University of California, San Diego, and an associate director at the Qualcomm Institute where he directs the Sonic Arts Research and Development group.