Creative Faculty.Summer 2021 |
Composers Institute
Stay tuned for an updated name & website coming soon.
The members of the Creative Faculty are professional composers working in many genres, maintain active performing careers and lead highly hyphenated creative lives. During JCI-COI, they each offer:
- theory and reperetoire #WWXD (what would "x" do?) sessions that employ music theories and practices in all genres,
- one-on-one tutorial lessons devised to support and inspire composers' best musical expressions,
- and advocacy and advice as performers and composers.
Sarah Miller = JCI residential program piano, composer, jci 2021 associate director Dr. Sarah Miller, NCTM, has been teaching composition, theory and piano at MacPhail Center for Music since 1997 after receiving her Ph.D. in music composition from Michigan State University. She has been teaching at Junior Composers Institute since 2011. Sarah’s students have received numerous awards in composition contests both state-wide and nationally. She has received numerous commissions including “All Hearts Beat as One” for the South High School Wind Ensemble (2017) and “One-Dog Sleigh,” a piece for GTCYS Concertino Orchestra (2016). She recently received a 2020 State Arts Board Grant to write “Musicians in Motion at Mia” a set of pieces for small ensembles inspired by works at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. For more information you may visit SarahMiller-Music.com. “Musicians in Motion at Mia” was originally conceived as a set of pieces inspired by art works at the Minneapolis Institute of Art to be performed next to those art works. In 2016 she received a MacPhail Artist Grant to create A State(ment) of Grace. She collaborated with three dancers to shape the piece. They created the choreography and Sarah composed the music. Together they also created a spoken-word script to accompany the dance and music. The resulting work features those 3 dancers, plus 4 singers and a cellist. The pandemic brought many challenges to daily and professional life. Sarah attempted to learn something new each day to meet those challenges by drawing on her creativity and adaptability, and in that way to continue her search for beauty and joy in daily life. Email. 
Eric Radloff - JCI online guitar, drums, keyboard, songwriter, producer A native Minnesotan and a Junior Composers alumnus, Eric now hails from Los Angeles, CA, where he makes his living as a singer-songwriter, producer, performer, and teacher. He blends traditional principles with modern trends and tools to create a unique compositional voice,. Email. 
Mary Kate Hines - JCI Administrator JCI Producer, composer, instrumental director (mason City, IA) Junior Composers Alumna Mary Kate Hines graduated from Wartburg College in the spring of 2019 with a Bachelor of Music Education (BME) degree. Since graduation, Mary Kate has successfully completed her first year of teaching 5th- through 12th-grade band at Newman Catholic Schools in Mason City, Iowa. Her experiences as a composer forms the foundation for her teaching philosophy, as Mary Kate actively seeks to bring out the musical creativity in each of her students. Email. |
Jordyn Davis - JCI online Bass, Songwriter, Vocalist composer, Producer Jordyn Davis is from Inkster MI and In May 2019 became the first African-American woman to receive a Bachelor's in Music Composition and the first to receive both a Bachelor's Degree in Music Composition and Jazz Studies from Michigan State University, concurrently. She has composed & arranged over 20 works for film, various contemporary classical chamber ensembles, symphony orchestra, wind ensemble and jazz ensembles including her octet and big band. Her works have been performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, at the Detroit Institute of Art, Guarneri Hall [Chicago], the University of Michigan, and Michigan State University.. She founded the indie rock/neo-soul project called "Composetheway" & is currently pursing a Masters in Jazz Studies at Michigan State University. Email. 
Randall Davidson - JCI residential program CELLO, Composer, Producer, jci 2021 director One of the earliest faculty members for Junior Composers, he served as General Director and has continued on for 20 years. A longtime member of the Minnesota music scene, Randall is active as cellist, composer, producer and teacher. His works have received 100s of performances and are noted for their creative yet accessible musical language. His influential teachers have been Alf Houkom, Olivier Messiaen, Paul Fetler, Eric Stokes and Dominick Argento. He was one of the original members of the Minnesota Composers Forum, now the American Composers Forum. Email. 
Yue Lor - JCI residential program Recordist, composer, music tech, music business lawyer Yue Lor (J.D.) is a Junior Composers alumnus living in the Twin Cities. Yue holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Theory and Composition from Concordia College (Moorhead) as well as a Juris Doctor degree from the Mitchell-Hamline School of Law. Yue is an active composer of both concert and library music. His pieces have been performed and used in television commercials around the world. When not composing, Yue often freelances as a Front-of-House Audio Engineer or Broadcast Audio Engineer for various churches and organizations. |
