Composers

Ryan George

RYAN GEORGE currently resides in Austin, Texas where he is active as an arranger and composer. His work, ranging from music for the concert stage to music for marching ensembles is performed regularly throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. 

Ryan completed his first work for concert band in 2007 and since then his works have received performances at the American Bandmasters Association Convention, the MidWest Band and Orchestra Clinic (Chicago), W.A.S.B.E., the Music For All (Bands of America) Concert Band Festival, P.A.S.I.C., Carnegie Hall, the National CBDNA Conference, the CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference, The Western Band & Orchestra Clinic (Seattle), and the MidEurope Festival in Schladming Austria. Many of his works, which are aimed at developing performers, have frequented the repertoires of All-State, Region, Inter-Collegiate, and Honor's ensembles throughout the U.S. and Canada.

  • Recent notable performances of Ryan's music have included The "Presidents Own" United States Marine Band (National Tour), the Hiroshima Wind Orchestra (Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic), The Texas Christian University Percussion Orchestra (PASIC National Convention), The United States Air Force Band (A.B.A. Convention), The Lone Star Wind Orchestra (WASBE), and the Finnish Navy Band. He has received commissions for various ensembles including works for the T.C.U. Percussion Orchestra, The Consortium for the Advancement of Wind Band Literature, The Lone Star Wind Orchestra, and the Wan Quan School in Beijing China. 

    As a specialist in music design for marching ensembles Ryan's work has been performed by some of the nation's elite programs at state, region, and national venues. His roster of clients include perennial Bands of America (Music for All) regional champions, regional finalist, and Grand National finalist. Some of his clients have included Leander HS (Leander TX), James Bowie HS (Austin TX), Round Rock HS (Round Rock TX), Cedar Ridge HS (Round Rock TX), and the 2018 UIL 6A State Champion Vista Ridge HS (Cedar Park TX).  Within the realm of drum corps Ryan is returning for his 8th year as the brass arranger/composer of the Boston Crusaders from Boston, MA. He held the same role with the Academy from Tempe, AZ from 2011-2013. 

    Ryan is a graduate of the University of Kentucky. He is an ASCAP artist, a member of TMEA, and the American Composer's Forum.  His wife Sarah is a producer and talent buyer for internationally recognized music festivals and they are the proud parents of Sophia, Nyla, and Teller. 

    (b. 1978)

David Biedenbender

David Biedenbender (b. 1984) is a composer, conductor, performer, educator, and interdisciplinary collaborator. His music “…seizes the ear through a blend of expressive beauty and formal prowess…at turns rapturous and intimate, menacing and exuberant…Biedenbender isn’t afraid to wear heart on sleeve as he applies telling nuances to concise, exquisitely shaped sonic tales.” (Gramophone) He has written music for the concert stage as well as for dance and multimedia collaborations, and his creative interests include working with classically trained musicians and improvisers, chamber and large ensembles, interactive electronic interfaces and live brain data. His music is influenced by experiences performing in rock and jazz groups, classical ensembles and concert bands, a New Orleans-style brass band, as well as Indian Carnatic Music. “…active, compelling…shot through with energy….wonderfully imagined…Clearly, this is a composer to watch out for.” (Fanfare Magazine)

  • David is interested in the expressive power of combining strange and unusual elements—often timbres and textures—with things that are more familiar—like harmony and melody. He often embeds the resonance of imagined spaces into the music itself, using acoustic instruments to emulate electronic processes. He is also drawn to exploring the perception of time and memory in music through the relationships between various temporal layers, rhythm, and meter.

    David has collaborated with many renowned performers and ensembles, including Alarm Will Sound, Albany (NY) Symphony Orchestra, PRISM Saxophone Quartet, Stenhammar String Quartet (Sweden), New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, VocalEssence, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Music from Copland House, American Brass Quintet, and the New York Virtuoso Singers, among many others. His works for wind ensemble have been performed by distinguished ensembles around the world, including La garde Républicaine, the United States Navy Band, “President’s Own” Marine Band, “Pershing’s Own” Army Band, Army Field Band, Coast Guard Band, and Air Force Band,” as well as many leading collegiate and conservatory wind ensembles. He was also the 2022 Guest Composer at Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory, a Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics.

    Recognition for David’s work includes the Rudolf Nissim Prize, Sousa/Ostwald Award, two ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Awards, a Barlow Commission, and the Suzanne and Lee Ettelson Composers Award. His music has been heard in many diverse venues, including Carnegie Hall, Gaudeamus Muziekweek/TivoliVredenberg (Netherlands), Symphony Space (NYC), Smithsonian Museum, Antonín Dvořák Museum (Prague), Harris Hall (Aspen Music Festival), National Sawdust (NYC), the Interlochen Center for the Arts, as well as at numerous universities and conservatories, and it has been broadcast on NPR stations around the country. David’s music can also be heard on many commercially available recordings, including on Blue Griffin, Naxos, XAS, Summit, Cobra, GIA, Centaur, Bright Shiny Things, and Innova record labels, among others.

    In addition to composing, David is a dedicated teacher. He is Associate Professor and Chair of Composition in the College of Music at Michigan State University, and he has served previously on the composition and theory faculty at Boise State University, Eastern Michigan University, Oakland University, Madonna University, Music in the Mountains Summer Conservatory in Durango, CO, and the Interlochen Arts Camp. His composition students have achieved regional and national recognition for their creative work, including numerous awards and acceptance into renowned summer music festivals and undergraduate and graduate composition programs.

    He holds degrees from the University of Michigan (DMA, MM) and Central Michigan University (BM). His musical mentors include Evan Chambers, Kristin Kuster, Stephen Rush, Michael Daugherty, Bright Sheng, Christopher Lees, David R. Gillingham, José Luis-Maurtúa, John Williamson, and Mark Cox. He also studied at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study with Anders Hillborg and Steven Stucky, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and in Mysore, India where he studied South Indian Carnatic music, focusing on the mridangam with Vidwan G.S. Ramanujan.

Aaron Perrine

Aaron Perrine creates vividly colorful and rhythmically infused layers of music, inspired by the soundscapes and unparalleled allure of the natural world. He is a two-time winner of the American Bandmasters Association Sousa/Ostwald Award for his compositions: Only Light in 2015 and Pale Blue on Deep in 2013. Another one of his compositions—Temperance—won the 2017 CBDNA Young Band Composition Contest. His music for winds has been featured at ABA Conventions, CBNDA National and Regional Conferences, TMEA, The Midwest Clinic, The Western International Band Clinic, and at numerous all-state concerts and state conferences.

Perrine’s works for solo instruments with winds have also garnered much attention in recent years. Drifting, for euphonium and wind ensemble, was awarded the 2023 ITEA Harvey Phillips Award for Excellence in Composition.

  • In 2018, Perrine’s saxophone concerto—It Has to Be Beautiful—was premiered by Kenneth Tse with the Symphonic Wind Orchestra of  Croatian Armed Forces at the World Saxophone Congress in Zagreb, Croatia. In 2024, Tse will again perform the concerto at the International Saxophone Symposium with the United States Navy Concert Band, conducted by Captain Kenneth Collins.

    Additionally, Perrine is an active conductor and educator. He has conducted a variety of all-state and honor bands, with his most recent appearance being the 2023 South Carolina All-State Junior Band. He also spent several years on the faculty of Cornell College. 

    Perrine’s education includes a doctorate from the University of Iowa, a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota, Morris.

Katahj Copley

Georgia native, Katahj Copley (he/him/his) premiered his first work, Spectra, in 2017 and hasn’t stopped composing since. As of now, Katahj has written over 100 works, including pieces for chamber ensembles, wind ensembles, and orchestra. His compositions have been performed and commissioned by universities, organizations, and professional ensembles, including the Cavaliers Brass, California Band Director Association, Admiral Launch Duo, and “The President’s Own” Marine Band. Katahj has also received critical acclaim internationally with pieces being performed in Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, China, and Australia. 

Katahj received two Bachelor of Music degrees from the University of West Georgia in Music Education and Composition in 2021. In 2023, he received his Masters in Music Composition from the University of Texas at Austin - studying with Omar Thomas and Yevgeniy Sharlat. He is currently studying music composition at Michigan State University. 

  • Aside from composing, Katahj is an excited educator who teaches young musicians the joy of discovering music and why music is a phenomenal language.

    “Music for me has always been this impactful thing in my life. It can soothe, it can enrage, it can quiet, and it can evoke emotions that are beyond me and this world we live in. I believe that music is the ultimate source of freedom and imagination. The most freedom I have had as a musician was through composing. Composition is like me opening my heart and showing the world my drive, my passion, and my soul.”

Steven Bryant

Steven Bryant’s music is chiseled in its structure and intent, fusing lyricism, dissonance, silence, technology, and humor into lean, skillfully-crafted works that enthrall listeners and performers alike. His seminal work Ecstatic Waters, for wind ensemble and electronics, has become one of the most performed works of its kind in the world, receiving over 250 performances in its first five seasons. In 2015, the orchestral version was premiered by the Minnesota Orchestra to unanimous, rapturous acclaim. The son of a professional trumpeter and music educator, he strongly values music education, and his creative output includes a number of works for young and developing musicians.

John Corigliano states Bryant’s “compositional virtuosity is evident in every bar” of his 34’ Concerto for Wind Ensemble. Bryant’s first orchestral work, Loose Id for Orchestra, hailed by composer Samuel Adler as “orchestrated like a virtuoso,” was premiered by The Juilliard Symphony and is featured on a CD release by the Bowling Green Philharmonia on Albany Records.

  • The Detroit Symphony Orchestra commissioned “Zeal”  Alchemy in Silent Spaces, commissioned by James DePreist and The Juilliard School, was premiered by the Juilliard Orchestra in May 2006. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW series featured his brass quintet, Loose Id, conducted by Cliff Colnot, on its 2012-13 concert series.

    His evening-length work for the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, The Treachery of Sounds, based on several images of René Magritte, uses a live application of binaural technology by placing every member of the audience in headphones to create an immersive experience that defies the listener’s sense of reality. Other recent commissions include Zeal for Leonard Slatkin and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, a large-scale intermedia project for Arizona State University, the Concerto for Trombone for Joseph Alessi and the Dallas Winds, as well as works for the Gaudete Brass Quintet (Chicago), cellist Caroline Stinson (Lark Quartet), pianist Pamela Mia Paul, the Amherst Saxophone Quartet (funded by the American Composers Jerome Composers Commissioning Program), the University of Texas – Austin Wind Ensemble, the US Air Force Band of Mid-America, the Japanese Wind Ensemble Conductors Conference, and the Calgary Stampede Band, as well as many others.

    Steven was Distinguished Visiting Professor of Composition at the University of North Carolina Greensboro for the 2014-2015 academic year. Steven studied composition with John Corigliano at The Juilliard School, Cindy McTee at the University of North Texas, and Francis McBeth at Ouachita University, trained for one summer in the mid-1980s as a break-dancer (i.e. was forced into lessons by his mother), was the 1987 radio-controlled car racing Arkansas state champion, has a Bacon Number of 1, and has played saxophone with Branford Marsalis on Sleigh Ride. He resides in Durham, NC with his wife, conductor Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant (Duke University).

Andrew David Perkins

Composer, conductor, multi-instrumentalist, & GRAMMY® nominated music educator Andrew David Perkins (b.1978) holds an advanced specialist certificate in orchestration from the Berklee College of Music, a Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Michigan State University. Finalist for The National Band Association Revelli Award, Merrill Jones Award, and The Ravel International Composition Prize, his music has been featured at ABA Conventions, CBNDA National and Regional Conferences, TMEA, The Midwest Clinic, The Western International Band Clinic, and at numerous all-state concerts and state conferences. Mr. Perkins is the winner of the 2018 National Band Association/Alfred Publishing Young Band Composition Contest, and his concert band suite "TUEBOR" was selected as the winner of the 2023 American Bandmasters Association Sousa/Ostwald Composition Contest.

​Mr. Perkins has had the pleasure of receiving commissions from a number of organizations including The Royal Academy of Music London, Le Conservatoire de Limonest,  The Assembly Saxophone Quartet, The Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association, Michigan State University, The University of San Diego, Purdue University Fort Wayne, The University of South Carolina, Wright State University, ​Sienna Heights University, Albion College, The University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, Bowling Green State University, The Flint Youth Symphony Orchestra, and The Pegasus Wind Symphony. His music is published through APOLLO STUDIOS Music Publishing (ASCAP) and he resides in Michigan with his family.

Viet Cuong

The “alluring” (The New York Times), “arresting” (Gramophone), “irresistible” (San Francisco Chronicle), and “exhilarating” (Chicago Tribune) music of Vietnamese-American composer Viet Cuong (b. 1990) has been commissioned and performed on six continents by musicians and ensembles such as the New York Philharmonic, Eighth Blackbird, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Sō Percussion, Alarm Will Sound, Atlanta Symphony, Sandbox Percussion, Albany Symphony, PRISM Quartet, and Dallas Winds, among many others. Cuong’s music has been featured in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, National Gallery of Art, and Library of Congress, and his works for wind ensemble have amassed several hundreds of performances worldwide, including at Midwest, WASBE, and CBDNA conferences.

In his music Cuong enjoys exploring the unexpected and whimsical, and he is often drawn to projects where he can make peculiar combinations and sounds feel enchanting or oddly satisfying. His notable works thus include concerti for tuba and dueling oboes, percussion quartets utilizing wine glasses and sandpaper, and pieces for double reed sextet, cello octet, and solo snare drum. This eclecticism extends to the variety of musical groups he writes for, and he has worked closely with ensembles ranging from middle school bands to Grammy-winning orchestras and chamber ensembles.

  • His wind ensemble works are widely performed, having been programmed by the world’s preeminent wind bands such as the Dallas Winds and military bands including the United States Navy Band, “President’s Own” Marine Band, “Pershing’s Own” Army Band, Army Field Band, Coast Guard Band, and Air Force Band. These works have also been performed by the top wind ensembles at academic institutions such as the University of Texas at Austin, University of Michigan, University of North Texas, Louisiana State University, University of Miami, and Michigan State University. Passionate about bringing all these different facets of the contemporary music community together, his recent works include Vital Sines, a concerto for Eighth Blackbird and the United States Navy Band, and Re(new)al, a concerto for percussion quartet with a variety of ensemble accompaniments.

    Cuong is the Pacific Symphony’s current Composer-in-Residence, and from 2020-23 was the California Symphony’s Young American Composer-in-Residence. He has held artist residencies at Copland House, Yaddo, Ucross, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and at Dumbarton Oaks, where he served as the 2020 Early-Career Musician-in-Residence. His music has been awarded the Barlow Prize, William D. Revelli Prize, Frederick Fennell Prize, Walter Beeler Memorial Prize, Barlow Endowment Commission, ASCAP Morton Gould Composers Award, Theodore Presser Foundation Award, Suzanne and Lee Ettelson Composers Award, Cortona Prize, New York Youth Symphony First Music Commission, and Boston GuitarFest Composition Prize.

    Cuong serves as Assistant Professor of Music Composition and Theory the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he teaches composition, orchestration, and music theory. He holds degrees in music composition from Princeton University (MFA/PhD), the Curtis Institute of Music (Artist Diploma), and the Peabody Conservatory (BM/MM). His mentors include Jennifer Higdon, David Serkin Ludwig, Donnacha Dennehy, Steve Mackey, Dan Trueman, Dmitri Tymoczko, Kevin Puts, and Oscar Bettison. During his studies, he held the Daniel W. Dietrich II Composition Fellowship at Curtis, Naumburg and Roger Sessions Fellowships at Princeton, and Evergreen House Foundation scholarship at Peabody, where he was also awarded the Peabody Alumni Award (the Valedictorian honor) and Gustav Klemm Award. A scholarship student at the Aspen, Bowdoin, and Lake Champlain music festivals, Cuong has been a fellow at the Orchestra of St. Luke’s DeGaetano Institute, Minnesota Orchestra Composers Institute, Mizzou International Composers Festival, Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab, Cabrillo Festival’s Young Composer Workshop, Cortona Sessions, and Copland House’s CULTIVATE workshop.

Edward Victor Cupero

Edward Victor Cupero (1878, Naples, Italy – 20 September 1939, Baltimore, Maryland) was an Italian-born American composer, cornetist and conductor.

Cupero immigrated to the United States with his parents at the age of three. When he was seven years old, he was sent back to Naples, where he reportedly studied at the Royal Conservatory. He returned to the U.S. at the age of 14 and began a musical career that included playing with various professional bands and later serving as the musical director of several different minstrel shows.

From about 1910 to 1915, he directed the band with George Evans' "Honey Boy" Minstrels. Following his work with this minstrel show, he returned to Baltimore where he conducted a number of different theater orchestras. In February of 1934, Cupero conducted the newly formed Albany (New York) Symphony Orchestra, and by the fall of that year he was organizing a band at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. Two years later, the school newspaper reported that the (short and stocky) "rotund master of anything musical ... took over the music department and developed a band ... that compares favorably with any musical unit of similar size in the country."

Chris M. Bernotas

Chris M. Bernotas is a renowned composer, conductor, and educator with over 25 years of experience in music education. As the Director of School Methods and Repertoire for Alfred Music, he contributes significantly to developing materials for band and orchestra programs worldwide. Celebrated for their accessibility and emotional depth, his compositions are performed by ensembles globally, from young musicians just beginning their journey to advanced groups seeking dynamic and engaging repertoire. His works have become staples in concert literature, offering a blend of musicality and educational value.
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In addition to his success as a composer, Bernotas has dedicated his career to teaching and working with students of all levels. His classroom experience provides him with valuable insight into the challenges music teachers face, allowing him to create music that both inspires students and addresses their developmental needs. He frequently serves as a guest conductor and clinician, leading honor groups and workshops that introduce fresh ideas and approaches to directors and their students.
At Alfred Music, Bernotas continues to shape the future of music education by developing and curating resources that support teachers in their mission to inspire young musicians. Notably, he has co-authored several books, including Sound Innovations Ensemble Development, Sound Percussion, Sound Artistry, and Sound Performance. Beyond composing, he is a passionate advocate, regularly presenting on conducting, composition, and pedagogy. With his music performed worldwide, Bernotas remains committed to fostering creativity and growth in students and teachers alike.

Dennis Llinás

Dennis Llinás is a Cuban-Columbian conductor and composer. He currently is the Director of Bands at The University of Oregon where he conducts the wind ensemble, teaches graduate & undergraduate conducting, and oversees the band area. A native of Hialeah, FL, Dennis studied at Florida International University & The University of Texas. He is an active clinician  Nationally and Internationally conducting in Colombia, Austria, and throughout the US including the Dallas Winds and the West Point Band. He has presented sessions at The Midwest Clinic, WASBE, TMEA (Texas), FMEA, and CBDNA. His compositions and arrangements have been widely performed with recordings by Mark Hetzler and the University of Texas at El Paso Wind Ensemble. He has had performances by the Dallas Winds, The United States Air Force Band, The United States Navy Band, USAF Band of the Golden West, Cedar Park Winds, Brooklyn Wind Symphony, and The University of Texas Wind Ensemble to name a few. His works have been performed at prestigious venues such as The Midwest Clinic, Music for All National Concert Band Festival, Texas Music Educators Conference, and the American Bandmasters Association Conference.

In the world of the marching arts, Llinás arranges for many high school bands and universities throughout the US including Louisiana State University, The University of Texas, Penn State University, University of South Florida, The University of Arkansas, The University of Tennessee, and the University of Texas at El Paso.