American soprano Mary Anne Kruger studied voice with Margaret Harshaw and first went to Germany in 1992 when she completed a Master of Music degree at Indiana University. Since then she has lived in Europe building a repertoire of over 40 major roles and concerts. From 1994-2005 she was a member of the opera ensemble at the Hessische Staatstheater Darmstadt, and she has also guested in over 20 European theaters including the Bayerische Staatsoper- Nationaltheater in Munich, Staatstheater Stuttgart, the Latvian National Opera and Theater Basel.

Her prizes include a nomination in the category “Best Singer” in the 1997 Opernwelt Jahrbuch for her portrayal of Alcina. She was awarded the role of Donna Elvira in the 1996 Don Giovanni production at the Athens Concert Hall directed by Ruggiero Raimondi and conducted by Gustav Kühn. The “Sonderpreis der Wiener Staats-und Volksoper” at the 1993 Belvedere Competition secured for her a performance as Hanna Glawari (Die Lustige Witwe) at the the Wiener Volksoper. She was also awarded a DAAD scholarship (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdient) to study at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich 1992-93.

In addition to her debut as Salome, Ms. Kruger’s 2008 engagements also included the role of Tatyana in Eugene Onegin with the Stadttheater Pforzheim to great audience and critical acclaim. That same month she also sang Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the Stadttheater Geissen. In April and May of 2008 she sang the role of Cio-Cio-San with Theater Freiburg and Theater der Stadt Trier. In August she joined the Berliner Symphoniker orchestra in a concert aptly entitled “Solo Verdi”, and in October she joined the orchestra again in the opening concert of the Musica Mallorca festival which was billed as a tribute to Maria Callas and featured bel canto repertoire.

The soprano is often praised for her warmth of timbre, the brilliance of her high register, and her great versatility, both musically and theatrically. Of her Tatyana, Orpheus International wrote: “Among the singers one first must name Mary Anne Kruger... who was a Tatjana of the very highest calibre.   The singer is not only good-looking, but she has at her disposal a darkly colored, distinctive and precisely focused soprano voice, which in the last act was also capable of beautiful pianissimi.  It was right that she received the most applause.”

Of her Madama Butterfly, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote: “Mary Anne Kruger in the title role established herself once again as a category sui generis. With an expressive repertory that extends from bright soprano purity to the shadowy depths of the low registers, Krugercommanded (the scene) as an extraordinary actor with great musical and technical substance.”

Kristin Naigus is a Central Florida English horn and oboist who performs in orchestral settings throughout and around the Southeast United States. A frequent attendee of Carolyn Hove’s English Horn Masterclass, Naigus has a deep and abiding interest in world music.

Kevin Wilt (b. 1984) composes music for a variety of ensembles that balances sophistication with accessibility, and experimentation with solid craftsmanship.   Composer John Corigliano praised his expert orchestration and beautiful writing, while the Bloomington Herald wrote, “[his music] has a keen sense of mood and tonal balance.”    Kevin recently composed Running on Rooftops for Michael Francis and The Florida Orchestra in honor of their 50th anniversary season. He won the Fresh Squeezed Opera Call for Scores with his chamber opera, Prix Fixe, and the Musical Chairs Chamber Ensemble Composer Search. He was awarded a grant by the Atlantic Coast Conference Band Directors Association to create Urban Impressions, a multimovement work for large wind ensemble. He was a finalist for the ASCAP/CBDNA Frederick Fennel Prize, the Symphony Number One Call for Scores III, the Hartford Opera Theater Call for Scores, and the American Prize in both the band and chamber music categories.

Recent performances include those by the Sydney Contemporary Orchestra, the Boston New Music Initiative, Fifth House Ensemble, the h2 Quartet, Project Fusion, the Apollo Fund, SHUFFLE Concert, the Mexico City Woodwind Quintet, ensembles at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, the University of Texas at Austin, Florida State University, the University of Kansas, the University of Oklahoma, Michigan State University, Kennesaw State University, as well as a reading by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Leonard Slatkin.

Kevin is equally at home composing for film and television, earning him a Michigan Emmy® Award Nomination for Best Musical Composition. Other film projects include The Inevitable, The Happy Couple, a string quartet for the short film Renegade, and The Wars of Other Men.

He holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Composition from Michigan State University, where he studied with Ricardo Lorenz. He completed his Masters Degree in Music Composition at MSU, working with Jere Hutcheson and Charles Ruggiero, and his Bachelors Degree in Music Composition and Theory from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, where he studied with James Hartway. He is an Assistant Professor of Music and Composer-in-Residence at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.   His works are published by Whistling Vine Music.

Michael Daugherty is one of the most commissioned, performed and recorded composers on the American concert music scene today. His music is rich with cultural allusions and bears the stamp of classic modernism, with colliding tonalities and blocks of sound; at the same time, his melodies can be eloquent and stirring. Daugherty has been hailed by The Times (London) as “a master icon maker” with a “maverick imagination, fearless structural sense, and meticulous ear.”

Daugherty first came to international attention when the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Zinman, performed his Metropolis Symphony at Carnegie Hall in 1994. Since that time, Daugherty’s music has entered the orchestral, band and chamber music repertory and made him, according to the League of American Orchestras, one of the ten most performed living American composers.

In 2011 the Nashville Symphony’s Naxos recording of Daugherty’s Metropolis Symphony for orchestra and Deus ex Machina for piano and orchestra was honored with three GRAMMY® Awards, including Best Classical Contemporary Composition. In 2017 the Nashville Symphony’s Naxos recording of Daugherty’s Tales of Hemingway for cello and orchestra was honored with three GRAMMY® Awards, including Best Classical Contemporary Composition.

Born in 1954 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Daugherty is the son of a dance-band drummer and the oldest of five brothers, all professional musicians. He studied music composition at the University of North Texas (1972-76), the Manhattan School of Music (1976-78), and computer music at Pierre Boulez’s IRCAM in Paris (1979-80). Daugherty received his doctorate from Yale University in 1986 where his teachers included Jacob Druckman, Earle Brown, Roger Reynolds, and Bernard Rands (1980-82). During this time, he also collaborated with jazz arranger Gil Evans in New York and pursued further studies with composer György Ligeti in Hamburg, Germany (1982-84). After teaching music composition from 1986-90 at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Daugherty joined the School of Music, Theatre & Dance at the University of Michigan in 1991, where he is Professor of Composition.

Daugherty has been Composer-in-Residence numerous orchestra over the years including the Louisville Symphony Orchestra (2000), Detroit Symphony Orchestra (1999-2003), Colorado Symphony Orchestra (2001-02), Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music (2001-04, 2006-08, 2011 and 2014), Westshore Symphony Orchestra (2005-06), Eugene Symphony (2006), the Henry Mancini Summer Institute (2006), the Music from Angel Fire Chamber Music Festival (2006), the Pacific Symphony (2010), Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra (2012), New Century Orchestra (2014), Albany Symphony (2015), National Repertory Orchestra (2018) and the Winnipeg New Music Festival (2020).

Daugherty’s orchestral music has been commissioned and premiered by, among others, the Albany Symphony Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (United Kingdom), Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, New Century Chamber Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Phiharmonia Orchestra (London), RAI Symphony Orchestra (Italy), Nashville Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Rochester Symphony Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Spokane Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Syracuse Symphony.

Daugherty’s band and wind ensemble music has been commissioned and premiered by, among others, the University of Michigan,  University of Miami (Coral Gables), Michigan State University, San Diego State University and University of Texas (Austin) and Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Conductors who have directed world premieres of Daugherty’s orchestral music include Marin Alsop, Neal Gittleman, Giancarlo Guerrero, David Kawaka, Mariss Jansons, Neeme Järvi, David Alan Miller, Leonard Slatkin, Carl St.Clair, Markus Stenz, Michael Tilson Thomas, Hugh Wolff and David Zinman.

Conductors who have directed world premieres of Daugherty’s band and wind ensemble music include Phillip Clements, Gary Green, Jerry Junkin, Shannon Kitelinger, Michael Haithcock, H. Robert Reynolds, Emily Threinen and John Whitwell.

Performing artists and ensembles who have given world premieres of Daugherty’s music include Zuill Bailey (cello), Bash Ensemble (percussion), Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Paul Crossley (piano), Dogs of Desire, Manuel Barrueco (classical guitar), Ethos Percussion Ensemble, Greg Fulkerson (violin), Dame Evelyn Glennie (percussion), Thomas Hampson (baritone), Paul Jacobs (organ), Carol Jantsch (tuba), Kronos Quartet, Ida Kavafian (violin), Anne Akiko Meyers (violin), Hila Plitmann (soprano), Amy Porter (flute), Present Music (Milwaukee), Mike Rowe (narrator), London Sinfonietta, DJ Sparr (electric guitar), Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (violin), Michael Wayne (clarinet), Terrence Wilson (piano) and Chuck Ullery (bassoon).

At the University of Michigan, Daugherty has organized residencies over the years by renowned guest composers such as Louis Andriessen, Michael Colgrass, Henryk Górecki, Betsy Jolas, David Lang, Tania Leone, György Ligeti, Michael Torke and Joan Tower.

In 2010, Daugherty organized a historic three-day festival and conference called ONCE. MORE. Held November 2-4 at Rackham Auditorium on the University of Michigan campus, the event featured composers Robert Ashley, Gordon Mumma, Roger Reynolds and Donald Scarvada, who returned to Ann Arbor 50 years after hosting the original ONCE festival in Ann Arbor from 1961-66. ONCE. MORE. featured concerts of their recent works, as well as their innovative compositions from the original ONCE festival.

Since 1991, Daugherty has been a mentor to many of today’s most talented young composers at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater and Dance. Former students of Michael Daugherty include Richard Adams, Clarice Assad, Alexis Bacon, Kevin Beavers, Marcin Bela, Derek Bermel, John Berners, David Biedenbender, Andrew Bishop, Bret Bohman, Julia Bozone, Matt Browne, Daniel Thomas Davis, Ian Dicke, Christopher Dietz, Paul Dooley, Roshanne Etezady, Gala Flagelo, Gabriela Lena Frank, Tucker Fuller, Rodney Grisanti, Iman Habibi, Patrick Harlin, Carolina Heredia, Deniz Ince, Donia Jarrar, Elizabeth Kelly, Kristin Kuster, James Lee III, Shuying Li, David T. Little, Pei Lu, John Maki, Kevin March, Theresa Martin, Jeff Myers, Stephen Newby, Carter Pann, Jules Pegram, Joshua Penman, Tanner Porter, Joel Puckett, Andrea Reinkemeyer, Manly Romero, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Felicia Sandler, Michael Schachter, David Schober, Nina Shekhar, Arlene Sierra, Carlos Simon, D.J. Sparr, Matthew Tommasini, Kirsten Volness, Aleksandra Vrebalov, Daniel Worley, Roger Zare, Daniel Zlatkin, and Bill Zuckerman.

Organizations such as the American Composers Orchestra, Minnesota Composers Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, Omaha Symphony, and the Young Composers Institute in Apeldoorn (Netherlands) have invited Daugherty to be advisor and mentor for reading sessions and performances of music by promising young composers.  Daugherty has also served as a final judge for the BMI Student Composer Awards in 2010 and 2018.

Daugherty is a frequent guest composer at universities and colleges in the United States. Past residencies include, among others, the University of Texas at Austin, University of Colorado at Boulder, Rice University, Northwestern University, Syracuse University, Indiana University, University of Iowa, University of North Texas, Vanderbilt University, Louisiana State University, Appalachian State University, University of Southern California, Eastman School of Music, The Hartt School, Juilliard School of Music, Shenandoah University Conservatory of Music and Yale University.

Daugherty is also a frequent guest at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, where his wind ensemble music is performed by high school, college, and professional wind ensembles. In 2001, the United States Air Force Band performed a concert of Daugherty’s music at the Midwest Clinic’s “Midnight Special.”

Daugherty also collaborates with youth wind ensembles and orchestras throughout America: In 2004, the Ravinia Festival Community Outreach program invited Daugherty to work with student ensembles in the Chicago public middle and high schools; in 2002, Daugherty composed Alligator Alleyfor the Slauson Middle School Band (Ann Arbor); in 2014, Daugherty composed Vulcan for the Pioneer, Huron, and Skyline High School Bands in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Ann Arbor High School Bands.

Daugherty has received numerous awards, distinctions and fellowships for his music, including: a Fulbright Fellowship (1977), the Kennedy Center Friedheim Award (1989), the Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1991), fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1992) and the Guggenheim Foundation (1996), and the Stoeger Prize from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (2000). In 2005, Daugherty received the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra Composer’s Award, and in 2007, the Delaware Symphony Orchestra selected Daugherty as the recipient of the A.I. DuPont Award. Also in 2007, he received the American Bandmasters Association Ostwald Award for his composition Raise the Roof for timpani and symphonic band. Daugherty has been named “Outstanding Classical Composer” at the Detroit Music Awards in 2007, 2009 and 2010.

His GRAMMY® Award-winning recordings can be heard on, among others, the Albany, Argo, Delos, Equilibrium, Klavier, Naxos, and Nonesuch labels.  Daugherty’s music is published by Michael Daugherty Music, Peermusic Classical and Boosey & Hawkes. For more information on Michael Daugherty and his music, see michaeldaughertycomposer.com and his publisher’s websites.

Composer Justin Hurwitz became best known for his work with college friend and film director Damien Chazelle, most notably for the La La Land score. Raised in California, Hurwitz came from an artistic family; his sister played the violin and both his parents worked in the arts -- his mother was a ballerina and his father a writer. He began playing the piano at the age of six. By the time he was ten, he was composing his own music. In the eighth grade, he and his family moved to Fox Point, Wisconsin, where he attended Nicolet High School. While there, the budding composer also studied at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee with pianist Stefanie Jacob. After graduating in 2003, he continued his education at Harvard University.

While his early years were primarily spent studying classical music -- he had an appreciation for John Williams' scores -- when he was a teenager, his Uncle Ron introduced him to jazz by giving him an Oscar Peterson record. This early taste of jazz music would be the foundation of his impending friendship and collaborations with Damien Chazelle, whom he met at Harvard. The two became fast friends, playing together around Boston in the Brit-pop-inspired band Chester French (with Chazelle on drums and Hurwitz on electric piano), and later they became roommates. Their friendship and shared passion for music led to a number of collaborations. The first was Chazelle's debut feature, the jazz musical Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, for which Hurwitz composed the music.

Alongside his burgeoning career as a composer, he was also creating a sideline in writing for shows like The Simpsons and The League. In 2014, the film Whiplash was released. The movie, again directed by Chazelle, was about an ambitious jazz student, and Hurwitz's score earned him a Grammy Nomination for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. The duo's next collaboration was the romantic musical comedy-drama La La Land. Released in late 2016, it was the pair's biggest hit to date and garnered a host of awards, including Academy Awards for Hurwitz's score and Best Original Song for "City of Stars." In 2018, he composed the score for Chazelle's film First Man, a biopic about astronaut Neil Armstrong.