(Composer; Artistic Director, Yes is a World) is an active composer, conductor, and performer of new music. Ted was a composition fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Institute in 2004, and he served as adjunct faculty at Manhattan School of Music from 2004-2006. He was the music director for the premiere of David Lang's opera Anatomy Theatre, as well as for an October 2006 production of The Carbon Copy Building, the Obie-winning opera co-composed by Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe. Ted has worked with ICE, Ridge Theatre, TACTUS, Peter Schreier and Jai Uttal, among others. He is the resident conductor of Red Light New Music, the composer-in-residence of the Chicago Children’s Choir, and sings regularly with the Choir of St. Mary the Virgin (New York). He has studied composition with Nils Vigeland, Julia Wolfe and Aaron Jay Kernis and is currently working with Martin Bresnick as a master’s student at the Yale School of Music.

(Horn; Director, New Music Collective) is a versatile musician and self-taught arts administrator living in Charleston, South Carolina. He helped to found and now directs the New Music Collective in Charleston, and maintains a freelance performing career in Charleston, as well as New York and Europe. He has performed and worked with the Bang on a Can All-Stars, TACTUS, and Yes is a World in New York City, and has also performed with Ensemble Modern in Europe. In Charleston, he can be seen performing with Cabaret Kiki, Bill Carson, Kopaja, the Illuminati Outro, Havanason, Buenos Hermanos, and the New Music Collective.

(mezzo-soprano) is a versatile singer whose has been praised for her "sumptuous" (The Boston Globe) and "impressive" (Newsweek) voice. As an early-music musician, she has worked with musicians such as Paul O'Dette, Ellen Hargis, Fred Renz, and Andrew Parrott with New York Collegium. As a contemporary musician, she has worked under Brad Lubman, Gil Rose, and Daniel Reusse, and performed works by Berio, Babbitt, Reich, Rands, Zorn, Xenakis, and the Bang on a Can artists. She has performed in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream (Oberon), Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro (Cherubino), Sondheim's Sweeney Todd (Mrs. Lovett), Poulenc's Dialogue of the Carmelites (Mother Marie), Purcell's Dido and Aeneas (Dido), Copland's The Tender Land (Ma Moss). She has performed as soloist in Mozart's Requiem, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, Handel's Messiah, and Bach's Magnificat. A graduate of Vassar College and the Eastman School of Music, Abby studied with Drew Minter, Mary Ann Hart, Carol Webber, and Susanne Mentzer. She has attended Lucca Opera Festival, Ferrandou Singing School, Opera North, Madison Early Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival, the Tanglewood Music Festival, and the Lucerne Festival Academy.

(tenor) is the 5th of 8 children. Both of his parents are veteran recording artists as well as songwriters. Isaiah has been singing all his life and playing the piano since the age of four. He joined the Chicago Children's Choir in 1992, and did voice-over and acting work throughout his childhood. He won a gold medal in the 2001 National NAACP ACT-SO Competition for contemporary vocal performance and a silver medal in the classical division, and worked as the resident musical director for the Dunes Summer Theater Lab in Michiana Shores, Indiana.  He is a founding member of Yes is a World, with whom, under the direction of Ted Hearne, he performed Benjamin Britten's Serenade for tenor, horn, and string orchestra in August 2004. He currently serves as the head of praise and worship at the New Life Center C.O.G.I.C and has plans for a new music production company in the works. "Walking in space, we find the purpose of peace."

(soprano) enjoys singing classical, jazz, R&B, pop, gospel, and any repertoire in between, although she firmly believes that a singer must have solid classical voice training foundation to maintain a healthy singing career. Allison is currently persuing a master's degree with Michael Ricciardone at NYU, where she also serves as adjunct faculty. She has been a member of the U of I Black Chorus, Women's Glee Club, and Concert Choir, served as the music coordinator for the African American Academy for the Arts, and is president and musical director of SoulEssence Acappella. She has performed in Sweeney Todd, Suor Angelica, Candide, and L'incoronazione di Poppea, as well as with the Champaign-based jazz trio Panache, and will be appearing in the NYU production of The Gondoliers this spring. Allison is a founding member of Yes is a World.

(baritone) is enjoying success in a variety of musical venues: from opera to Broadway, from orchestral concerts to solo recitals. He has appeared with Boston Musica Viva, the Serenade recital series (Staten Island, NY) and at the Kennedy Center with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, as well as with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, NYC and numerous orchestral and choral groups nationwide. Mr. Turner’s opera/musical theater roles include: Harry Easter in Street Scene; William Henry in Harriet Tubman; Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana; Dappertutto in Les Contes d’Hoffmann; Schaunard in La Bohème; and Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus. Having received his degrees in vocal performance from Simpson College the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Mr. Turner is an exponent of the classical repertoire of music by black and minority composers, a literature which is consistently included in his concert repertoire. Mr. Turner has toured the United States and Europe with performance artist Laurie Anderson in Songs and Stories from Moby Dick. He has been a featured guest on the PBS special Great Performances and was a recitalist for the Inaugural Concert at the American Classical Music Hall of Fame in Cincinnati. Turner was featured soloist with Jessye Norman in a benefit concert for the Healing of AIDS under the direction of George C. Wolfe, and has recorded the songs of Finnish composer Heikki Sarmanto.

(Percussion; Asst. Director, New Music Collective) is a professional percussionist in Charleston, South Carolina.  He performs regularly in the regional Southeast with ensembles ranging from jazz to free improvisation to avant-garde classical music to professional stage shows and recording sessions.  An avid performer of new music, he has premiered pieces by Ted Hearne, Ray Evanoff, Philip White, and Nathan Koci in the past year.  Mr. Wiltrout is devoted to exploring the many sonic possibilities of percussion, with particular emphasis on the drum kit as a multi-faceted, highly expressive instrument.  He has performed and worked with Frank Duvall, Robert Lewis, Brad Moranz, Havanason, Kopaja, Buenos Hermanos, Brazil, the Rudy Waltz, and the New Music Collective.

(pianist) has brought his passion for contemporary music to venues in North America and the Middle East, such as the 92 nd Street Y, Merkin Hall, Rose Hall at Lincoln Center, the Whitney Museum, The Stone, St. Anne's Warehouse, Tonic, Sprague Hall, Mass MoCa, and Cairo's historic Ewart Hall. He has played with many new music groups such as Yes is a World, Red Light, Newband, Real Quiet, Tactus, and Music with a Capital M. David has worked with composers such as Pierre Boulez, Steve Reich, Michael Gordon, Evan Ziporyn, Jim Thirlwell, Alvin Lucier, and Anthony Braxton. Also a composer, David's composition The Egg was recently released on a CD by singing cellist Jody Redhage. He returned to the VIM Series last May with Hold the Applause, a solo concert of new music in which works are connected by composed and improvised transitions to create a continuous web of music.

(guitar) performs extensively as a guitarist. He is the
co-founder/co-director of Kinski, a fantastically raucous sextet and
performs regularly with Yes is a World, Newspeak, Tactus, Sub-Traffic
and is in the process of starting an electric guitar quartet. He has
worked with Meredith Monk, The New York Soundpainting Orchestra, and
Bang on a Can, including the October 2006 UK production of The Carbon
Copy Building, the Obie-winning opera co-composed by Michael Gordon,
David Lang, and Julia Wolfe. Taylor also pursues an active role as an
educator in the NYC area. He studied at The Manhattan School of Music
and The Amsterdam Conservatory. Taylor currently resides in Brooklyn,
with a wonderful community garden for a backyard.

(violin) graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in 2005, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree as a student of Sylvia Rosenberg. Her fondness for presenting contemporary works has her headed to the University of California, San Diego for graduate studies.

(clarinet) grew up in Australia, where she dreamed of living in New York, perhaps under the influence of one too many episodes of Sesame Street at a formative age. Since finally moving there in 2004 she has been studying towards a Masters degree at the Manhattan School of Music, with renowned teacher Charles Neidich. Eileen performs regularly with the MSM contemporary ensemble Tactus, the Y trio (with cellist Jody Redhage and percussionist Jonathan Shapiro), and with Newspeak. In addition to her clarinet playing activities she is active in the areas of sound design and electronic music, and works as an intern with new music heavyweights Bang on a Can.
In her former life Eileen played as soloist and section player with many of Australia's professional orchestras. She is a recipient of a Churchill Fellowship, and has also received support from the Ars Musica Foundation, the PPCA Foundation, and the Australia Council.

(violist)is a currently living in the Bay Area, California, although he intends to move soon. He has been playing music his whole life and holds a BA from the Manhattan School of Music.

(trumpet) At only 16, CHRISTOPHER COLETTI gave his solo debut with the Staten Island Symphony, and has since soloed with the LaGuardia Symphony and the Center Symphony Orchestra. He has performed in recital throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, including most recently three solo performances in Osaka, Japan. Other recent solo performances include Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Trumpets with Paul Merkelo of the Montreal Symphony and the Music Academy of the West Chamber Orchestra, a solo concert of contemporary music at THE STONE in downtown Manhattan, and the Tomasi Trumpet Concerto with the Manhattan School of Music Philharmonia Orchestra after winning their annual concerto competition. He is an experienced orchestral player, having played under such conductors as Pierre Boulez, Leon Botstein, Gerard Schwartz, Kurt Masur, and Michael Tilson Thomas. As a chamber musician, Chris performed alongside performers such as Paul Merkelo, Thomas Smith of the New York Philharmonic, as well as Joe Burgstaller and other members of the Canadian Brass.  His chamber groups have performed for Billy Joel, Chevy Chase, Martha Stewart, Pete Seeger, and Barbara Bush among others. Chris is a member of Aiden and Even and the Innocent, a pop/rock band whose first CD will be released this June. This summer Chris will be performing in Sopporo, Japan with the Pacific Music Festival, and throughout Korea as principal trumpet of the New Jersey Philharmonic. Now 22 years old, Chris has graduated from Manhattan School of Music and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at The Juilliard School. Greatly inspired by his teacher Mark Gould, Chris’ musical interests now span far beyond his Western classical roots, from Eastern music to free improv.

(cellist, composer, and vocalist) is a passionate proponent of new music and chamber music.  Heralded for her “exceptional technical command” (Time Out NY) after an April, 2006 performance at the Tribeca New Music Festival, Jody has been sought out to perform over 100 premieres and to participate in an array of cutting-edge, experimental chamber music and solo projects. Jody herself began composing at age 19, and in the past three years, she has embarked on a project in which she simultaneously sings and plays cello. As the winner of the 2005 prestigious Hertz Fellowship Grant, Jody commissioned nine works for her voice and cello by talented emerging composers and has recorded a CD of these premieres titled All Summer in a Day, released on New Amsterdam Records (www.newamsterdamrecords.com).

 Jody graduated with a master's degree in cello performance from the Manhattan School of Music and she now resides in Brooklyn.  Jody has worked with composers Pierre Boulez, Martin Bresnick, George Crumb, Michael Gordon, David Lang, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Lois V. Vierk, and Julia Wolfe.  Additional notable collaborations include performances within a wide range of genres, including Neil Diamond and band, Jay-Z, Beyonce, the Roots, Meatloaf, Enya, Clay Aiken, members of the Tokyo String Quartet, the Bang on a Can All-Stars, and the Flux Quartet.  She has appeared on TV playing on ABC's The View and the CBS Early Show, and NBC’s The Today Show and the Rockefeller Center Christmas Spectacular.  She has been heard live on National Public Radio’s Performance Today (playing her composition All Summer in a Day for her voice and cello), and music from her upcoming CD has been aired on WNYC’s Evening Music and on WFMU.  Upcoming performances are listed on www.jodyredhage.com.

(bassist) is a versatile soloist, chamber musician, bass guitarist and composer. He performs regularly with Grammy Award winner Paul Halley; The Chris Norman Ensemble; and the Alaskan Native Band Pamyua, with whom he showcased at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards; and with Young Artists International’s chamber orchestra I Palpiti, with whom he toured Europe, North America and the Middle East. Mr. Saebo has also performed at Chamberfest, the Annual Baroque Ensemble with Lionel Party at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, and with the renowned contemporary ensemble Alarm Will Sound. He most currently is a fellow of The Academy-A Program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and Weill Music Institute. Kris holds a BM and a MM from The Juilliard School.