John Duffy, considered "one of the great heroes of American Music," has composed more than 300 works for symphony, orchestra, opera, theater, television and film. He is a two-time Emmy-winner and the recipient of the American Music Center's Founders' Award for Lifetime Achievement. Critics call his work, "haunting, memorable, and brilliant."

Rhoda Levine, an acclaimed director, choreographer, writer and teacher has worked on and off-Broadway, in London’s West End, South Africa and the Netherlands. She is the founding director of Play It By Ear, the improvisational opera group at American Opera Projects and currently teaches at Manhattan School of Music and Mannes College.

Patrick Mason, currently a voice teacher at the University of Colorado-Boulder, is a highly regarded baritone whose collaborations with Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, Eliot Carter and George Crumb garnered him rave reviews. Mason’s recordings of standard works and contemporary music create rare artistry and insight.

Alan Johnson, currently the Music Director of the Frost Opera Theater and Vocal Coach at University of Miami, has led numerous opera, music theater, concert, and dance works by today’s most innovative composers including Philip Glass, Anthony Davis, Adam Guettel, and David Lang. His work has garnered awards such as the Bessie, Drama Desk, Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Music Direction, and the Joseph Jefferson Award.

Libby Larsen, is one of America’s most performed living composers. She has created a catalogue of over 400 works spanning virtually every genre from intimate vocal and chamber music to massive orchestral and choral scores. Grammy Award winning and widely recorded, including over 50 CDs of her work, she is constantly sought after for commissions and premieres by major artists, ensembles, and orchestras around the world and has established a permanent place for her works in the concert repertory.

Fred Ho, composer, writer, bandleader, and saxophonist, fuses traditional Asian and African melodies. His numerous ensembles include Green Monster Big Band, founded 2008, Monkey Orchestra, founded 1990, and Afro Asian Music Ensemble, founded 1982. His most recent commissions are Every Time I Open My Mouth to Sing for Thomas Buckner/Mutable Music Inc. and When the Real Dragons Fly for American Composers Orchestra, both in 2008.

Ricky Ian Gordon’s credits include The Grapes of Wrath (Minnesota Opera, Utah Operas);My Life With Albertine (Playwrights Horizons); Dream True (The Vineyard Theater); The Tibetan Book Of The Dead (Houston Grand Opera, Prince Music Theater); Only Heaven (Encompass Opera); Orpheus & Euridice (Lincoln Center); Morning Star (as composer-in-residence at Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2001 & 2002). Upcoming commissions include operas for The Metropolitan Opera and Minnesota Opera and a new musical for Playwrights Horizons.

Mark Campbell’s career as a librettist and lyricist has successfully bridged the worlds of both opera and musical theatre. Since 2004, four of his commissioned operas received enthusiastic premieres: Volpone, Later the Same Evening, Bastianello and Lucrezia. Other operatic works include Three Lost Chords and A Letter to East 11th Street. Mark’s awards include first recipient of the Kleban Foundation Award for Lyricist, three Drama Desk Award nominations, and a Rockefeller Foundation Award.

2010 SOL Based Lesson Plans