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Five composers have been named to the first cohort of the New Canon Project. With
$100,000 in grant support from the Sphinx Venture Fund, Rising Tide Music Press, the
American String Teachers Association, and the American Choral Directors Association
are partnered together to focus on commissioning new works by Black and Latinx
composers for the orchestra and choral classrooms.

The following individuals have been selected by ACDA for the first cohort of choral
composers:

Brian Harris, Jr., a twenty-four-year-old teacher and accomplished freelance composer, boasts an impressive
portfolio of over eighty compositions spanning various ensembles, including solo voice and piano, choir, a flute
quartet, and multiple string works. His works have been well received both at the college level and within the
community, attesting to the broad appeal of his musical prowess.

Taleya Jordan is a senior music education student at Southeastern Louisiana University, where she studies clas-
sical, jazz, and musical theatre. She has performed for Southeastern’s Mozart Opera Scenes, and in December
2022 was a featured soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria at First United Methodist Church of Hammond. She has also done
productions with Swamplight Theatre such as “Oliver” (Mrs. Bedwin) and “Wilber’s Disco Inferno of Love” (Caba-
ret Performer). Taleya is the business owner of “Cantante Music Lessons,” where she helps both newcomers and
seasoned performers achieve whatever goals they have.

Cristian Larios (he/él) is a composer, conductor, and educator from Joliet, IL. He currently serves as choir di-
rector at Plainfield North High School. His works range from chamber music to larger choral works. His music
has been performed by the Illinois State Madrigals, No-Name Chorale, SWIC Chamber Singers, Tonality, and
has been featured at the REDNote New Music Festival. In 2021, Cristian’s piece ‘in this house’ was featured on
Tonality’s album America Will Be. In 2019, Cristian was accepted as a fellow for the PREMIERE|Project Festival in
collaboration with Choral Arts Initiative. Cristian is currently pursuing his master’s of music education at the University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign.

Marina Quintanilla was majoring in vocal performance at Oklahoma City University and participating in the
Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band as the bari saxophone player. It wasn’t until her junior year, when she took a
composition class, that she realized composing was something she enjoyed and felt confident doing. Since re-
turning to school as a master's student in composition, she has had readings with the OCU Symphony Orchestra,
and has written a choral piece which made its debut with a semi-professional chamber choir, The Canterbury
Chamber Voices.

Khyle B. Wooten (he/him), a native of Philadelphia, PA, is assistant professor of music performance and direc-
tor of choral activities at Ithaca College. He maintains professional activities as a conductor, educator, clinician,
researcher, and composer. At present, Wooten leads ongoing research on the life and music of Lena McLin and
extended choral works of Black women composers, presenting regularly at regional and national conferences.
He is an inaugural fellow of the Future of Music Faculty Fellowship with the Cleveland Institute of Music. Woo-
ten holds degrees in music education and choral conducting from Lincoln University of PA (BS), Georgia State University (MM),
and Florida State University (PhD).

At the heart of the project is a commissioning partnership, involving Black and Latinx composers working with mentors—either
composers who are already successful in the school ensemble market or pedagogues in choral and string music who can assist
with writing works that match student skill levels—and with a school classroom ensemble. Upon completion of the work, the
pieces will be published as a collaboration of Rising Tide Music Press, the American String Teachers Association, and the Ameri-
can Choral Directors Association and will be distributed worldwide with ArrangeMe, a Hal Leonard Company.

For more information about the New Canon Project, visit https://www.risingtidemusicpress.com/ncp