cmash composers
Miriam Miller
Miriam Miller received a B.M. in Composition from the Berklee School of Music in Boston and an M.M. in Composition from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA. Her principal teachers include Marti Epstein, Paul Brust, and John Howell Morrison. Her works have been performed throughout New England, including the Zeitgeist Gallery in Cambridge and the Met Center in Providence, RI. In addition to her composition efforts, Miriam was chair of the Music Lab Department at the Suzuki School of Newton as well as a faculty member at the Cambridge Music School before recently relocating back to her native San Francisco. She currently teaches solfege, piano, and composition to children and adults in the Bay Area.
Liam Wade
Liam Wade is co-founder and Executive Director of CMASH; collaborations with CMASH performers have led to performances and outreach presentations across the United States, Canada and France. Since 2008, he has composed 11 songs for soprano Ann Moss, all of were premiered on our New American Chamber Music concerts. Wade's collaboration with the Cecilia String Quartet has produced two string quartets. Notable performances have been with La Jolla Music Society, ProQuartet and at the Toronto Music Garden. Last December his String Quartet #4 was premiered by the Hausmann Quartet on Classical Revolution's Red Poppy concerts. His current collaborations are with the Bay area's One Art Ensemble, Picasso Quartet and the Empyrean Ensemble for concerts scheduled throughout 2010. Wade studied composition at La Schola Cantorum in Paris, France and at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA. He continued his study of counterpoint and composition as a private student of Dr. Philip Lasser in New York. He is currently pursuing a M.A. at the University of California Davis where he studies composition with Kurt Rohde and Ross Bauer.
Vartan Aghababian
Vartan Aghababian studied with William Bolcolm and Leslie Bassett at University of Michigan (BM, 1987), and with James Hartway of Wayne State University. After receiving a diploma in film scoring (1992) from Berkelee College of Music, he moved to LA to pursue a career as a film music editor with Warner Brothers Studios. 2 years later he returned to Boston to work as a freelance composer, scoring short documentary films and composing on commission. He completed his MM at the Longy School of Music (2002) studying with Eric Sawyer. He completed doctoral studies at Boston University (DMA, 2008) studying with Samuel Headrick. His music has been performed across the US, in east Asia, and in Europe. Mr. Aghababian has been Composer in Residence for vocal ensemble Recuerdo for six years. He is a member of the music theory and composition faculties at the Longy School of Music, South Shore Conservatory, and the Winchester Community Music School; he directs chamber ensembles at Boston University Academy and at Longy School of Music. He teaches privately and continues to compose on commission.
Weslie Brown
Weslie Brown adores Bob Dylan and she loves Steve Reich. What's in between? Theatrical music - at least that's the way Brown hears it. "I am drawn to the innate pathos of melody and harmony. Emotional music tells a story, with or without lyrics." A jazz and theater singer, Weslie has released 3 CD's and premiered her one-woman show, Fried, in 2002. That year she joined the Academy for New Musical Theater. "It was the first time I was required to compose music seriously. As much as I love to perform, I prefer to wear the composer’s hat, exploring the labyrinth of musical choices." She won Best Music Award at the Beverly Hills film festival and a gold metal at the Park City Music In Film Festival for I Hate Musicals. She just completed a set of TV cues for Showtime's Dexter, and is co-writing songs for a new musical with Arnold Margolin.
Matthew O'Malley
Matthew O'Malley studied composition with Bernard Rands and Elliot Gyger at Harvard University (B.A, 2004) and Howie Frazin at the Longy School of Music. Since finishing his undergraduate studies, Matthew has composed music for short films, documentaries, commercials, public access television shows, and various small ensembles in a broad range of styles. Matthew has also produced and arranged music for popular artists Nick Diaco, MC Kabir, Mieka Pauley, and Hurra Kam Rada and is one of the primary producers for Rhythm, Rhyme, Results, a Cambridge based educational hip hop company. Recently, Matthew relocated to Los Angeles to accept a staff composer position with Human Music and Sound Design. Since joining Human, his compositions have been featured in national and international advertising campaigns including Nintendo, Sony and US Cellular. He is honored to be featured by CMASH and looks forward to many more collaborations.
