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A native of the south side of Chicago, Marie Bennett holds a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a master’s degree from DePaul University, both in flute performance. A versatile performer, Marie can be heard on recordings by GIA Publications, and performs regularly with regional orchestras such as the Illinois and Rockford Symphony Orchestras. An active chamber musician, Marie performs regularly with several groups of which she is a founding member, including MKD Trio, a flute, violin, and cello trio; and Kaleidoscope, a flute, oboe, and piano trio. As an enthusiastic freelancer, Marie plays in pit orchestras for musicals, and with various other chamber groups in freelance settings. She is also an active liturgical musician.

Stephen Lias’s passion for wilderness and outdoor pursuits has led to a growing series of compositions about the national parks of the US. He has served as Artist-in-Residence at Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Denali, Glacier Bay, and Gates of the Arctic National Parks, and has written over a dozen park-related pieces that have been premiered in concerts and recitals in such places as Colorado, Texas, Alaska, Sydney, and Taiwan. In 2014 his piece Glacier Bay was premiered by the East Texas Symphony, and Gates of the Arctic by the Boulder Philharmonic. Upcoming performances include the Shreveport Symphony, the Fairbanks Symphony, and the SHIFT Festival of American Orchestras at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He is the founder and leader of Alaska Geographic’s annual “Composing in the Wilderness” field seminar.��

Michigan-born, Manhattan-based American composer Stephanie Ann Boyd (b. 1990) writes melodic music about women’s memoirs and the natural world for symphonic and chamber ensembles. Her work has been performed in nearly all 50 states and has been commissioned by musicians and organizations in 37 countries. Boyd’s five ballets include works choreographed by New York City Ballet principal dancers Lauren Lovette and Ashley Bouder and include a ballet commissioned for the grand opening of the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport. Stephanie’s music has been praised as “a racing, brassy score” (New York Times), “attractive lyricism” (Gramophone), “[with] ethereal dissonances” (Boston Globe), “[music that] didn’t let itself be eclipsed” (Texas Classical Review), and “arrestingly poetic” (BMOP).