“…And the pleasure blooms to die” is a new work for soprano saxophone and piano written for Michael Hernandez by Juan Sebastián Cardona Ospina. The work is based on the writings of Queer Colombian author, Fernando Molano who tragically died of AIDS at the age of 37. For Fernando Molano Vargas …

The inspiration for this piece comes from the published children’s book, Paseo y Huellas. The book is used in schools and churches as a way to inform Central American families of the real dangers of journeying to the United States. The saxophone is accompanied by recorded voices that represent the thousands of people who have to confront these difficult decisions daily. This version for soprano saxophone, film and electronics was adapted at the request of Michael Hernandez for the 2023 season.

Cesonia y El Espejo was written for Michael Hernandez in 2021. Luis Miguel was inspired by the existential play “Caligula” by Albert Camus…

Andrew Rodriguez’s (b. 1989) interest in music began with stints as the guitarist for various metal/hardcore bands as a teenager. This path culminated with three full-length albums as one of the main songwriters for the hardcore/punk band Close Your Eyes on Chicago-based label, Victory Records. Rodriguez’s history as a performer sculpts the core of his musical identity. Having spent over three years touring the country, Andrew’s passion for the DIY scene continues to guide his creativity. The embedded experiences of performing intense and passionate music night after night have led to a musical language that is both raw and dramatically expressive. His music combines a personal history and love of indie rock with a traditional education in composition, and is often expanded upon with the use of live electronics.

As a Queer Latinx composer, Sebastian is a staunch fighter for representation of underrepresented peoples and intersections thereof. As well, as an artist who happens to suffer from mental illness, they often make pieces related to mental health struggles and unique experiences they would want to see represented and recorded. It is those very struggles they use to derive their musical style - heavy contrast, extreme forms, a reckless abandon.

Sebastian Suarez-Solis (b. 1999) is a Baltimore-based sonic and visual artist whose works range from musical compositions to prints, installations and performances. ). Sebastian's oeuvre is to explore the gamut of human emotion, especially through the lenses of mental health, metaphysics, identity and culture, philosophical arguments, love and sexuality, and power and oppression.

Christopher Luna-Mega is a composer and improviser from Mexico City. Interested in focused listening, performance strategies, audio technology, and interdisciplinary collaboration, his work analyzes sounds and data from natural and urban environments and translates them into notated music for performers and electronics in various forms of media.

Patricia Martinez is a composer, interdisciplinary artist and performer. Her works have gained international recognition as being “arresting” (The New York Times), "darkly theatrical" and "utterly gripping" (Journal of Music) yet also “intense and deeply poignant“ (TheaterScene). Her creative and research interests are focused on new music composition and interdisciplinary projects, especially use of technology (electroacoustic and video art), improvisation, and choreography-composition. She creates music as a multidimensional expression that amplifies new music theatre to become a provocative and completely new language itself full of dramatic potential.

Victor Ibarra, born in Mexico, has had an extensive training in his own country as well as in France and Switzerland, with well-known musicians such as Hebert Vázquez, José Luis Castillo, Edith Lejet, Daniel D’Adamo and Michael Jarrell. He has been awarded first prize in the Alea III competition in the United States, first prize in the National Music Auditorium – BBVA Foundation competition in Spain, first prize in the Mauricio Kagel competition, the Zeitklang Award in Austria, first prize in the Basel Composition Competition in Switzerland, among other international recognitions. Ibarra was recently selected at the Ensemble Aleph’s 7th International Forum for Young Composers, while simultaneously chosen as a member of the Casa de Velazquez – Académie de France à Madrid.

Gabriel José Bolaños (b. 1984 Bogotá, Colombia) is a Nicaraguan-American composer of solo, chamber, orchestral and electroacoustic music. He frequently collaborates closely with performers, and enjoys writing music that explores unusual structures and timbres. He is interested in computer-assisted-composition, auditory perception, linguistics, and modular synthesizers. He enjoys listening to music by Saariaho, Romitelli, Grisey, Gubaidulina, Harvey, León, Os Mutantes, Ciani, Wishart, Simon Diaz, Yupanqui and Sabicas.

“Among the others: Red, for soprano saxophone and piano” will be premiered in 2023 by Michael Hernandez.

“When I moved to Arkansas for grad school, some newly made friends took me out to a place called Artist Point to experience all of the trees changing colors. I was totally blown away by the beauty of it all: the bright and gorgeous shades of oranges and yellows and the occasional patch of green that hadn’t changed color quite yet. In the middle of all of this, way off in the distance, I noticed one tree whose leaves were turning bright fiery red! There may have been other trees with these red leaves, but that was the only one I noticed. I was so caught be the striking image of the red completely surrounded by the oranges and yellows that I felt this would be the perfect inspiration for a new piece of music. I hope you enjoy this piece as much as I enjoyed that road trip and remember the memories of all those gorgeous Fall colors“