Ink Still Wet

Hansol Choi is a South Korean composer and percussionist based in Queens, NY and Ann Arbor, MI. He draws inspirations early experiences of singing hymns in church and performing in Samulnori (Korean percussion quartet) groups. 

Inspired by liturgical music and Traditional Korean Folk music (Gu-Gak), Choi ponders the universally shared theological and existential longings that drive us toward connections, attempting to affirm our divinely placed hopes for life and love without end. He is committed to integrating Gu-Gak elements within his music.

Choi’s music has been performed by notable musicians such as the Great Falls Symphony Orchestra, University of Michigan’s University Symphony Orchestra (conducted by YeoRyeong Ahn), Talujon, and American Modern Ensemble. He is also an alumni of the 2024 American Composers’ Orchestra’s Earshot readings with the Jacobs School of Music’s Chamber Orchestra. He holds a master’s degree in composition from The Manhattan School of Music, and a Bachelors’ degree in percussion from the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, CUNY. 

He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition at the University of Michigan. There he currently studied with Evan Chambers, Bright Sheng, Roshanne Etezady, and Kristin Kuster. His significant composition mentors include James Ra, Richard Danielpour, Marjorie Merryman, David Serkin Ludwig, Vivian Fung, and Edward Smaldone.

Stuttgart based composer Jaeduk Kim explores the dynamic intersections of sound, memory, perception, and contemporary life. His work often begins with subtle sonic movements – breath, pulse, resonance – yet expands toward broader questions of history, identity, and the conditions of the digital age. By blending diverse acoustic textures with pitch, he creates immersive soundscapes that reveal the visceral qualities of sound – its timbre, color, mass, and weight.

His musical language has been shaped through collaborations with leading ensembles such as Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Musikfabrik, Klangforum Wien, Barcelona Modern Ensemble, Divertimento Ensemble, Ensemble Schallfeld, NEC Ensemble, Les Percussions de Strasbourg, Ensemble TIMF, as well as orchestras including the Korean National Symphony Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie orchestra. He was invited and commissioned new compositions by interntaional art festivals such as IRCAM–Manifeste in Paris, La Biennale di Venezia in Venice and Tokyo Opera City – B to M series.

Kim holds a Master of Music degree from the Haute école de musique de Genève, where he studied under Michael Jarrell, Luis Naón, and Gilbert Nouno with support from the Hans Wilsdorf Rolex Foundation. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in composition and orchestral conducting from the Korea National University of Arts. He graduated Konzert-Examen program at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln under Miroslav Srnka with a highest honor and pursuading computer music in HMDK Stuttgart.

Ultimately, Kim’s practice seeks to create sonic environments where memory, philosophical tension, and new sensory awareness converge – spaces in which listeners encounter themselves, their communities, and history anew.

Noah Godard is a Californian composer based in New York City. Anchored by a sense of playfulness and deep curiosity, his music often reflects on our relationship with the environment, the oversaturation of modern media, and the boundary between irony and nostalgia. Noah is finishing a BM in composition at the Juilliard School, studying with Nina C. Young, Amy Beth Kirsten, and Matthias Pintscher.

Noah held the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Steven Stucky Composer Fellow Chair in 2025, having previously spent three years in the LA Phil Composer Fellowship Program. He has also taken part in festivals such as the Bowdoin International Music Festival, Yellow Barn’s Young Artists’ Program, and MATA Jr.; and has worked with ensembles including Hub New Music, Sandbox Percussion, and the Lyris and Bergamot Quartets. Noah’s music has received recognition from organizations such as Juilliard, ASCAP, the Entraide Française, and YoungArts.

A passionate teacher, Noah is the Program Director of the NowBeat Project, has been contracted as a composition instructor by the Rhythmic Music Conservatory of Denmark, and holds several teaching fellowships at Juilliard. Aside from music, Noah studies as a bonsai artist, and enjoys cooking, hiking, and studying linguistics.

Laila Arafah is a London-based composer whose work explores fragile systems, collaborative modes, and forms emerging from interruption and temporal instability. At nineteen, she received a commission from the London Symphony Orchestra through the Panufnik Composers Scheme, and has since been commissioned by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, London Contemporary Music Festival, Explore Ensemble, Carducci Quartet, London Mozart Players, Roadrunner Trio (Amsterdam), and Quatuor Bozzini (Canada).

Her music has been performed internationally by Talea Ensemble, Ensemble MusikFabrik (Cologne), London Sinfonietta,  Zone Expérimentale Basel (Austria), Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble, Boston New Music Initiative, and Standard Issue. She has held fellowships at Aspen Music Festival (2024, 2025), Dartington Music Festival, Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, and IMPULS Festival. Her work has appeared at venues including King’s Place, Bold Tendencies, St John’s Smith Square, Bowdoin Music Festival, Westminster Abbey, Britten Studio, KM28 Berlin, Aldeburgh Festival, AżTak Festival (Poland), La Sorbonne University, and Soundways Festival (Russia). Her work has also been recognised  by the Frank Abell Composer's Award, Leverhulme Bursary Award,  Faber Music Bursary, International Guitar Foundation, the Centre for Deep Listening, MCME Academy, and she served as CoMA’s 2024 Composer-in-Residence.

Laila is pursuing a Bachelor of Music (Hons) in Composition at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Rubens Askenar and Gareth Moorcraft. Through various courses and festivals, she has also studied with George Lewis, Judith Weir, Chaya Czernowin, Hans Abrahamsen, Brett Dean, Clara Iannotta, Nico Muhly, Christopher Theofanidis, Missy Mazzoli, Anders Hillborg, Pierre Jodlowski, Olga Neuwirth, and Augusta Read Thomas.

Upcoming projects include a new chamber work for Trio Diorama at the RED NOTE Festival, a solo piano premiere for Bridget Yee at the Lucerne Festival, and a London Symphony Orchestra premiere at Barbican Centre.

Noé Gillerot is a 25 year old composer and conductor. He earned three master’s degrees from Arts2 – Conservatoire royal de Mons in composition, orchestral conducting, and music theory. Noé Gillerot’s music is diverse: sometimes pure, sometimes applied, for the stage or concert, sophisticated or more popular. Yet it always seeks emotion and authenticity, aiming to approach the «essential».

Noé Gillerot is a laureate of the PRÉlude, Louis Cattiaux, and SOV’s Composer Academy 2022 competitions. He also received the SABAM Composition Prize in 2023. As a composer, he has written for ensembles such as the Symphonic Orchestra of Flanders, Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, Royal chamber orchestra of Wallonia and many more.

As a conductor, Noé serves as music director of the Maelström Ensemble and the LAPS Ensemble, and collaborates with several other orchestras. Recently, he assisted Débora Waldmann at La Monnaie (Brussels Opera house), Nicolas Krüger and Patrick Leterme at PBA Charleroi. He has been appointed music director of the «Ravel» project at Studio PBA (May 2026).

He also hosts a podcast produced by Belgian national radio Musiq3, which presents 20th-century music in an accessible way. He is frequently invited by radio stations for various other programs.