sedabalci2030@u.northwestern.edu

Seda Balcı is a Turkish-born composer and pianist whose music is shaped by her three great passions: the universe, nature, and sound. These themes inspire her works both conceptually and as sonic material. Her style reflects the rich traditions of European classical music while incorporating her cultural heritage, blending traditional folk elements into a contemporary framework.

After completing dual bachelor’s degrees in composition and piano, she earned her doctorate in piano in 2022. In 2023, she began her master’s studies in composition at the University of Missouri, where she studied with Prof. Stefan Freund and Dr. Utku Asuroğlu, and performed as pianist with the Mizzou New Music Ensemble.

In the same year, she was commissioned by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra to write an orchestral work, premiered in 2024, and she won the 2024 Sinquefield Composition Prize. She has also been selected as a resident composer for the 2025 Mizzou International Composers Festival, where her work will be performed by Alarm Will Sound.

Since 2025, Seda has been pursuing her PhD in Composition & Music Technology at Northwestern University, continuing her studies under the guidance of Prof. Alex Mincek.

PedramDiba2028@u.northwestern.edu

Pedram Diba (b.1993) is an Iranian-American composer of acoustic, acousmatic, and mixed music residing in Chicago, IL. Diba's music has been showcased in festivals and conferences such as, SEAMUS, IRCAM Forum, CIRMMT-ACTOR Symposium, Festival Temporel, NOVA Contemporary Music Meeting, and New Music Gathering among others.

Since 2019, Diba has been a member of the Analysis, Creation, and Teaching of Orchestration (ACTOR) Project. Through ACTOR, Diba has participated in and initiated various research-creation projects such as the CORE Ensemble Project, Musicians Auditory Perception (MAP) and Space As Timbre (SAT). 

Diba completed his B.M. in composition at the University of Oregon where he received the prize of Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar in Composition. Later, he received the Max Stern Fellowship in Music to attend McGill University, where he completed his M.M. in composition under the supervision of Philippe Leroux. Currently, Diba is pursuing his Ph.D. in composition and music technology at Northwestern University with Alex Mincek and Jay Alan Yim. He is also one of the selected composers to participate in the Cursus de composition et d’informatique musicale at IRCAM in Paris for 2023-2024, where he will be a resident composer of the Cité internationale des arts. 

Diba's music is published by BabelScores in both digital and printed formats.

https://www.babelscores.com/PedramDiba
https://www.ircam.fr/person/pedram-diba
www.soundcloud.com/pedram-diba-865722734

MeganDiGeorgio2028@u.northwestern.edu

Megan DiGeorgio is a composer, violist, vocalist, educator, and arts administrator based in Chicago. As an artist, Megan believes in collaboration and community over competition, and strives for full integration of her various artistic pursuits into one comprehensive creative practice.

Megan is pursuing a PhD in composition and music technology at Northwestern University. She has been commissioned by Duo Entre-Nous, Natalie Groom, Bryan Young, Concertia, University of Maine Farmington, Joanna McCoskey Wiltshire, and Fear No Music, among others. Her music has been performed across the United States by ensembles and performers such as the International Contemporary Ensemble, Duo Entre-Nous, Syracuse University Singers, Bryan Young, Trio Lunaire, Hypercube, Artifice, TURNmusic, Fear No Music, Jackie Glazier, Invoke, the Susquehanna Symphony Orchestra, the Pennsbury Community Band, Kylwyria, loadbang, and the Euphonic Syndicate, and at events such as Boulanger Initiative’s WoCo Fest, SCI’s Region II Conference, International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest, TURN UP Multimedia Festival, Fear No Music’s HEARINGS, District New Music Coalition’s New Music DC Conference, and Megan’s own composer-performer show, Equilibrium.

She has been selected for opportunities such as the Out of Our Shells project, facilitated by American University’s Humanities Truck, and Concertia’s Emerging Composer Fellowship for 2021-2022. Megan is the former Director of Education Advancement for Boulanger Initiative, a Washington, DC-based organization that advocates for women and gender marginalized composers. She was also part of the leadership team of District New Music Coalition, an organization that works to facilitate the new music community in the Washington, DC area. And, she was a founding member of Artifice, a contemporary music choir in the Washington, DC area.

She holds degrees in music composition and viola performance from Vermont College of Fine Arts, University of Delaware, and The Catholic University of America.

Visit Website

johnhamill2021@u.northwestern.edu

Jack Hamill (b. 1999) is a multimedia artist primarily focused on sound. His creative practice ranges across a variety of art forms, spanning electro-acoustic music, noise, experimental film, digital visual art, and more. He has worked with a broad variety of aesthetic media, such as computer-generated scores, Disklaviers, DIY electronics, an ultrasound fetal doppler, video projections, and acoustic ensembles. His recent work tends to focus on disparate modes of expressive intensity: seriousness and irreverence, deliberation and intuition, jibberish nonsense and vigorous manifestos. He pursued his undergraduate studies at Oberlin College, where he received a BM in Technology in Music and Related Arts and a BA in philosophy.

https://soundcloud.com/jack_hamill

WookhyunKwon2029@u.northwestern.edu

Wookhyun, a Korean composer currently residing in Chicago, works between what is seen and what is fixed, between sensation and perception, and between sound and form. By delving into the potential of sonic parameters as perceptual variables and making decisions, she takes on the role as a mechanic.

She is pursuing a PhD in Composition and Music Technology at Northwestern University under the guidance of Alex Mincek and Jay Alan Yim. She previously studied with Hans Thomalla. She holds an M.M. degree in composition from Manhattan School of Music and B.M. degree in composition from Kookmin University in Seoul.

jacklangdon2028@u.northwestern.edu

Jack Langdon (b. 1994, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians) is a musician, filmmaker, and writer with concentrations in experimental music, minimalist documentary, and cultural politics. Across mediums, Jack’s work stages elusive, complex encounters with commonplace subjects, scenes, and sounds. As a musician, he has created extensive work for pipe organs, and regularly performs on a variety of keyboard instruments as well as the Ojibwe bibigwan. His films focus on landscape and memory. He writes on the political economy of cultural production and the workplace politics of American independent music making.

Jack has composed works for Yarn/Wire, Schallfeld Ensemble, Ensemble Dal Niente, Talea Ensemble, Prague Quiet Music Collective, Southland Ensemble, Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Trio SÆITENWIND and has developed works in close collaboration with Yoshi Weinberg, Jack Yarbrough, Miroslav Beinhauer, Sara Constant, Jon Hannau, and Graeme Shields. His works have been supported by the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Darmstädter Ferienkurse, the Fromm Foundation, MISE-EN_PLACE, and the Prague City Gallery.

His recordings have been released by IMPREC, Sawyer Editions, and Lobby Art Records. His written work has been published by Sound American, Cacophony, and Shred Magazine. Jack is a founding editor for Culture as Care Journal with Eli Namay and John Pippen. He runs an independent record label and music journal called Empty Stage.

Jack holds a Master of Arts in Digital Musics from Dartmouth College and a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Saint Olaf College.

www.jacklangdon.info

ZouningLiao2029@u.northwestern.edu

Born in Guangdong, China, Zouning is a composer, electronic music improviser, and sound artist whose work draws inspiration from nature and noise. She is passionate about DIY electronics and enjoys field recording in the woods.

Her music has been showcased across North America, Europe, and Asia. In 2024, her work has been featured in festivals such as The Espacios Sonoros in Argentina, NoiseFloor in Portugal, Klexoslab Workshop in Spain, MISE-EN Festival, Splice Festival & Institute, Cube Fest, IRCAM Forum Workshop, SEAMUS/Sweetwater at Charlottesville, Performing Media Festival as well as Electronic Music Midwest. In previous years, she was honored to be featured in festivals such as Musicacoustica Hangzhou Electronic Music Festival, CampGround, Turn Up, and New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival. Zouning was named a finalist in the ASCAP/ SEAMUS Student Composer Commission Competition in 2021.

Zouning is a PhD student at Northwestern University. She completed her master’s degree with double majors in electronic music composition and music theory at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She also served as an Associate Instructor of Music Theory and taught written and aural theory at undergraduate level.

SungtaePaek2032@u.northwestern.edu

Sungtae Paek is a composer based in Seoul and Chicago. His music explores the intricate relationship between sensation and emotion, drawing inspiration from natural and scientific imagery, the movement and symbolism of objects, and the inherent materiality of sound.

Since 2018, his music has been featured at festivals, concert series, and academies, including the Lucerne Festival, CEME New Music Festival, The 100th Naxos Hallenkonzert, The 59th Music Panel, Daegu International Music Festival, IMPULS Academy, and TIMF Academy. His works have been performed internationally by ensembles such as Ensemble intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Meitar, Ensemble Fontana MIX, Ensemble Ascolta, Ensemble Synchronos, Ensemble Appassionato, the Lucerne Contemporary Symphony Orchestra, and the MDR Symphony Orchestra.

He earned a B.M. in composition from Seoul National University and M.M. and Meisterklasse degrees in composition with a minor in conducting from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig.

sungtaepaek.com

joohyunparc@u.northwestern.edu

Joohyun Parc is a composer whose work explores how musical information recalibrates the listener’s cognitive and sensory awareness. Her artistic practice is devoted to creating an acoustic space and situation that foster the audience’s active observation of their own perception, solely through the independent form of sound and performance, unmediated by any imposed idea, emotions, or philosophical message.

Her compositions have been featured internationally at events such as Festival Archipel (Geneva, CH), Ostrava Days (Ostrava, CZ), ilSUONO Contemporary Music Week (Sansepolcro, IT), Yarn/Wire Institute Festival (The DiMenna Center, NY), sound:moves:us (The Clark Art Institute, MA), and the International Young Composers and Conductors Academy (Ticino, CH) along with the collaborations with ensembles and performers like Will Lang, Yarn/Wire, Unheard-of//Ensemble, and JACK Quartet.

Parc is currently a PhD student in Composition and Music Technology at Northwestern University. She holds a Master’s of Music from the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University where she studied with Michael Hersch and Eric Wubbels, and Bachelor of Music in Composition from Manhattan School of Music where she studied with Reiko Füting and Lewis Nielson.

CatherinePhang2021@u.northwestern.edu

Catherine Phang is a composer and educator currently based in Evanston, IL. She has collaborated with artists and ensembles including Vasko Dukovski, Unheard-of// Ensemble, Either/or Ensemble, New Asia Chamber Music Society, Mise-en Ensemble and Tactus Ensemble. Her orchestra pieces were conducted by David Hoose and Kalena Bovell. 

Catherine received her MM from Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with Richard Danielpour and Reiko Fueting, and her BM from University of Hartford - the Hartt School, where she studied composition with Larry Alan Smith and Ken Steen, and piano with David Westfall, Paul Rutman and Susan Cheng. Catherine was selected for a Kountz Fellowship 2013-14 based on her commendable work during the course of studies as a BM composer at the Hartt School.

Catherine is currently pursuing a PhD in Music Composition and Technology at Northwestern University under the guidance of Alex Mincek and Jay Alan Yim.

MicheleSelvaggi2031@u.northwestern.edu

Michele Selvaggi (b. 2000) is a Five-time SOCAN Award Winning, Italian-Canadian composer of electroacoustic and experimental concert music. With “a compositional approach that is nourished by a special sonic apparatus” (Percorsi Musicali), Michele is concerned with the physiological experience of sound, driven by their confrontation with time’s passage. Their work is coloured from earlier engagement in natural sciences, resulting in noisy topographies shaded by demanding anxiety and OCD.

Michele has received commissions from and collaborates with organizations across Europe and North America, including Westside Chamber Players, CIRMMT, Nouvelle Ensemble Moderne, SWR Symphonieorchester, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, UdK Berlin, Museum Tinguely, CEAM, MCME, New Music Concerts, and the Eastman School of Music.

Michele has been the recipient of over 25 awards including a Fromm Foundation Composer Fellowship, the 2025 Eduard Brunner Composition Prize at the Musik-Akademie Basel, CEC’s Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux Award, and the Residency Prix CIME 2021. Their music led to nomination for a 2021 Rhodes Scholarship.

As of recent, Michele has developed research into “sonic entropy”, culminating in a prize-winning thesis on Entropic Drift in musical systems at the Musik-Akademie Basel, featuring a series of feedback works supported by Fondation Nicati – de Luze.

Michele holds a Bachelor of Music Composition from the University of Toronto, as well as a Master and Postgraduate in Music Composition from the Musik-Akademie Basel.

soundcloud.com/michael-selvaggi

gentanaka2027@u.northwestern.edu

Gen Tanaka is a Japanese composer, producer, and sound artist. He firmly believes in the social function of art as that which loosens and subverts the status quo.  In recent years, his work has been characterized by just-intonational frameworks and a desire to portray or facilitate transpersonal experiences. Gen’s fascination with nature, American counter-culture, pharmacology, and theosophy serves to inform his musical activity. The visceral and embodied qualities of sound are of utmost importance to his creative approach.

carloszarate2028@u.northwestern.edu

Carlos Zárate is a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music. He was born and raised in Mexico City and is interested in live electronics, audiovisual art, and exploring different ways in which other artistic expressions can foster musical ideas.

Carlos is currently pursuing a PhD in Composition and Music Technology at Northwestern University, under the guidance of Alex Mincek and Jay Alan Yim. He holds a MM in Interdisciplinary Digital Media Composition from Arizona State University, where he studied as a Fulbright fellow with Fernanda Aoki Navarro and Gabriel Bolaños. Carlos got a Bachelor's Degree in Composition and Music Theory at Centro de Investigación y Estudios de la Música.  He dances to cumbias, trains bjj, and is sick of gentrification, the voracity of capitalism and (self) exotization of Latin American artists.

AaronZimmer2031@u.northwestern.edu

Whether it be through composition, performance, or audio/video engineering, Aaron Zimmer is a musician dedicated to exploring meaningful and meditative musical experiences.

Aaron believes passionately in a comprehensive approach to making music; by participating in the production of music at every level, Aaron creates a more compelling experience for his listeners.

Aaron is a composer whose music explores sound, resonance, acoustics, and the ways in which subtle changes in timbre and tuning can shape musical perception. His work has been performed throughout the United States and internationally by esteemed soloists and ensembles, including members of the International Contemporary Ensemble, Musikfabrik, JACK Quartet, Hypercube, Meitar Ensemble, Bergamot Quartet, Brightwork New Music, Exponential Ensemble, and the Eclipse Quartet.

As a performer, Aaron specializes in contemporary trumpet repertoire and chamber music. He is a co-founder of the Baltimore-based new music ensemble Bent Wrench, which is dedicated to community engagement and the performance of adventurous contemporary repertoire. Since its founding in 2024, Bent Wrench has premiered more than 20 new works from emerging and local composers.

Aaron is also an active audio engineer, with experience recording classical artists, ensembles, and concerts in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and beyond. His work has included projects with the Tanglewood Music Center, Shriver Concert Series, Brightwork New Music, and the University of Southern California.

Aaron holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Chapman University, where he graduated summa cum laude, a Master of Music in Composition and a Master of Arts in Recording Arts and Sciences from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Composition at Northwestern University.