Michelle Lou is a freelance bassist and composer. Her main interests lie in the realm of experimental new music, with recent projects that attempt to distort the perception of time and scale.
The compositions of Amy Williams have been presented at renowned contemporary music venues across the United States and Europe. Ms. Williams also performs in The Bugallo-Williams Piano Duo, a group which has recorded four critically-acclaimed CDs for Wergo (works of Nancarrow, Stravinsky, Varèse/Feldman and Kurtág), as well as appearing on the Neos and Albany labels. Ms. Williams was the recipient of a Howard Foundation Fellowship for 2008-2009, a Fromm Music Foundation Commission in 2009 and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2015-2016. Ms. Williams holds a Ph.D. in composition from the State University of New York at Buffalo, where she also received her Master’s degree in piano performance. She has taught at Bennington College and Northwestern University and is currently Associate Professor of Composition at the University of Pittsburgh. She is the Artistic Director of the New Music on the Point Festival in Vermont. amywilliamsmusic.com
Composer and pianist Wang Lu was born in Xi’an, the ancient capital of China. Being brought up in a musical family with strong Chinese opera and folk music traditions, her works reflect a very natural identification with those influences, through the prism of contemporary instrumental techniques and new sonic possibilities.
Ushio Torikai is known for her highly individual musical voice, developed over many years of research and compositional experience in diverse musical fields including European classical music, traditional Japanese music, ancient Japanese music and computer/electronics.