Caleb Adams

Caleb Adams, class of '19, got into music at a young age through playing guitar and songwriting. As his writing became more sophisticated, he became interested in more complex chord structures. In the summer of 2017, Adams attended the Young Composers Program of the Cleveland Institute of Music, after which he enrolled at UNCSA. The following summer he participated in the High School Composition Intensive at the Boston Conservatory.  He is currently enrolled at the Royal Academy of Music in London after studying for two years at UNCSA with Dr. Lawrence Dillon.

Kyrie Antoinette

Originally from Boston, Kyrie Antoinette, class of '18, began arranging and composing for recreation, but decided at the age of 16 to devote her future to composition completely. She enrolled at UNCSA and studied composition for four years with Dr. Lawrence Dillon. At UNCSA, she had several pieces performed, including music for orchestra, a number of chamber works as well as collaborations with the university’s Schools of Design and Production, Drama and Dance. In 2019 she completed her Master's degree at Berklee Valencia in Spain.

Alicia Armstrong

Alicia Bachorik Armstrong, class of '18, is a composer whose choral and chamber works have been performed both in the U.S. and in her second home of the Philippines. Her song Remember the Ladies was recently featured on mezzo Audrey Johnson’s US tour celebrating the centennial of the passing of the 19th amendment, including an event hosted by the San Francisco Opera. Her love of reading has grown into a desire to connect language and storytelling to her compositions, as demonstrated in various vocal and choral works. While at UNCSA, Alicia had works premiered by the UNCSA string orchestra, wind ensemble and flute ensemble, as well as the Attacca String Quartet. After graduating, her "Tango" was performed by the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. Alicia's principal teacher at UNCSA was Lawrence Dillon.

Jessica Buford

Jessica Buford, class of '18, studied composition for four years with Kenneth Frazelle. Originally from Bluefield, West Virginia, She navigated her way to North Carolina through a large family of musicians. Seeking to incorporate as many influences as possible, she takes inspiration from elements such as gospel, jazz, contemporary classical, and rock. While at UNCSA, she sang with the Winston-Salem Symphony Chorale. She has studied with Hummie Mann at the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Intensive and has received grants to participate in both this intensive and the Siena Summer Music Festival. She enjoys books (writing/editing), the shadows clouds cast on mountains, hats, and professional wrestling. She is currently in the master's degree program at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Peyton Clifford

Peyton Clifford’s, class of '19, interest in blending genres comes from his upbringing in Charlotte, N.C., where he was exposed from an early age to everything from classical opera to The Rolling Stones to punk rock. Throughout high school he developed a serious interest in folk, jazz, and classical music. He is a firm believer in music as both a political/social tool and a basic human necessity. What excites him most about being a 21st-century composer is the ability to constantly explore new sounds, new interactions between acoustic and electronic music, and new ways to collaborate with other artists. Peyton studied composition for four years with Lawrence Dillon.  His music has been recorded by the Attacca String Quartet.  He recently completed a commissioned installation for Old Salem's exploration of racial relationships in its past, "Hidden Town."

Tyson Davis

Tyson Davis, class of '19, began composing for piano at the age of eight.  His "Delicate Tension" was commissioned to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and premiered in Berlin in August 2019 by the NYO-USA. He is a winner of the MATA Jr. Composition Prize, which led to the NYC premiere of a new work for chamber orchestra in November 2018.  He attended Curtis Summerfest and Interlochen Summer Music Camp, where he had works for chorus and percussion ensemble premiered and earned the Fine Arts Award. Currently, Tyson is enrolled as a Composition major at The Juilliard School.

Tyson studied for four years with Lawrence Dillon. His "String Quartet No. 1" was recorded and premiered in February 2018 by the Attacca String Quartet, going on to win an award from American Composers Forum. His "Another Sky" was performed by UNCSA Cantata Singers two months later, just before the UNCSA Orchestra premiered his "Symphony No. 1."

Drew Harris

Drew Harris (M.M. ‘21) came up through the world of wind band. Inspired by the various voicings of the instruments, he learned woodwind and brass instruments throughout high school, including trumpet, horn, flute, clarinet, oboe, and saxophone. He continued his love of music into college, where he pursued a Bachelor of Music in Film Scoring from Liberty University, in the studio of Dr. David K. Schmal, then earned a Master of Music at UNCSA studying with Lawrence Dillon. 

Drew's "October Nights" was chosen for a premiere by Watson Brass in January 2020; his "The Stars Above" was premiered by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra a month later. The following year he had recording sessions with the Borromeo String Quartet and yMusic, as well as premieres with nu ensemble and the UNCSA String Orchestra. Drew is currently a member of ArtistCorps. The Fayetteville Symphony will give the professional premiere of “The Stars Above” in February 2022.  

Jacob Hinson

Jacob Hinson, from Wingate, N.C., began the formal study of music at at the age of eleven and started composing works for a myriad of ensembles shortly after. 

Hinson holds the Bachelor of Music in Music Education from UNCG where he graduated with honors. There, he was a Trombone student of Dr. Randy Kohlenberg, and studied conducting with Dr. Kevin Geraldi and Dr. John R. Locke. During this time, Hinson composed numerous works including pieces for the UNCG University Band, UNCG Trombone Choir and Charlotte Pride Band.

Notable recent works include a string quartet, "Strung Out," recorded by the Attacca String Quartet, a piece for wind ensemble, "The Fuchsia Dragon," premiered by the UNCSA Wind Ensemble and "Enigma," premiered by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra. Hinson graduated from UNCSA in May 2020 and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Oregon.  While at UNCSA, he studied with Dr. Lawrence Dillon. 

Sarah Jin

Sarah Jin (H.S. ’21) has been involved with music for most of her life. She started piano lessons at five years of age and joined her school's orchestra at 12. In eighth grade, she began to teach herself to play guitar, and in tenth grade she began composing. That summer, she attended the UNCSA summer music composition program. She went on to study composition at UNCSA School of Music with Dr. Michael S. Rothkopf, devoting most of her time to a full-length musical, "Death Wears a High School Uniform."

Gustav Knudson

Gustav Edward Knudson (B.M. ’21) is a composer from Chicago, Illinois. He earned his Bachelor of Music at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts studying with Mr. Kenneth Frazelle. His interest in music burgeoned at an early age when listening to bands like "Wilco" and "They Might Be Giants." He began playing music at the age of ten in sixth grade band in Gainesville, Florida, but had attempted playing both the guitar and drums beforehand. He mastered every discipline of high school band percussion and took an interest in composition in his freshman year. He now plays guitar, clarinet, and piano in addition to percussion.

Compositionally, Knudson is highly influenced by the sounds of big-band jazz (composers such as Nestico and Gershwin) and 20th-century classical music, taking melodic and harmonic ideas from composers like Stravinsky and Grainger. He is often inspired by the sounds of nature, such as the arrhythmic sounds of birds chirping, water dripping, or small stones tumbling down a mountain-face.  Gustav's "Guards and Ghosts" was premiered by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra in February 2020; he has also had works recorded by the Verona String Quartet, Akropolis Winds and yMusic. His second string quartet was commissioned by the Forsyth Audubon Society for their fiftieth anniversary premiered at UNCSA in in March 2021.

Thomas Little

Thomas Little, class of '19, was identified as a musical prodigy at the age of six and studied piano with Dr. George Kiorpes for twelve years. His improvisations led him to the world of composition, which he studied with Dr. Michael Rothkopf starting in the summer of 2012. Highlights of his prolific and eclectic output include an electronic piece played for multiple years at the Tanglewood Festival of Lights, annually attended by a quarter million people, as well as the humorous musical-theater chamber piece "Overdrive," which has been performed across the country by UNCSA’s own “Low and Lower” cello-bass duo of Brooks Whitehouse and Paul Sharpe.

Mr. Little's music is characterized by the fusion of old and new concepts and techniques, combined with both an affinity for Haydnesque humor and a thorough fascination with music’s unique ability to directly convey the emotions of lived experiences. He performed as pianist and organist at St. Michael Lutheran Church in High Point and as a part of Wake Forest’s Gamelan Giri Murti. He runs the music education series “Classical Nerd” on YouTube, and can passably imitate a kazoo with his mouth. In his spare time, he enjoys going on exorbitantly long road trips. He is currently enrolled in the Master's program at Brandeis University.

Jasmine Marshall

Jasmine Marshall, a Winston-Salem native, has had a deep connection to the arts and especially music for practically her entire life. Jasmine has a long-standing history with UNCSA; she took ballet classes in the UNCSA Preparatory Dance Program for five years, and her parents, who both studied music at UNCSA, began to share with her the joy of music from an early age. Her mother has been teaching her piano lessons ever since she was big enough to reach the keys, and her father directs the choir at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church where she sings every Sunday. Not long after starting piano lessons, she began to toy around with creating various melodic and rhythmic ideas, but she did not yet know that this was called “composing.” Most of her early compositions were for solo piano, but in eighth grade she wrote "Serendipity" for string orchestra, and her middle school orchestra performed it at the spring concert. She attended the Young Composers Program at the Cleveland Institute of Music as a rising junior. The following summer she attended the intensive at UNCSA, then enrolled as a high school senior studying composition with Dr. Michael Rothkopf. She graduated from UNCSA in May 2020 and is currently a student at Wake Forest University.

Ash Paris-Carter

Hailing from NYC's East Village, Ash Paris-Carter is a composer-performer and songwriter studying composition at UNCSA's high school program. Inspired by contemporary opera, the riot grrrrl movement, indie graphic novels, the queer rights movement, choral music, and punk, Ash has devoted themself to writing music that is mostly performance based and has a theatrical aspect to it. Ash has written music since they arrived at The Walden School in 2014; at an age when they still firmly believed they were a changeling. To this day, Walden is where Ash is their most authentic self and inspires them to collaborate with teen musicians at their high school and around the country. Ash's music has been performed by Apres Moi, ICE, The Walden School Players, PUBLIQuartet, and other performers at UNCSA and Walden.

Ash was a member of the Manhattan Girls' Chorus from 2013-2016 and had the opportunity to sing at the UN Ambassador's Ball honoring Ban Kee Moon behind Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. They also performed alongside Sting, Idina Menzel, Vittorio Grigolo, James Taylor, and Bruce Springsteen through MGC at Carnegie Hall as well as recording the world premiere of Kim Andre Arnesen's "Love's Onward Journey" among other performances and recordings. Ash was a student of voice at Mannes Prep from 2016-2018 and participated in the vocal chamber ensemble and senior choruses. Through Mannes, Ash sang for Hillary Clinton, Justin Trudeau, and Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon at the Women in the World Summit at Lincoln Center. In 2020, Ash participated in Curtis Summerfest and Berklee Summer Songwriting Sessions online as a result of the coronavirus.

Ash has produced alternative rock music and released their first EP of demos, "The Ballad," on all streaming platforms. Ash has been the opening act for Left at London on two virtual concerts and their song, "Rose Red," is featured on /@/'s fan album "Tales From Transgender Street." They are studying composition with Dr. Lawrence Dillon.

K. Christopher Pyle

Kollen Christopher Pyle has been playing various instruments since age eleven when he began learning guitar by ear, later doing the same with piano, banjo, and several other instruments.  Last year, Christopher's "In Northern Hues" was recorded by the Verona String Quartet and his "Dances With Incandescence" was premiered by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra.  He has also had recording sessions with Eighth Blackbird and Akropolis Winds.  Christopher is currently a college senior studying with Lawrence Dillon. He recently completed "Journey of the Wood Thrush," a piano trio commissioned by the Forsyth Audubon Society.

Algernon Robinson

Algernon “AJ” Robinson, class of '19, born in Hartford, Conn., began studying piano at an early age, and picked up the violin and singing in middle school. In high school, AJ played violin with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra (WSO) and the Wilmington Symphony Youth Orchestra (WYSO) under the direction of Dr. Steven Errante in addition to singing with the concert and chamber choirs at UNCW.  

AJ transferred to UNCSA from the Mannes School of Music in NYC, where he studied with Lowell Liebermann. At UNCSA, his composition teacher was Dr. Lawrence Dillon.  He is currently in the graduate program of the University of Michigan.

AJ deeply appreciates the music of 20th century French composers such as Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, and Jean Françaix. While still developing his artistic voice, he enjoys experimenting with tonal ambiguity as a means to musical expression. His "Spring" was recorded by soprano Lindsay Kesselman and Eighth Blackbird in the spring of 2018.  His music was also recorded by the Attacca String Quartet.  In the spring of 2019, he composed and produced the music video "Parapo," commissioned by Old Salem as part of its exploration of racial relationships in its past, "Hidden Town."  

Luis Sanz

In demand as a composer and cuatro virtuoso, Luis Sanz, class of '19, recently collaborated with Lin Manuel Miranda on a documentary about Puerto Rican culture. Luis was featured in the opening act of the 2018 Latin Grammy Awards.

Born in 1994 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Luis Sanz began playing the Puerto Rican cuatro at the age of four. As a young boy, Luis displayed a great interest in the folkloric music of Puerto Rico and a talent for performing this music on the cuatro. Throughout his formative years he garnered much recognition, recording his first album, "Un legado para la historia," at the age of nine. That same year, Luis was selected by audition to participate as a soloist in the Concerts of the Symphony Orchestra of Puerto Rico by Maestro Roselin Pabon. In addition, in 2005, the Puerto Rican House of Representatives gave him special recognition for his dedication to conserving Puerto Rican folkloric music, and for his talent and success.

Luis’ creative development and talent in improvisation brought him to arranging and composing works for symphony, bands and other groups. He entered the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, where he earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Composition under the tutelage of Professor Alfonso Fuentes. He won first place in a competition, sponsored by Glade for young composers at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico, for his composition, “Vuela con Glade.” In April 2015, his composition "Fantasia para Cuatro y Orquestra," was performed by the Symphony Orchestra of the Conservatory of Music, directed by Roselín Pabon. He received his first commission from APAOS, for a symphonic band work, "Emociones del Caribe." It was premiered in May 2015 at El Centro de Bellas Artes Luis A. Ferre. At the same time, with a granted scholarship, he also completed a Bachelor Degree at Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico with an emphasis in the area of Popular Music and a minor in Education.

While at UNCSA, Luis studied with Dr. Lawrence Dillon. He had works recorded by the Attacca String Quartet and Eighth Blackbird, and performed by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble.  He is currently a professor at the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico.

Scott Shea

Scott Shea, class of '19, is a budding composer with a performance background in French horn and guitar. He began composing his sophomore year of high school, and in Spring 2015 his first orchestral work, "A Pilgrimage," was premiered and recorded by the Greensboro Youth Symphony Orchestra after winning the ensemble’s Young Composers Competition. His style of writing is influenced by the Romantic period, with borrowed elements of jazz and other contemporary styles. He attended the 2014 UNCSA Summer Session for composition, and then enrolled at UNCSA to study composition with Dr. Michael Rothkopf. As a jazz guitarist, he has performed in a variety of big band and chamber settings, as well as participating in the Summer Jazz Workshop at UNC-Wilmington. When he isn’t playing or writing music, Scott likes to read, watch movies and play ping-pong.