Seasons of Emotion - Fall Graduate Composers' Concert

Joaquin Lichtle is a Mexican composer and conductor with a Magna Cum Laude degree from Berklee College of Music. While at Bleeding Fingers Music, a composer collective led by Hans Zimmer and Russell Emmanuel, Joaquin participated in the Around The World In 80 Days series (BBC). The project received a nomination for the Music+Sound Awards 2022 for which Christian Lundberg, Joaquin’s former mentor, gave him the privilege of being included as a finalist along with Zimmer, Emmanuel and himself. Being a part of Forbes Mexico’s list of the 100 Most Creative Mexicans In the World, Joaquin has given masterclasses in top institutions in Latin America. He has received additional international recognition from institutions such as the IBLA Grand Prize, Marker and Pioneer International Competition and the New York Latino Film Festival. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Composition at UCLA on a fellowship, during which he will be studying with world-renowned faculty members such as Richard Danielpour, Ian Krouse, Kay Rhie, Peter Golub, and many others.

Sergey Nesterov is a composer of concert and film music, orchestrator, and songwriter. Born in Moscow in 1997, he began studying composition from a young age with professor Tatiana Chudova at the Moscow Conservatory. He later went on to study with professors Valery Kikta and Alexander Tchaikovsky. In 2020, he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory with honors. In 2022 he was accepted into UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music to continue his education with professors Richard Danielpour and Ian Krouse. Among Sergey’s works are orchestral pieces, chamber music, choral, and electroacoustic music, as well as music for video games, live-action and animated films. Sergey eyes dramatic and melodic development in his music, choosing flavorful harmonies to accompany intricately crafted themes. His original pieces and orchestrations have been performed in the United States, in various countries across Europe and Asia, and films featuring his music have been shown at international festivals.

SiHyun Uhm is an accomplished composer, pianist, and multimedia producer based in Los Angeles and South Korea. She has received commissions from prestigious institutions such as the US AirForce Academy Band, Yamaha, Rice University, Columbia Digital Audio Festival, and more. SiHyun has been recognized as a Composer Fellow by the American Composers Orchestra, Nashville Symphony Composer Lab, and has received prizes and awards from the President’s Own Marine Band and the Art Council of Korea.

Her versatility extends across genres like classical, electronic, pop, rock, and film/game music. SiHyun’s talent has been acknowledged with a 3rd prize in the Shanghai International Digital Music Festival. She completed her undergraduate studies at the Eastman School of Music, holds a Master’s degree in composition from The Juilliard School, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in composition at UCLA. Additionally, she holds a diploma from the Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Massachusetts.

Madeline Barrett is a Los Angeles-based composer of concert music known to evoke imagery of nature and foster human connection. Raised in Phoenix, AZ, she draws inspiration from the world around her, whether it be the oceans of the North American coast, the deserts of Arizona, or the softly bustling streets of Boston.

In addition to many US performances, Madeline’s works have been performed in Italy and Austria, by esteemed groups such as the Orchestra Senzaspine, Salastina, Carpe Diem String Quartet, Quatuor Diotima, and PHACE ensemble, as well as soloists such as Stefano Greco, Sophia Bacelar, Lisa Pegher, and Michelle Rice. She is a recent winner of the 7th Annual Boston New Music Initiative Young Composer Competition for her work The Flowers That Close at Night.

Madeline has a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Chapman University and a Master of Arts from UCLA. She is currently pursuing a PhD in composition, continuing her studies at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music in the studio of Richard Danielpour.

John Hollywood is a second year MA student in Music Composition. He grew up performing music, but after college he worked as a mechanical engineer until 2020. He has studied composition with Kay Rhie, David Lefkowitz, and Nicholas Vasallo. In his spare time, he enjoys reading.

Charles Burns has established a diverse and respected body of work. His compositions, spanning orchestral and chamber ensembles, choirs, his own big band, and explorations of electronic, pop, soul, and jazz music, reflect a broad musical spectrum.

Born in Florida and raised in New Jersey, his career began as a professional saxophonist, sharing stages with notable artists such as Plas Johnson, Cecil Taylor, Barbara Morrison, and Jeff Goldblum. He has since transitioned to academia, teaching music theory at the California Institute of the Arts and pursuing a PhD in Composition at UCLA.

In his music, Charles delves into the liminal spaces of the world around us. His work is a testament to his dedication to probing the myriad dimensions of human experience, using composition as a medium to interpret and understand the nuanced and sometimes paradoxical nature of being. “Moss and Moth and Petrichor” explores themes of breath, loss, transfiguration, and healing.

Hailing from Texas, Austin Ali is a composer, trumpeter, and arranger based in Los Angeles, California. An insatiably curious person, he strives to inspire wonder through his music. From complex-meter jazz to spacey orchestral scores, he seeks to compose infectiously fun and unforgettable music.

As a trumpeter, Austin was named “Promising Artist of the 21st Century” on tour with Big Wy’s Brass Band, performing for the U.S. Ambassador and President of Costa Rica in 2017 and 2019. He has performed and taught masterclasses in multiple international jazz festivals, collaborated with artists such as Wayne Bergeron, Joe Lovano, Stefano Greco, Christopher Bill, and opened for Stevie Wonder at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX.

Most recently, Austin traveled to Tampa, FL, Columbus, IN, and Siena, Italy for the premieres of his latest three orchestral works Defiant Overture, The Beginner’s Guide to Space Travel, and Atmospheres by the Tampa Bay Symphony, Columbus Symphony, and Orchestra Senzaspine in 2023. Austin is looking forward to the premiere of his Harp Concerto by the Los Angeles Inception Orchestra in February 2024.

Austin holds his B.A. and B.M. from the University of Texas at Austin and his M.A. from University of California, Los Angeles.

Robby Good is a current master’s student at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music for composition in visual media. He graduated from UCLA’s undergraduate music program in 2022 with a double degree in composition and percussion performance, with a minor in film. During high school, Robby was accepted into the Nancy and Barry Sanders Los Angeles Philharmonic Composer Fellowship Program, where he studied under Andrew Norman and Sarah Gibson. Robby’s concert works have been premiered by ensembles such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the International Contemporary Ensemble, the National Children’s Chorus, the Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, and the CSUN Wind Ensemble. Robby has scored over 30 films and animations from students at UCLA, CalArts, Chapman University, Pratt Institute, Sarah Lawrence College, and more. He has also provided the scores to a number of video games developed within game jams, and is currently working on the music for the steadily-releasing “Project: Eden’s Garden.” Robby is currently working for composer Charles Fox, and is currently music directing the production of “Dis-topia,” an original musical with music and orchestrations by him, which will premiere in February 2024.

Matt Smith, born in San Diego in 1987, is a composer and musician now based in Los Angeles. He earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2010 and 2012, respectively. Matt’s compositions enjoy performances globally, premiering in prestigious venues from Severance Hall in Ohio to the Academia Chigiana in Italy. Beyond composing, he is an experienced educator with over a decade of experience teaching music theory and history to students of all ages.

From 2014 to 2022, Matt immersed himself in music production and arrangement in Los Angeles, working with a wide variety of artists. He founded the electro-chamber ensemble Iridas, showcasing a diverse repertoire on a successful 20-city tour of China.

Currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, Matt studies under acclaimed composer Richard Danielpour.

Morgan Kelly Moss (M.A. UCLA in-progress, B.M. Magna Cum Laude Temple University) is a composer, teacher, and pianist from Philadelphia, PA, currently based in Los Angeles. Morgan’s music has a sound world that is described as neo-American with inspiration from nature, and always spirited with a twinge of optimism. In 2023, her “Dreams of Holy Places” was selected by pianist and maestro Jeffery Jacobs to be recorded on an internationally distributed album of new works. Additionally, her work for solo trumpet and piano, “To the Ones who Know my Heart,” was selected for performance from 90 international submissions by the International Trumpet Guild. She has also been accorded “Emerging Composer” by Tribeca New Music Competition. Morgan has worked with ensembles across the country such as the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, the Argus Quartet, the Chester County Band, Temple University concert choir, concert band, and composers’ orchestra. Moss is very active in scoring music for film, scoring over 30 short films to date, and in 2022 composed her first feature film score which was released in theaters in July, 2022. She currently works in Los Angeles at Bear McCreary’s composing studio, Sparks and Shadows. She is very proud to be a teaching fellow at the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the founder of Everywhere Music Company, a TA at UCLA for Musicianship and Music Theory, as well as a teacher of piano, composition, theory, and voice at the Music Studio of Patricia Keith. Morgan plans to graduate from UCLA in 2024, and continue to grow her career as a composer and teacher.