Jimena Contreras

Composer and music producer graduated from the Music Faculty at the National and Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and NYU Steinhardt. Founder of Archway Studios, she specializes in the composition and production of music for concert, film, television and video games.

She currently writes music for Channel 22 in Mexico, which is devoted mainly to broadcast art and culture in the metropolitan area. She has made original music for short films, feature films and documentaries in collaboration with different film production companies, producers, and independent directors such as Licano’s Films, Cámara Carnal Films, Darkuss Films, ElementProductions and Hopscotch Digital, among others. Several film productions with her music have been selected and awarded at various Festivals of Cinema in Mexico and around the world. Her music for her films is also available on the YouTube platform Audio Library.

She is currently part of the collective of composers and performers called “Las Montoneras “, where she composes and produces concert music, she is also the conductor and producer of the radio program “Nada Clásicas” on Opus 94, an IMER station (Radio Mexican Institute).

“Cate de mi corazón” for oboe/ english horn and electronics.

“Agua pasa por mi casa, cate de mi corazón”, is a popular Mexican riddle where the answer is Aguacate (Avocado) taught to me by my grandma along with other child games and rhymes when I was a little girl, going for visits to her house in Zacapu, a little town in Michoacan. Down there, we had a big Avocado three, with fruit so big and heavy, I remember one time it made a dent in my mom’s car. Avocado has always been part of the land there, but with global expansion, it became something else. This piece will have memories from my childhood and it will also discuss the problems with the irregular expansion of avocado farms and the problems that causes to the people and land in Michoacan, Mexico”.

Adeline Wong

Singapore-based Malaysian composer Adeline Wong’s music has often been described as bold, with textural energy and kaleidoscopic colours. Adeline’s recent music has aimed for distillation of musical material by concentrating on economy and exploring the material from every possible perspective. Her works have been performed by Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, Orkest de ereprijs, Bang on A Can, amongst others.

Graduating from the Eastman School of Music (USA) and Royal College of Music (UK), Adeline is a Senior Lecturer in Composition at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, National University of Singapore. She is the President of the Malaysian Composers Collective, a platform that promotes Malaysian contemporary classical music and the Artistic Director of Free Hand Malaysian Contemporary Composers Piano Festival in 2019 and 2022. Her recent engagements include invitations to the Francophonie Festival 2021, jury for 2021 AMAT International Competition for Women in Italy, 2022 Asian Composers League Festival in New Zealand.

Sembilan (2022) for oboe and 2 percussion

Sembilan is named after one of the states in the west coast of peninsular Malaysia, Negeri Sembilan (translated as “nine districts”). Encapsulating its nine districts, my work consists of nine small sections which forms the overall structure of the piece. Sembilan shares a similar instrumentation profile to the traditional instruments of the caklempong and serunai, utilising hanging gongs, amglocken, vibraphone, skin drums and the oboe from the Western instruments. Written for three performers, the performers represent the 3 pillars of Minangkabau society that build and maintain the integrity of customs and culture, namely: i) Religious figures, ii) Scholars, and iii) Ancestors.

Sembilan is centred upon and revolves around the relationships between the three performers.

A distinctive architectural feature in rural Negeri Sembilan is the buffalo horn design, predominantly found on the rooftops of traditional Minangkabau homes. The buffalo horn design plays a significant part in the composition heard in the curved shaped melodies of the oboe and at the end of the piece where the ensemble gently rises to reach the peak of Sembilan.

Avik Chari

Avik Chari is a composer and sound designer obsessed with creating interactive media and music for visuals. He embraces the use of sound design in complementing acoustic instruments and telling non-linear musical stories. His latest works focus on ambience and space, taking a calm, meditative approach to rhythm, with pieces such as ‘Senescence’ and ‘i’ll be there for you’. His music has been performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Transient Canvas, K口U, Morse Percussion, Nanyang Collective, Eureka Ensemble and the Boston Conservatory Choruses, used alongside visual media by organizations such as ArkInvest, Asian Civilisations Museum and National University of Singapore as well as in video games such as ‘Covidopoly’ and ‘Assemble This’. Avik has been featured on the Straits Times and the Singapore Symphony’s Bravissimo! magazine. Avik studied at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee under Tina Tallon and Felipe Lara, where he was awarded the Roger Sessions Memorial award for composition. With a keen eye for notation and music engraving, he also leads Liria Music Prep, a music preparation service, while working as an orchestral librarian at the Singapore Symphony. At the moment, he is especially interested in creating more interactive and immersive forms audio-visual content in the virtual space, and recently worked with Pluritopia’s Cloud Studios to create music for the metaverse – all as an excuse to spend more time upgrading his beautiful Minecraft home.

Little Islands for bassoon and electronics

“Little Islands” is a collaborative composition by Singaporean composer Avik Chari and bassoonist Jo Anne Sukumaran that explores the theme of migration and the search for a sense of home. Jo Anne’s personal experiences of living in Singapore and New York form the foundation of the piece, which takes listeners on a musical journey that juxtaposes the unique soundscapes of these two island cities.

The composition blends classical and contemporary music to create a fresh perspective on the idea of home, reflecting the ever-changing nature of the world we live in. Field recordings are used to showcase the cultural and sonic diversity of these two metropolises, capturing their unique ambient, natural, and machine sounds. Through little islands, Avik and Jo Anne aim to celebrate the human experience of migration while highlighting the complexities of finding a sense of belonging in an ever-evolving world.