JAMES BLACHLY, hailed by Chamber Music America as “vigorous and assured,” is a composer interested in the intersection of literature, poetry, and composition. He made his Carnegie Hall debut this past May with a commission from the Academy of Carnegie Hall, the Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute. This year, Mr. Blachly has received commissions from the Memphis Boychoir, the Ikarus Chamber Players, The Academy of Carnegie Hall/Juilliard/Weill Music Institute for the second year in a row, and the Syracuse Opera for a short opera to be premiered March 2010. In 2008, he founded The Sheep Island Ensemble, a vehicle for the performance of his works and of other contemporary music. The group takes its name from a tiny island in the Gulf of Maine where there is no running water or electricity, and where time stands still in the experience of deep natural beauty and the gentle light of the Aladdin lamp. It is the intention of the ensemble to perpetuate a similar experience of serenity, beauty, and strength through its musical presentations. For more information, please visit www.jamesblachly.com

MARTHA BISHOP is an alumna of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she received a Master's Degree in Musicology studying with Professors Glen Haydon and William S. Newman. She now lives in Atlanta specializing in early music on original instruments and performs with New Trinity Baroque and the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra. She is Music Director of the Viola da Gamba Society of Americas annual Conclave, has taught composition at Agnes Scott College, and is a Fellow in composition at Hambridge Center for the Arts. For more information, please visit www.marthabishop.com